Would a future employer be able to tell if you took a year off work?

About the only problem I see is a paranoid company will think you are simply skipping putting down a job you left because of a roll over or something.
Thing is with the insurance clue database and the drug clearinghouse there is very little way to hide past drug use or wrecks.

 

I doubt that it would matter to them. Combining your previous experience, and as long as you have been back on the job for a year, you shouldn't have a problem. This is America. You have a right to take some time off if you want to. You don't owe them an explanation.

 

I took six months off. I just wrote it down as personal leave of absence. It was never an issue, most thought it was a good thing.

 

Family Leave of Absence. all you have to say.

 

Every application I've ever seen asks you to list your jobs over the previous 5 or 10 years, so how couldn't they find out if your honest?

 

Yeah, we'll find out. List all periods of employment and UNEMPLOYMENT. For unemployment, just put down a halfway decent reason for the unemployment period. "Spent a year enjoying Thailand" works for just about anyone. "I wanted to take a year off to hike the Himalayas" only works if you aren't 300+ pounds, though.

In reality, we really don't care if someone took a year off. If they crashed a truck and are trying to hide it, we'll know. If they legitimately took time off for mom's final days, traveling, their own health concern, etc., its no big deal... but does not count toward total experience.

 

They will find out with the background check.

 

That's the way I've done my whole career in trucking. Two years of trucking each decade, really.

Each time I came back, I'd have to do a bunch of refresher stuff, though. The worst part was that the employers had me apologize for taking time off for myself. The punishment was that I had to find three people who could vouch for me any time I was not enslaved to an employer for more than two weeks, and have them sign a notarized statement typically claiming that I was not doing something that could not be monitored by them. If I was, I would not be able to honestly fill out the form, and the application would be incomplete.

I've spent about half of my life not working. But I never took government welfare, unemployment, or lived off of someone else when not working. I had no kids and have no bad or expensive habits. I never use dope, alcohol, or get involved in crime. I did do a career in the military reserves, so when not working, I showed up for drills and had health insurance. I also enjoyed getting significant education during my non-working years, mostly for personal (not professional) use. I've had a cheap mortgage and I know how to save, invest, and be frugal. Still, employers—especially in trucking—have frowned upon me for not being a non-stop wage-slave, and having gaps in my resume. As if that was some kind of crime.

Being in my sixties now, I'm healthy from not excessively working and not doing dumb things. I've travelled the world with 28 countries. I do work in law enforcement for the state now, but that's just for a couple of years. It's a lifestyle choice—not working much and not having kids. Some people hate you for it, but they can go pound sand.