[Simon_O_Rourke]

Why does your future employer need to know where you were for the last four years if you can do the job?

Perhaps it's unethical, but if I was given the choice between not being able to provide for my wife any kids, and being less that forthcoming on a resume, I'm going to choose the latter each and every time.

With that - find some company that has closed shop in the past two months. Their HR staff etc. will be long gone, and who's to say if you worked there or not. A job's a job - if you can do it then your resume shouldn't matter.

[mpalfrey]

This is a bit (a lot) dodgy.

I've had to provide background references for a number of jobs in the past. This could well come back and bite you - what if the person hiring knows people from the company you supposedly worked for? It's a small world out there, in particular if you're looking for roles close to home.

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I don't see how it's dodgy to craft a resume that tells the story you want to say unless you're inserting things that didn't happen.

Getting a job is an exercise in sales and marketing. Everything I've seen about OP's post and comments can be pitched in a manner that highlights learning and growth.

This isn't dodgy it's essential.

To be clear, I think you can do lots of dodgy things with a resume, but you can also craft a narrative without any of those things (e.g. claiming skills and experience you don't have).

[jallen_dot_dev]

> unless you're inserting things that didn't happen.

The comment suggested:

> find some company that has closed shop in the past two months. Their HR staff etc. will be long gone, and who's to say if you worked there or not.

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Ah, shouldn't comment on the internet before coffee

[solarmist]

Yeah, no. Don't do this.

Just label it as an independent sabbatical/break/long vacation/whatever and call it good. It'd be great if you learned some things in this period that could be useful in a job but not required.

[mtsr]

Being caught lying about something like that could end up giving long lasting problems.

I’d be much more inclined to find a friendly company for the first post-burnout job and then hop from there in a year or two/three.