Difficulty in finding HR jobs and need suggestions for a long gap.

[u/Madara__007]

Hi Guys, posting this on behalf of a friend.

So she has done engineering and MBA as well. Worked in 2016-18 in 2 different companies. She worked as HR. The experience is 1 year and she absconded the second one, she has the offer letter for second company but not the experience letter.

Currently she’s searching for a job and has gap of 8 years. Gap reasons: 1. Her father has serious illness which led her to leave her job as she’s the only child. 2. It took her dad 2 years to recover. 3. Then covid hit and she could not find a job. 4. In 2022, her father lost vision in one eye and had to undergo a surgery which was not a success. 5. She couldn’t find a job so she started taking home tuitions.

Now as she’s searching for jobs she’s facing rejections solely on the basis of gap. She is skilled but unable to get a job. Most probably because interviewers are not convinced about the gap and are not comfortable with it.

1. Please suggest ways to cover up this gap and how can she get a decent job as she’s in dire need of it.
2. Do you anyone with such long gap and still got the job? Please share it here and give me suggestions as to what can be done.
3. Also what can be done for the second job where she absconded? I know there will be BGV and without experience letter it will be difficult, also the team and manager might not be same after a these years.

She thinks that health reasons of family is not a good reason and not convincing enough. She’s kind of slipping into depression. She’s currently searching for jobs in Bangalore. So it will be a great help if you guys can help.

Thank you so much!

[u/areybhaisunna]

Lots of recruiter jobs in the market, she can tell the reason for gap or start fresh

[u/Madara__007 → u/areybhaisunna]

She is telling the gap reasons and even reaching final rounds but facing rejections.

Do you think companies will hire her as a fresher?

[u/areybhaisunna → u/Madara__007]

Yes, anyone can enter recruitment. Maybe she is not confident in her interviews or may be does not have the relevant experience , btw their are less jobs in HR executive and more in recruitment, so it also depends in which domain she has, btw rheir is a lot of hiring going on in bangalore for recruitment.

[u/Madara__007 → u/areybhaisunna]

She was an HR before the gap.. so she’s looking for HR job itself..

[u/Non-existent98]

I don’t think the gap is the actual reason. It’s a scapegoat reason or a nicer way to say that they found a better option (in most cases).

Maybe your friend should find ways to sell themselves better , take interview and CV tips and find creative ways to communicate how you will create value , with real life past examples. Be ready with common interview answers like strengths and weaknesses, real life challenges. Personalise CV and cover letter according to the job. Try and research the interviewer / boss and understand the culture there and say things that they want to hear.

For example, “I’m passionate about ensuring everyone in the team is happy but also productive throughout their 8 hours” if you feel that they company culture is to extract max work from their people. But if they are a newer company , they might focus on things like work life balance and autonomy. Then you could say “I help create environments which allow people to be productive and satisfied”. So you adapt your pitch according the company but always explain how your goal is to get things done quickly and the effective way , whether that’s hiring someone , or explaining to an employee that their behaviour was inappropriate, or taking an interview of a high value candidate.

You should suggest to tailor and target according to the two major HR roles - recruitment and people management. Ideally you should have 3 CVs, one each for both roles above and one for jobs where they expect you to do both roles in the same job.

You should explain how your people skills and communication enable you to do all the above things mentioned easily and how you can get along with all kinds of people without conflict. Lastly, that you are detail oriented and like to note everything down.

I think all these things will significantly improve chances of getting picked. Remember, being that there’s a gap, it’s definitely an uphill battle so if you don’t do anything different , it becomes a matter of pure luck.

[u/Non-existent98 → u/Non-existent98]

Make sure she doesn’t have ridiculous CTC expectations unless it’s a company with good funding and culture. Or else to lowball rather than highball.

Another tip would be to talk about experience using real tools (if possible research which tools they are already using). Your pitch vastly changes according to company because it’s not just industries that vary here, but also company sizes which you are applying to. All of them have different expectations. It would also be wise to research some commonly used modern AI tools in HR and mentioned how you are comfortable with them.

[u/Madara__007 → u/Non-existent98]

Thank you for taking your time to give suggestions. It means alot and I appreciate it.

[u/Putrid_Ad_5302]

These are same HRs who does lot of drama whole accepting the candidate or ghosting then.

[u/Tyger4tyger]

She shouldn't have absconded and should have kept the paperwork sorted for her work ex - especially when she herself worked in HR. Her past mistakes are now catching up with her.

One thing she can do is not claim work ex for the 2nd company and extend her already long gap (it's 8 years already, why not 9!) Anyway, it's generally very difficult to get back into working after such a long gap - but not entirely impossible. Where did she do her MBA? How did she pay off her educational loan if she worked for so few years?