Finding job after long gap?

[Sri Dharan]

Hi All,

I am a computer graduate in India.I did my graduation in 2004 and started career 2007 to 2008 nearly 1 and half year.Due to Recession I got employment gap up to 2010 March.Then I joined in MNC with misrepresents.I worked there nearly 10 months and got fired,not get good feedback.These are all things I feel my bad luck.Why I feel like this , so many persons are working in MNCs with misrepresentations only.
From that time I tried with truth nearly one year.I hope someone accepts my truth gave a chance.That opinion is also seems wrong.After that I have appeared for government jobs but not get job and later started self employment.Self employment is affects on my marriage.But as a computer graduate I am still interested in IT field.Some of my friends are encouraging me for trying jobs with misrepresentations again.I am very confused.

How can I get job? How can I approach the companies? Is it possible to get a job?


I feel you all people are good friends,Please suggest me to settle my life?

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Don't misrepresent. You'll get caught and continue this problem. A few areas to look at:

Minimize the gaps on your resume (without lying about anything.) - For example, omit the date you graduated university and just write the name of the school. This lets your resume start in 2007. As for the other gaps, what did you do during this time? Projects for yourself? Work at a local store? Do a fun project?

Figure out what to say about the gaps when asked. Also figure out to say why you left the MVC and want to leave self employment. Practice saying it over and over until it you can say it without coming across as bitter. It's ok to feel bitter towards the MVC, but you can't sound that way at an interview

Create a project so you can show you have current skills. Put it online so you have a portfolio/something to point to

Consider a non-programming IT job to gain recent experience. Maybe help desk?

[Sri Dharan]

Thanks Jeanne Boyarsky for replying...

I don't like to misrepresent at all.But time demands that.What should I do If I won't get a call?

As your suggestion , Education details can be minimized without mention year.But If we put in job portals , how can we manage?
I am accepting I failed to build up my career.Whatever it may be I could not continue job career continuously. Can I mention the gap reasons in CV or covering letter or orally?
What should I explain If I was not able to do dummy projects ?

As a computer graduate I am 100% looking for developer/ software job.If I am not able to get I should continue self employment / my business.

Other thing why can't think about to start-up company? But here don't know how to start?

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

Sri Dharan wrote:What should I explain If I was not able to do dummy projects ?

While you can't change the past, you can change the present. What are you doing with your time right now besides looking for a job? If it isn't something technical, start. Without this, you don't have anything current to talk about at the interview. And it shows you are interested in technology and not just looking for a job because it pays money.

[Johanna Rothman]

1. You need to assess your current skills and think about your value to a potential employer. Always look outward, thinking about your value. You have skills in many dimensions, not just technical skills.
2. What is your target market? Who are all your target employers? Develop a list of 25 target employers. I am serious.

Now, how will you meet people from your target employers?

You have many options:

1. You can do volunteer/open source projects.
2. You can network with professional groups, meetings, meetups, mashups and the like.
3. You can find people on LinkedIn, target them, and ask for informational interviews so you can see if they can introduce you.

You will have to take the initiative.

What other options can you see?

[Dieter Quickfend]

These are very good ideas. If you use your time to learn new things and commit to open source projects, you will get better at what you do AND have something to show for it. Show that you can develop your own system, techies will love that, and show that you have the right mentality.

If you get in with misrepresentations, you will go to work every day fearing the hammer. This is no way to live. Trust me, I've worked in a huge company with many colleagues who had a complete lack of knowledge in what they were supposed to develop. I ended up helping most of my colleagues write decent code by pair programming with them and teaching them how it's done on the down low and after hours, because I knew full well that if their HR manager got any complaints they would be fired. These people had a constant fear of making mistakes, so they developed a habit of lying in progress reports and trying to shift blame. I calculated it into my estimations and nobody ever knew we spent half our time teaching the basics.

The thing was, after these people developed their skills and gained the know-how they said they had, they came to work with the self-confidence of someone who knows they can get the job done, and day by day you could feel the atmosphere in the room improving.

What I'm trying to say is, if you don't have the skills required to do your job, LEARN them. Once you're good at what you do and you're sure of that, there is no one who can make you feel inferior. With skill comes confidence.

Always be honest about your past. You shouldn't be too blunt with a HR manager, because they will skim your resume and decide you're no good without even taking the time to see how good you are. So minimize the gaps and put everything you know on your resume, even if you're not great at it, you have some level of skill with it. If they ask you about your skill level, be honest and tell them you're a beginner at this or that. Never lie, but be confident in your skills. If you can't be confident in your skills, work on your skills more.

But experience in open source projects and pure knowledge will eventually pay off.

[Jayesh A Lalwani]

You shouldn't misrepresent yourself, but if you do, make sure you can deliver. In software industry, it's all about what you can do. End of the day, you have to be able to produce output. You can misrepresent yourself and get a job, but if you cannot deliver, you are going to be out of a job. It doesn;t matter how good your resume is or how much you can impress someone in the interview. What matters is what you can do day to day

So, have a good hard look of what skills you have, and how you can update those skills

[Sri Dharan]

Dear friends,

Thanks for your valuable reply.

@Johanna Rothman

As of your suggestions my confident/hope is not getting down.
In real scenarios,If I would have good knowledge and doing open source /volunteer works , will the companies consider my profile?
Where can I find open source projects?( If you know any particular websites please let me know.)
I am planning to work on volunteer projects locally.

@Dieter Quickfend

I know , I spoiled my life with mis representations only.What should I do.Most of the persons in my known persons guide me to put mis representations only.I dont know what to do?But My soul is not accepting do wrong.I like to work on java.But without productivity how much time I can continue.Recently I have started my self employment/net cafe,but it may effect on my marriage.Now a days asking for employees,hence I am rethinking on my career.It is not a pressure.If I get a good chance I would change my career.

I tried in 2011 with original profile,shortlisted up to final rounds, hoped on most of the interview,finally negative feedback ( because of client might not accept).Thats why I am very confusing to get a job in my situations.
I am expecting suggestions from most of different people who might be faced / seen /suggested in their past.



The thing was, after these people developed their skills and gained the know-how they said they had, they came to work with the self-confidence of someone who knows they can get the job done, and day by day you could feel the atmosphere in the room improving.

What I'm trying to say is, if you don't have the skills required to do your job, LEARN them. Once you're good at what you do and you're sure of that, there is no one who can make you feel inferior. With skill comes confidence.

With HRs how can I communicate? Can I tell the truth of mis representations in past companies?

@Jayesh A Lalwani
Thanks for your suggestion.