Every now and then some member of my family volunteers me to do someone’s resume, as I used to do this–consultation, layout, that kind of thing. So I’ve got this thing sitting here, which I haven’t even agreed to do. The person in question is mid-30s and has very little work experience. He was in jail for four years, then in a mental hospital for a couple, and then he got out and started going to school. Major: General studies. Work experience: six months as a lab tech (pre-incarceration), couple months general labor (for one of those day-labor places). He thinks there shouldn’t be any missing years on the resume (and I kind of agree), he definitely shouldn’t lie about it because prospective employers WILL check. But how the heck do you phrase it?
“Intensive civil rehabilitation”?
I don’t think there’s any choice really. The resumé just has to give details of the prison term honestly.
Depends on what he was in prison/hospital for…
Even in prison, inmates are usually assigned jobs. Laundry, groundskeeping, janitorial, cooking.
I’d do a reverse CV, starting with the current time and working backwards. That way, although you can state the truth, it will show that he’s moved on from then (ie. it won’t be the first thing that catches the prospective employer’s eye).