Answering hard interview questions about gaps and discharge

5 min read · Written for: Veterans with an employment gap, a treatment period, or a difficult discharge.

Three sentences, in this order: what happened, what changed, what you do now. Practice it out loud until it is boring.

1. Step 1

   Write the three-sentence answer

   Sentence one names the fact without drama. Sentence two names the change — treatment, coursework, a program, a sponsor. Sentence three is what your week looks like now.

2. Step 2

   Practice it aloud six times

   Say it to a mentor, a caseworker, and once into your phone's recorder. The goal is a flat, calm delivery — the tone tells them more than the content.

3. Step 3

   Redirect to the work

   End with a question about the role: shift patterns, tools, the first 90 days. That moves the conversation forward instead of leaving silence to fill.

4. Step 4

   Know what you do not have to disclose

   Medical details and diagnoses are yours. You can describe a 'period of treatment' and stop there. If an accommodation would help, request the accommodation, not the diagnosis.