Ramit Sethi advises Susan on explaining a gap in her resume from a mental health issue. He recommends saying "I had to take a leave of absence for a personal issue" and keeping it brief, without disclosing the mental health reason unless pressed.
Okay, this question is from Susan about interviewing. Question is, what is the best way to answer an interviewer's question about a long absence from the job market when the absence is based on a mental health issue? Alright, Susan, the simple and truthful answer is you cannot tell them that you had a mental health issue. Once you do, it's an instant no hire. They may give you other reasons, like you're not a good fit. But. But if an interviewer is confronted with five different candidates and one of them says they had a mental health issue, they're gone, they're eliminated. As unpolitically correct as that is to say, that is the way the world works. All right, And I'm gonna give you the candid feedback on that. So what you wanna say is simply this. I had to take a leave of absence for a personal issue. And the interviewer might say, well, can you explain a little more? I'd prefer to leave it at that. It was a personal issue and now it's resolved. That's it. Friendly, non confrontational. You, you were under no obligation to reveal that you had a mental health issue. And you do not want to disqualify yourself from consideration because of that. Right. You want to get on with your life. So that's how I would answer it. When the interviewer comes to you with a question about that leave of absence, It.
