4 ms·

Do companies really discriminate if you've been unemployed for a few years, even with good reason? I've never heard of that before, and would be interested in k

Do companies really discriminate if you've been unemployed for a few years, even with good reason? I've never heard of that before, and would be interested in knowing how common it is.

fokov 12y ago
Yes many of them do discriminate against those that are unemployed whether it be forced or on purpose. I took a 11 month sabbatical a few years ago and there were many interviewers that just wouldn't believe that I purposefully stopped working. I kept my college habits after gaining my first 'career' position which allowed me to save up a bunch of money. Working in horrible environments and extremely stressful jobs caused a bad personal situation (where questions way beyond burnout such as "why am I even bothering at all" started to be common every day) that I just had to get away. I spent a small portion of the saved up money to do "nothing." Looking back I should have done more things with my time but, as always, I can't go back and change it. Sometimes certain people just need a real break. I think 2 weeks of vacation is complete bullshit and the main reason why so many Americans are miserable, and misery loves company. So many people live day-to-day, week-to-week that they just can't even imagine those of us that are responsible with our money and savings. In the end, I honestly believe they were just jealous they would never be in a position where they could just walk away from everything. It sucks, but I found a job after it and I was 100% honest with everyone when asked why I took the time off. I had nothing to hide. It took a week and a day of full time searching/interviewing to find a position with a decent company on the way up even during the recent recession. I'm glad those interviewers "cut" me from their list of potential hires because I wouldn't want to work with people like that anyway. I still want to be my own boss, but I'm not there yet.
potatolicious 12y ago
> "even with good reason?" Some do, but even the ones that do not have no way of knowing if your reasons are "good". "I traveled the world to discover myself" can mean "I actually traveled the world" or "I'm unhireable and trying to plug gaps in my resume in hard-to-verify ways".
sjf 12y ago
Was applying recently in the SF bay area, unemployed with a one year gap in my resume. Got an interview with > 75% of my applications. No one really questioned why I wasn't working, or seemed put off by it. I was travelling, but I could just as easily have been ill, pregnant, in jail, etc.

Do companies really discriminate if you've been unemployed for a few years, even with good reason? I've never heard of that before, and would be interested in knowing how common it is.

fokov 12y ago

Yes many of them do discriminate against those that are unemployed whether it be forced or on purpose. I took a 11 month sabbatical a few years ago and there were many interviewers that just wouldn't believe that I purposefully stopped working. I kept my college habits after gaining my first 'career' position which allowed me to save up a bunch of money. Working in horrible environments and extremely stressful jobs caused a bad personal situation (where questions way beyond burnout such as "why am I even bothering at all" started to be common every day) that I just had to get away. I spent a small portion of the saved up money to do "nothing." Looking back I should have done more things with my time but, as always, I can't go back and change it. Sometimes certain people just need a real break. I think 2 weeks of vacation is complete bullshit and the main reason why so many Americans are miserable, and misery loves company. So many people live day-to-day, week-to-week that they just can't even imagine those of us that are responsible with our money and savings. In the end, I honestly believe they were just jealous they would never be in a position where they could just walk away from everything. It sucks, but I found a job after it and I was 100% honest with everyone when asked why I took the time off. I had nothing to hide. It took a week and a day of full time searching/interviewing to find a position with a decent company on the way up even during the recent recession. I'm glad those interviewers "cut" me from their list of potential hires because I wouldn't want to work with people like that anyway. I still want to be my own boss, but I'm not there yet.

potatolicious 12y ago

> "even with good reason?" Some do, but even the ones that do not have no way of knowing if your reasons are "good". "I traveled the world to discover myself" can mean "I actually traveled the world" or "I'm unhireable and trying to plug gaps in my resume in hard-to-verify ways".

sjf 12y ago

Was applying recently in the SF bay area, unemployed with a one year gap in my resume. Got an interview with > 75% of my applications. No one really questioned why I wasn't working, or seemed put off by it. I was travelling, but I could just as easily have been ill, pregnant, in jail, etc.