I quit my first ever full-time job after 9 months because I was juggling too many responsibilities that were unrelated to my role. Nonetheless, my references will have positive things to say about me.
I spent my time off dealing with mental health issues that were partially caused by the job, and now it's been 6 months. By the time I'm finished updating my portfolio, it'll be 7 months. How should I lie about the gap? I was thinking of shortening the gap to one month, or claiming I still work there so they can't contact my references otherwise “it'll jeopardize my employment there”.
In 2023, does lying about start and end dates still work or will third party background checkers catch me? I'm not looking to apply to FAANG or anything, just midsized companies.
Before this job, I was working retail part-time at the same company for 4 years, so I guess that shows loyalty, but I quit when Covid started and have a two year gap which I can explain away with studying to career switch.
Essentially, I don't want to look like a typical lazy Gen Zer because of these gaps and a short-lived stint as my first professional position. How can I effectively lie about the 7 month gap?