I’m using Proton right now. Someone suggest I should get a Gmail instead for higher chance of success. Is that true? How risky is it for Google sanning those mails in terms of privacy?

    • hazel@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      3·
      17 hours ago

      As others have commented, a gap in your resume shouldn’t even be a part of the conversation since it’s just an absence of anything that would be relevant to the hiring process. Doesn’t mean you won’t be asked though, unfortunately, and I have experience being the candidate with a long gap, so I can tell you how I handled this.

      Sitting on the hiring side of the table, my only concern is that you weren’t just twiddling your thumbs. If you had personal matters to take care of, unpaid projects to focus on, family to look after, that is all part of life and none of my business. When explaining my own employment gap, I was frank about how my previous appointment had taken its toll on my mental health, and that I wanted to reconnect with other aspects of my life before taking on another role. I didn’t go into any specifics, but made sure to mention that part of this time was spent studying stuff that’s relevant in my field and exploring emerging technologies.

      No matter how long a gap, it’s not something you should acknowledge or attempt to explain in your resume or cover letter, and it’s not something you need to bring up yourself in the interview. My view is that it’s bad etiquette to even ask, and you should try to adopt this mentality yourself so that you project confidence if you have to answer the question. You have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. Your life is more than your CV.

    • DirigibleProtein@aussie.zone
      7·
      1 day ago
      • “Taking care of a family member” has worked for a few people
      • Having cancer. It’s not just the cancer, the treatment is pretty hard on the body and mind. It’s been five years now and I don’t know if I will ever be able to get back to work.
    • Liv@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      3·
      1 day ago

      YMMV based on the company you’re applying to and how thoroughly theyre going to vet past work history, but I managed to land my current job by just putting “June 2024” as my leaving date instead of “June 2022” and just said the company recently restructured and did layoffs.

    • Newsteinleo@midwest.socialEnglish
      1·
      24 hours ago

      What you did with that time is our own business. The only thing that matters is why your current skills are relevent for the job.