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How to explain gap in employment due to mental health issues

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Comments

  • #52
    d8491prj5boyvg
    Closed Accounts Posts: 508 ✭✭✭d8491prj5boyvg


    mariaalice wrote: »
    Why would you apply for roles that make your mental health worse? telling an employer that your mental health issues could affect cetin roles is not a good idea at an interview and could come across as very odd.

    Its not the same as a wheelchair acesse with is an accesses issue not an issue with preforming the role. I think you know that.

    I think you're missing the point. The OP has a gap in his CV and is hesitant about saying this was due to a mental health problem if asked about it. The hesitation is because the employer may not know that it is not going to negatively affect his work, and will misinterpret this as being a problem. The solution to that is to increase awareness of the nuances surrounding mental health issues, how different issues are likely to affect different roles (and not affect others) while also recognising that each case must be considered on its merits. In that context, the OP would be free to say it was due to mental health issue X, I've dealt with it by doing a,b and c and that isn't going to be a problem for this role. The employer would most likely believe him and move on to the next question.

    I agree with your point though, they shouldn't bring it up and make a deal out of it unless it comes up naturally, could raise other red flags as you suggest.


  • #53
    matthewo111
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭matthewo111


    Hi folks,

    No the role is not in a relatively high-risk/high-stress role - it's IT. And yes, I'll need to make sure I find a role where I'm not at high-risk of falling ill again.

    People, saying "it's only 6 weeks", I totally get that. My main fear is background checks, which are commonly run now in some companies. I'm assuming if they run one, they could find out about the two week stint, and the medical benefit.

    Thanks again.


  • #54
    matthewo111
    Registered Users Posts: 5 ✭matthewo111


    fryup wrote: »
    what was your job? must have been stressful for you to quit after just 2 weeks

    It's not that the job was overly stressful, that's not how mental health works.


  • #55
    mrslancaster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,877 ✭✭✭mrslancaster


    mariaalice wrote: »
    It is, the person is their to be interviewed for the job and assess their suitability not to talk about their mental health or other health issues in detail. It might not come up and even if it did its a qick they have been having medica treatment..

    agree.
    It should not come up at an interview, ever. The same way as a person's marital status, religion or any of the other nine equality grounds.

    Any company or interviewer going into any of those areas is out of order and it has nothing to do with them. If folk think that discrimination does not exist think again. OP does not need to put their life story on a cv only what is relevant for the job.

    Would posters advocate discussing being lgbt or divorced at an interview?


  • #56
    batgoat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,423 ✭✭✭batgoat


    matthewo111 wrote: »
    Hi folks,

    No the role is not in a relatively high-risk/high-stress role - it's IT. And yes, I'll need to make sure I find a role where I'm not at high-risk of falling ill again.

    People, saying "it's only 6 weeks", I totally get that. My main fear is background checks, which are commonly run now in some companies. I'm assuming if they run one, they could find out about the two week stint, and the medical benefit.

    Thanks again.

    Medical history would be off limits in a background check.


  • #57
    d8491prj5boyvg
    Closed Accounts Posts: 508 ✭✭✭d8491prj5boyvg


    mrslancaster wrote: »
    agree.
    It should not come up at an interview, ever. The same way as a person's marital status, religion or any of the other nine equality grounds.

    Any company or interviewer going into any of those areas is out of order and it has nothing to do with them. If folk think that discrimination does not exist think again. OP does not need to put their life story on a cv only what is relevant for the job.

    Would posters advocate discussing being lgbt or divorced at an interview?

    This is missing the point. It shouldn't be a direct question. Agreed. However, it is reasonable to ask an interviewee why there is a gap in their CV. The question is whether revealing a mental health problem would bias the interviewer.


  • #58
    mrslancaster
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,877 ✭✭✭mrslancaster


    Nancy Raspy Shortchange wrote: »
    This is missing the point. It shouldn't be a direct question. Agreed. However, it is reasonable to ask an interviewee why there is a gap in their CV. The question is whether revealing a mental health problem would bias the interviewer.

    Seriously - what companies ask about a gap of 6 weeks between jobs?


  • #59
    d8491prj5boyvg
    Closed Accounts Posts: 508 ✭✭✭d8491prj5boyvg


    mrslancaster wrote: »
    Seriously - what companies ask about a gap of 6 weeks between jobs?

    Agreed. That shouldn't be an issue either. Again, that is a different point.


  • #60
    One eyed Jack
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 24,211 ✭✭✭✭One eyed Jack


    mrslancaster wrote: »
    agree.
    It should not come up at an interview, ever. The same way as a person's marital status, religion or any of the other nine equality grounds.

    Any company or interviewer going into any of those areas is out of order and it has nothing to do with them. If folk think that discrimination does not exist think again. OP does not need to put their life story on a cv only what is relevant for the job.

    Would posters advocate discussing being lgbt or divorced at an interview?


    Of course discrimination exists, and positive discrimination exists too. An interviewer isn’t out of order at all going into these areas, and it wouldn’t immediately be discrimination either - the candidate may have legitimate grounds to claim discrimination if they were actually discriminated against on one of the nine grounds, as there are exceptions where discrimination is permitted in legislation.

    Nobody has suggested that anyone needs to put their life story on their cv, all cvs will look pretty much the same, and the interview is an opportunity for the candidate to differentiate themselves from all the other candidates. One of the first opportunities to do that is generally in the first question in any interview - “tell me about yourself?”

    If being LGBT or divorced was something I thought should be discussed at an interview, I wouldn’t see any issue with it, any more than I’d see an issue with someone discussing their mental health or specific needs at an interview. There’s no obligation on the candidate to bring it up, but the interviewer will already have a fair idea of whether or not you’re qualified for the role on the basis of what they’ve read on your cv. The interview is where they get to know the potential candidates as people and whether or not they’re a good fit for the role within the organisation.

    More and more employers are cottoning on to the fact that employees who feel supported by their employers are more productive and loyal employees.


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