"I was unemployed"

• Why?
• Can they not even keep a job?

"I took a sabbatical"

• Mysterious
• Arousing
• Shows off the size of your enormous sack

EDIT : When I took my sabbatical and I was dating at the same time, instead of being seen as a scruffy bum it actually did give an air of mystique, since most people at that age were not doing things like that.

I was told one way is: I singed a nda and I’m not allowed to answer that

Haha, as if anyone actually asks that. A gap gets you automatically rejected by the employment AI, long before humans see it.

FMLA is always a safe bet. Only one available to care for a dying family member buys sympathy and is an area they can’t legally ask any follow-up questions.

Source: former corporate shill and interviewer

"I had to provide end of life care to a close relative."

I have a big gap from a few years of depression and that's my go to line. I have never ever heard a follow up question.

Yes. I created the document in Google docs, and you opened it in Word.

“Sorrry, I have an NDA”

In Germany, just ask them what the gap between 1933 and 1945 in their company's history is as a direct response.

"That is the year when I was happy."

No I can't. I signed an NDA.

"I took four months off to recover from burnout"

i have never been asked this question and i actively remove positions that aren't relevant to the job i send that particular resume to

"I was consulting."

It's true, I was giving out advice left and right.

An idiot asked me that once when I had just finished my masters. Like did you read my resume?

I was working on my mental health

This question should be illegal to ask.

Took a year off to let everyone else catch up 💅

Those were the times I was taking time off to argue with the voices in my head that were telling me to kill again.

"That's when I was happy" is the only correct answer.

That's too much info. A simple "I can" answers their question.

Yes, i was pursuing other opportunities that do not relate to this field so i did not include them

"The economy"

"Yeah, I spent that time driving Uber/Doordash/whatever."

No boss to confirm/deny, and it's not like Uber is going to tell a random employer when one of their drivers were active.

I always put in "traveling overseas"

In my case this is actually true, but I've never had anyone question me taking 12 months off every few years

It’s called a line break. Now I know why you needed someone proficient in MS Word!

If i have to explain the gap (which clearly means I was not employed), it means you are incompetent, you fail my interview, I don't work with incompetent bosses.

I had a six year gap. I tried to found a startup with a buddy and it fell through. I had enough savings to spend time learning new technologies and leveling up my skills. It made me unemployable. It really sucked. Finally taking a temp gig for four months got the phone to start ringing.

Time loop

I could have been in that gap once, twice .... a million times ... we don't know

Me: "I was moving in silence or under a NDA."