
Ask HN: How do I explain a long activity gap due to depression to interviewers? - throwaway90014
tl;dr I&#x27;ve been a NEET for several years, during which I learnt programming. I&#x27;m trying to get a programming job now. How do I explain this suspicious activity gap to a potential employer?<p>When I finished high school I didn&#x27;t pass the admission test for the university I was aiming for. I signed up to community college for another course, but after a few weeks I stopped showing up and I&#x27;ve been staying at my parents&#x27; home ever since.<p>I was dealing with depression since I was in HS, and dropping out only made it worse. For a while I wasn&#x27;t able to do much except getting out of bed and waste my whole day online, watching movies or playing videogames.<p>Eventually I became interested in programming (I had started to learn it by myself in HS), and I started spending lots of time reading and writing code. Now I have quite a few projects on github, some contributions to other github projects to my name, some blog posts, and have some experience with a lot of different languages, libraries, frameworks, and various other tools.<p>I&#x27;ve been trying on and off to get a job as a programmer, but after some rejections and a really bad internship experience (which is in my best interest to keep off my CV) I&#x27;ve become discouraged with the whole process and I keep putting it off, but due to some circumstances I&#x27;ll have to find a job soon.<p>I&#x27;m out of depression now. I&#x27;ve been feeling good about myself and life in general, and I&#x27;m sleeping and eating well, exercising regularly, and I&#x27;ve been spending time with friends. I&#x27;m 100% confident I could hold a job and perform well now.<p>I don&#x27;t think the interviewers were convinced with the stuff about part-time jobs and abroad gap years&#x2F;months I made up about what I did during all this time since I graduated from HS, and I don&#x27;t know if being honest is a good idea in this situation. I wouldn&#x27;t even know where to begin.<p>So: do you have any advice for explaining this mess to a potential employer?
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ThrowawayP
If you were under medical treatment for your depression (hopefully you were),
just say that you had a medical issue, the treatment helped you recover, and
that you spent part of the time recovering studying independently. Be prepared
to provide a note from your therapist/doctor that provides the dates you were
under treatment to back up your words but note it does not have to describe
the issue you were treated for or the treatment. If pressed about the
specifics, know your rights (Google around for info on what employers are
legally permitted to ask about medical conditions), remind them of those
restrictions, and be prepared to write off that employer if they persist.

Resign yourself to the fact that you're going to have a long, difficult road
ahead if you want a programming job. Being from a non-traditional background,
you're going to really have to shine at the interpersonal and coding side of
interviews to persuade a company to hire you. Use study guides for both
aspects and try to attend local tech meetups where you might be able to
persuade a working professional to give you interviewing tips.

Persistence almost always pays off. Good luck to you.

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tomhoward
Perhaps see if you can find some freelance/contract projects to work on (E.g.,
a family friend who needs a site/app built) to help build your confidence and
experience, and see if you can build from there into more projects or
contracts.

After a few successful freelance/contract project under your belt you'll be in
a much stronger position to apply for permanent jobs as you'll have a solid
track record of good work to point to.

