I graduated with a bachelors in computer science around 4 years ago. Long story short, I was depressed, dysphoric, and suicidal throughout my college years and by the time I finished I didn’t want to do anything. I’ve been unemployed for the last 4 years but I’ve also transitioned, started taking better care of myself, and overall I feel much better.

Anyways, I need to get a job now. What kind of lies can I get away with on my resume to cover up the long period of unemployment? Should I pretend I started some sort of company and it failed? Pretend like I went on some backpacking journey in a foreign country? Do companies even check all this stuff?

I did do an internship at a big tech company several years ago, and I’m working on personal software projects so I can put that on my resume. Also, I’m in Amerikkka.

Sorry if this question has been asked here before obama-sad

  • RyanGosling [none/use name]
    ·
    11 months ago

    I assume you’re still entry level? In most cases, they’re not going to grill you on technical shit unless you’re applying for Google or something.

    Just look up interview questions on YouTube (try to avoid the larger clickbaity ones. A lot of smaller people who seem more realistic about the scope). After that, mention your side projects, but also lie/exaggerate about side projects related to your job. Most entry level jobs will ask you hypothetical situations and how you would solve the issues - I don’t think I’ve had any entry IT interviews asking me about TCP/IP layers or how Kerberos works. But obviously, your entry level job may be different.

    For example, a few years back, I was looking to set up a simulated network to manage Active Directory and basic pentesting. I got lazy and didn’t really do many thing beyond skipping around in tutorials and reading basic explanations. I included it on my resume anyway when I applied to an IT position at a warehouse. The most important part is thinking of reasonable hypotheticals and coming up with reasonable answers. It’s okay not to know something - I admitted that I was still “working out some quirks with my setup and understand the concepts” even though I haven’t used windows for like 2 years let alone Active Directory.

    Another example is that I had an informal, impromptu “internship” in high school that was basically just me talking to people and watching them work and going home. But they also showed me some of their software and servers and I ran with that shit. “Reconfigured outdated hardware to maintain compatibility with [company’s] products”; “Assisted with the testing of software”; “Provided customer service to clients”.

    You probably don’t wanna lie as a senior candidate unless you understand the concepts but lack the experience. I don’t know what you’re applying for, but just lie about something simple and don’t elaborate unless they ask. NEVER elaborate on stuff you lie about unless they ask, because you’ll show your ass because they might become interested and ask beyond what you prepared.

    • RedStarOS [she/her, it/its]
      ·
      11 months ago

      Yeah I’m just applying for entry level positions, I think if I tried to fake senior-level experience I’d get caught pretty quickly