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So, i am currently having a 2 year gap in my resume, that i can justify, but it would have me disclose political activity (those activity are not illegal, but are pretty fringe political wise) enough that we had a lot of traction but not enough to live from it, so it wasn't employement

but the line of work i would apply for is not necessarily related to work im searching for (unless it would be seen as a plus for management position).

is it better to state what i did during those year, or find an excuse/reason for that 2 year ish?

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  • I wouldn't ommit it since it was surely an interesting/valueable experience, but I would keep it rather general without disclosing any affiliation in terms of political views and the like. To give you an example: "2 year volunteering in an NGO on a organisational level" V.S. "Organising street rallyes and protests for/against XYZ"
    – iLuvLogix
    Commented Mar 12 at 14:36
  • well, the organisation itself, if i even put it's name in my resume will basically give off all the work i did there (im proud of it, but im pretty sure it would be a job killer for 80% of job recruiter, it might as well say "Worked and in hand with union organizer for years") so i can't be subtle about it if i disclose it. even the subject i did work on are political themselves
    – shas
    Commented Mar 12 at 14:53
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    Please state your country you apply for jobs. In some countries, a resume is good when it leaves out irrelevent details, while in my country people will assume you were in prison or drug rehab if you leave any gaps. You will not get a satisfying answer if you don't disclose where in the world you are.
    – nvoigt ♦
    Commented Mar 12 at 17:18
  • i do live in France!
    – shas
    Commented Mar 12 at 18:56
  • Did you get paid from this political organization ? If yes, then it will show up on your record when the company hires you and they do the background check on your work history. --- But, if you did not get paid by this political organization, then you can write anything on your resume about your employment gap because the company won't know about this when they hire you and do the background check.
    – Job_September_2020
    Commented Mar 13 at 1:34

3 Answers 3

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You'll need to list something, or you'll just be asked in the interview if you get that far.

Spin it how you want, understanding that you will either be saying you were out of work for two years or something else you come up with. Anything vague will just be a flag to ask you about it.

Recognize that a good company will come up with any breadcrumbs you have left behind in this activity anyway.

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  • +1 for the fact that it may come up in background check, especially if you said anything about it anywhere on the Internet or if someone else might have mentioned your involvement.
    – keshlam
    Commented Mar 12 at 17:24
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If your activities did not involve arrests or negative marks on your record, then:

"I took two years to attend to a personal matter. It was an important life goal for me and I am happy with what I accomplished".

And that only needs to be said if asked.

Now keep in mind this is a small world. I would not recommend those guys that block the tour de France apply for jobs in the bicycle industry.

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I think you're going to have to own it - Your only other options are general-but-true vagueness - which is a bad idea since interviewers will either ask you directly or just assume something more negative to fill in the blanks. Or an outright lie - which is a bad idea full stop, lying on your resume generally has negative and serious consequences when you get caught out.

You state that you're "proud" of what you were doing during those two years, so it's a fair assumption that you still stand by the same political beliefs that lead you to be involved in the first place. That being the case why would you hide it?

Generally speaking most employers don't care what the political beliefs are of their employees - unless there's potential for harm to them as a result. Whether that's because it's something antithetical to what they do (e.g. an animal rights activist applying to work at a lab doing animal testing) or because of the potential for reputational damage resulting from the association if the role is a public one and the belief is a particularly distasteful one.

Presumably you're only going to be applying to work at companies that don't fundamentally run contra to your beliefs so as long as you're prepared for any potential questions as to whether you're able to commit to the job and how your political beliefs won't have any bearing on it I think you're good.

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    see it as union activity. a lot of company are not gonna be okay with that
    – shas
    Commented Mar 12 at 18:59
  • @shas I don't see the problem, if you're (to use your example) firmly pro-union and a prospective employer was firmly opposed to them then the two of you aren't a good fit. Regardless of whether your CV has something like "worked for a union" on it.
    – motosubatsu ♦
    Commented Mar 13 at 12:26
  • @shas Then only apply at companies that have a good relationship with their unions. Most companies get the union they deserve. Good management has good relationships with their unions. Bad management has union problems. Before applying at a company, ask their union representatives what their relationship is like.
    – David R
    Commented Mar 13 at 14:47

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