If someone asks you to explain the gap in your resume, just say "I can't answer that without violating an NDA."
It's a really cool way to tell them to fuck off. They don't have to know that the NDA was issued by you to you, and signed by you on behalf of you.
@minervissa this is fucking awesome and i'm so gonna end up using it
@minervissa @julialuna this reminds me of a line G-Man says in one of the Half Life games
@minervissa This one really works. I use it occasionally.
@minervissa “I could tell you but then I’d have to kill you”
@cinebox I am 100% in favor of threatening to kill potential employers
@Arcana obligatory warning that I am not very smart and while a broken clock is right twice a day, you shouldn't take my advice blindly
(and thank you)
두부 
@minervissa @alexbuzzbee “I have been instructed by Congressional Oversight not to answer this question.” 😁
@tsturm @minervissa @alexbuzzbee There is also "I am not authorised to answer that to anyone without security clearance"
@loke @tsturm @minervissa @alexbuzzbee That one works too. Especially if it's true.
@minervissa that's pretty brilliant.
Making notes to intentionally add gaps to my CV explicitly for this. :)
@minervissa all i can say was the state department was watching me closely. true, verifiable so, and you know, the implication
@teh_dude @minervissa If you're feeling particularly spicy (and this may be a bad idea if they make you back it up), put at the bottom of your resume a few lines to the effect of:
Security reviewed, assigned SO, approved <date>.
Security reviewed, assigned SO, edits requested, edits approved <date>.
Some folks have to get their resumes reviewed and approved periodically by their assigned security officer to make sure they're not leaking dangerous details on their CV (remember the idiots who put the compartments they were read into on LinkedIn?). So, if an interviewer asks you can say "I'm sorry, I'm not allowed to talk about that, I can't be more specific."
@minervissa scared this will get popular that the employers will start to smell bs like they did with "answer your weaknesses as strengths just turned around"
@kambing If they pry, there's like a 3% chance you're actually a government agent and they'll end up in big legal trouble.
Worked for client X in 2019-2020. Looks way better than quitting 3 months in.
Worked for A until 2016, then worked at B since 2017. Hides my 12-month sabbatical pretty well.
Nobody ever asks.
@minervissa not to mention anyone should rightfully have a free pass for the 2020-2021 time period
@wilbr haha i wish
@minervissa "what's this gap?" "The pandemic." End of story lol
Ça marche en France, ça ?
@minervissa I have done this
@minervissa "I'm not sure the statue of limitations has expired, sorry" also works when people start probing into Background
@minervissa I have a friend who worked at GAP. I always dreamed of interviewing them and asking "can you explain the GAP in your resume?"
@minervissa #lifehacks to live by. My day is now complete.
@minervissa
Or you could just not have gaps? I've heard of my friends doing this, and I have also declined to go into detail due to an NDA. But knowing this trick, I know that it's always possible to answer what the interviewer really wants to know (your personality). The size of the gap you cover easily indicates a cop-out.
@colinl How do you "just not have gaps"? Is this some magical lifehack right up there with being born upper class?
@minervissa
No, I'm sorry- I didn't mean that one's life choices may not valid. I simply mean that a resume should not be misleading. I'm assuming you mean excessively broad language, rather than chronological gaps.
@colinl I meant chronological. As in, a period of time spent doing something other than being employed.
@minervissa Thank you for the excellent career advice. I have such gaps, and, when asked how I filled them, get embarrassed. HaHaHaHa!!!!
@minervissa As someone who regularly has to ask people about gaps in their resume, I give this answer two thumbs up.
👍🏿 👍
Related: "What do you do for a living?" "I'm not at liberty to say."