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Reasons for unemployment/not working on your CV. What do you think of these?

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    Reasons for unemployment/not working on your CV. What do you think of these?

    I got this from ITContractor forum, and just wondered what your thoughts were. Good or bad, Any other suggestions?

    1. You've been around the world for a year. You’ve meant to do it for a long time, but when the downturn started, you decided to take the opportunity. You've now come back refreshed and ready to go for it. Make sure you have a tan, don't look miserable, and do some study on the destinations that you've 'been to'. If you name some place where the interviewer (or agent) has been, say that your tour bus didn't stop there for long, and it stayed mainly on the outskirts.

    2. You took time off to build your own internet business, which went very well in terms of traffic, but didn't bring in the income you'd hoped for. You've now closed it down (in case they check). It was something that you had to do, but you've now got it out of your system and are ready to go for it again (refreshed). You of course picked up some useful skills like Java and HTML.

    3. You took some time off to do charity work for a very good cause. I won't be flippant here by recommending which ones. I'll leave that to you.

    4. You have been recuperating in hospital and at home after a nasty accident (don't make it a nasty disease). Make sure that it is something that you can recover from. If you could make it a hang-gliding (or other outdoor activity) accident, this would be bonus points for you. You are fully recuperated (and refreshed) and you used your time wisely by upgrading your current skills.

    5. A friend of yours (or better still a family member) was setting up a new business and you took time out to write the software for it. You will be paid for it out of future profits and in shares. The business has started very well, and they now have sufficient funds to hire a young graduate to look after the software side of it. It was an interesting experience, but you are now back ready (and refreshed) to resume your career.

    6. You bought some property in Scotland or Ireland and it burnt down. You had to take some time off to deal with the insurance company and the rebuilding. The insurance company compensated you for your time off. It's all sorted out now and the property has been sold (for a profit), and you are now available again (refreshed) to resume work.

    7. For those of a less scrupulous nature, you had to take time off work to nurse a family member back to full recovery after a life-threatening illness (Wife or husband is best).

    Best of All

    The very best is to have no excuses at all - to simply put on your CV that you have been working for your mate's Limited company, and giving his or her phone number. The agencies don't care where the reference comes from as long as they can tell the company that there is one.

    Note:- We are not advising you to do any of this - simply saying that it is likely to work.

    #2
    8. Tell 'em that you've been working on a confidential defence project and you're not at liberty to discuss it. In fact you feel you may have gone too far by even telling them that much but you felt they ought to know as you really like them and feel that the gig is perfect for you.

    Comment


      #3
      I had worked seven years non-stop at Y2K rates and decided to take the summer off.
      We must strike at the lies that have spread like disease through our minds

      Comment


        #4
        Why the hell does it matter?

        Personally, I would look more favourably on a candidate that did take some time off to persue some dream or ambition (even if it's just to lie on a beach) rather than some dull, dreary plodder who's never taken more than a fortnight off in his/her life.

        You've come right out the other side of the forest of irony and ended up in the desert of wrong.

        Comment


          #5
          I run my own company as a convenient front for this sort of thing. Usually say that I've been working on a top secret private massive virtual hosted application provider that will be going live soon. It's been going live for 5 years now.
          Serving religion with the contempt it deserves...

          Comment


            #6
            Ive had lots of time off between contracts, by my own choice.

            The longest break Ive taken was two years and before the current contract I was off for a wonderful eight months, did it impact my contract prospects ?

            Not a Jot.

            Comment


              #7
              These days breaks of a couple of months + are more and more common. Like Alf says, as long as you prove you can do the work then the fact that the highlight of your day has been watching Trisha does not matter a bit.
              Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion.

              Comment


                #8
                gaps on cv ???



                (\__/)
                (>'.'<)
                ("")("") Born to Drink. Forced to Work

                Comment


                  #9
                  Originally posted by zeitghost
                  I spoke to one clown of an agent & he noticed a gap on my CV way back in 1993... I think he thought I'd been in prison for drug dealing* or something...

                  (*It was actually for armed robbery ).

                  I wanted to be a bank robber but lacked the bottle so took to contracting instead.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by zeitghost
                    That's where you went wrong, Alf.

                    It doesn't take a bottle, just a sawn off shotgun...

                    Or a table leg in a bin bag.

                    Much the same really if the plods catch you
                    You have opposable thumbs ZG?
                    Rule #76: No excuses. Play like a champion.

                    Comment

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