Hi chapo, How the fuck do you find work when you have major gaps in your resume?

Short story: I went through a long fucked up period dealing with addiction and mental health issues. I'm fairly okay now mentally/psychically. But I'm having a real hard time finding work. Last time I had a "real" job was over five years ago, also around the time I graduated college. But I have nothing to put on my resume since then. I have zero networking connects, no one to put as a reference.

I need a job real bad but I don't know what to do. With no experience and no connects I feel like no one wants to hire me, but I can't fulfill those requirements without finding work that I can't get. I fucking hate it.

I'm also dogshit at doing interviews and I don't know how to explain long work absences without freaking out employers. What can I do?

P.S. I don't wanna say where I live for privacy reasons but I do not live in America.

  • MirrorMadness [he/him]
    ·
    4 years ago

    yeah this is right. Make up the fact that you freelanced doing something that you actually know how to do, then sell yourself on the business that you built as "business development." There's like a 1% chance that they investigate whether your business actually existed. Further, feel free to mention that you have customers from that time who would be happy to vouch for you, and then either use friends/family to pretend for you or ask around chapo dot chat, I'm sure plenty of us can help.

    I'd only clarify that I'd stay away from any sort of sick family member talk. An employment lawyer did an AMA on here a few weeks ago and stated, pointed blank, every employer hates pregnant women. They don't want to hire people with sick families because you might miss work. I'd exaggerate the dates on the CV, and add a section about your freelancing company that you started [Year when your experience stops] to [Present], so it looks like you're currently employed.