Two things are commonly held to scare employers off: gaps in employment and changing jobs a lot of times. However lying and getting caught can not only get you discounted from the hiring process, it can also get you fired after you started the job...

So, how can you deal with these issues so as to avoid scaring people off without compromising yourself?

Gaps

So, if you leave a gap they will fear the worst. Merely saying you took a career break might actually seem much better than whatever they fear.

Of course, the reasons you had for a break from work can vary hugely. A good rule of thumb is if the reasons are simple and obvious, include them as a line in your CV in the appropriate chronology in your career section (where the employer may be scanning dates for gaps) - for example 'career break for one year for maternity / paternity leave'

If the reasons are much more complex you might want to cover them in your covering letter (for example a sabbatical, medical leave, or a period of unemployment). The main concern the prospective employer will have is about your reliability and whether you will be able to do the job for them, so if you mention medical leave, explain briefly why it will not recur. You can also cover what you gained from a period of sabbatical or unemployment (e.g. boosted my motivation for work)

If you really did have a gap because of some of the things employers fear, such as having spent a period in prison, your best bet is to confront it, and tell them in your covering letter what you were convicted for, what you learned and why that part of your life is behind you. Explain why you are now ready to commit to employment. It might still put people off (especially crimes of violence), but many others will admire your courage, and anyway you have paid your debt to society now, so why shouldn't they give you a chance? Again the key here is what changed so that this won't happen again? If you can't answer this people will assume you haven't changed.

Some things will naturally go away with time, for example if the gap you want to avoid drawing attention to is years ago then it might not form part of your major employment roles you mention in the employment section, you can then just refer at the end of the employment section to "other various employment" or similar which implies that you had been in regular employment the rest of the time.

Sometimes the gap is small, but you might not want to show that it once took six months to get a new job for some reason. You can give employment dates in years rather than mentioning the months to cover smaller gaps like these, but be aware that you might arose suspicion here.

Job hopping

There are many perfectly reasonable reasons why you might have had a lot of jobs - some industries work that way, e.g. acting, or you may have been doing contracting / agency work.

In addition, it is now much more common for people to change jobs than the old view of careers that were with one or two companies for life. My father has had as may jobs as me and there is 30 years between us! Thus someone with a more traditional attitude might have more of a problem with your multiple jobs than someone else - consider your audience - is the firm traditional or modern in outlook?

However, whatever your industry norms or the modern-thinking stye of your potential employer, you still need to be able to answer the potential criticism that you have had "too many" jobs or are "changeable".

What would you tell someone who wasn't about to offer you a job? Is your true honest answer "I couldn't be bothered, so I left"?. Maybe it was just that you moved a lot, or were studying at the same time, maybe you had family commitments to fit around or there wasn't much work in your area and you kept getting laid off?

If you have a legitimate-sounding reason for having lots of jobs, then you can group them together. For example:

Supported myself through college with a variety of jobs:

• Waiter - learned to work under pressure
• Doorman - learned to get along with all sorts
• Data entry - learned the importance of detail
• Shop work - learned good customer service

Suddenly it sounds less like you had lots of jobs, but that you worked hard in difficult times and learned lots. Turn it around so that your potential employer can see the benefit to them.

Another good excuse to bunch together a lot of jobs like this is if it was a while ago, just tack them on the end of your employment section saying your achievements or what you can offer the new employer. If there is no benefit that you can think of and they are a while ago, then leave them out altogether.

Again, if the reasons are more complex, then you might want to explain in a covering letter (e.g. partner was in the army and got relocated). What the employer is probably going to want to know is that the reason you never stayed in a job for more than six months is now over - they want to know what has changed so you won't do that to them.

Overall the best advice is not to lie - that way you worry less and you can't be caught out.

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