Hello... I read this article this morning and thought it would be worth while to post, I get alot of questions about this... Give me some feedback, what experience do you have with your resume and or interview when explaining gaps?
Out of work but employable: Explaining resume gaps
The business world was surprised in August 2007 when Robert Nardelli landed the top job at Chrysler LLC after being shown the door as The Home Depot's CEO in January. Not all out-of-work employees bounce back so easily.
With unemployment at a five-year high - the latest Labor Department's report says 605,000 jobs have been lost this year - job seekers may have longer searches ahead. However, experts say a stretch of unemployment is not the black mark it used to be.
A layoff, or time off to deal with work-life balance issues, won't keep you from getting an interview or a job offer - if you know how to handle it, say executive recruiters.
"I don't think it's as big a negative as people think, if you have a good story," said Barry Lawrence, career expert at Jobfox, a McLean, Va.-based job search site.
Employees today will switch jobs 10 to a dozen times in a career, and there will be "hiccups" along the way, said Lawrence. "Even in a good economy, businesses are changing focus, people are going to fall through the cracks," he said.
Recruiters understand that and have probably lived through it themselves, Lawrence said.
Jeffrey Steinberg was an executive recruiter for two decades before he left the business in 2001. Searches dried up after the 9/11 attacks and his wife was dying of cancer, so Steinberg, who was self-employed, shut down his business. Since his wife's death in 2002, he has focused on taking writing courses and working on poetry and fiction; he said he was lucky to have the financial resources to explore his passion.
Seven years later, he's planning to return to work. At 55, he's less concerned about the seven-year gap in his resume than competing against younger people.
"I think age is a bigger deal. It hasn't affected me yet - but I think the resume I have doesn't have all these dates I had," he said. Steinberg has worked up two resumes, one chronological and one organized around the types of experience and achievements in his career.
"Anybody who will hire me at this stage of my life is going to hire me for a certain set of skills," he said.
In fact, recruiters stress that if you must address your resume gaps in a job search, focus on presenting the time off from work as a positive, learning experience. Some gaps, such as taking time to care for a sick relative or to go back to school, explain themselves. Layoffs due to corporate meltdowns such as Enron Corp. or Bear Stearns Co. also need no explanation.
"Don't be embarrassed. People sometimes get too concerned. They focus so much on the gap and not on the reason there was a gap," said Katherine Spencer Lee, executive director of Robert Half Technology, a unit of recruiter Robert Half International.
Be honest if you left your last job because it was a bad fit, say the experts. Most employers understand that jobs are not one-size fits all. Unless you have a series of short stints in a row that all ended abruptly, recruiters won't hold it against you, said Spencer Lee.
"If the last five places you worked were not a good fit, tell me why we as number six should hire you," she said.
In most cases, you don't need to volunteer an explanation; most interviewers will ask about your employment history. But if you are worried that you have a significant gap in your history and you're applying in an industry where job searches tend to be brief, such as healthcare, you may want to address the issue in your cover letter, say recruiters.
Also consider sending a functional resume, like Steinberg's, with entries organized by skill set.
"People think of this as 'Am I fudging?' or 'Am I cheating?' You're not, you're just presenting yourself in the most positive light," said Lawrence.
But all experts agree, don't ever lie on your resume. No matter how bad you think it looks, getting caught lying will make you look much worse.
Before you even get the interview, put together talking points to explain why you were out of work and what you did while you were off, all focusing on the skills you would bring to the job at hand.
"Answers like 'I took a year and a half to find myself,' leave an interviewer scratching their heads because they wonder: Is this person going to try to find themselves during our busy period?" said Steven Miranda, Chief Human Resource, Strategic Planning and Diversity Officer of the Society for Human Resource Management.
Present yourself and your time off in a positive way, said recruiters. Focus on what you achieved during your down time - whether you did freelance or consulting work, took courses or did volunteer work - and don't badmouth your past employer to the interviewers.
"If they hear a lot of negativity and lot of poison, they are going to wonder: What is this person going to say about us when he leaves here?" said Miranda.
Lastly, if the interview is over and no one has brought up the bare spot in your resume, don't mention it.
Take the cue from the interviewers; they'll let you know what they're concerned about, said Jennifer Grasz, spokeswoman for employment site Careerbuilder.com.
Today's employers are more understanding of the lifestyle choices employees face than they were five or ten years ago, she said. So as long as you explain your professional detour in a positive way, don't put too fine a point on it.
"Don't make apologies for choices that were right for you," Grasz said. "You want to focus on your strengths."
Source: AP
Posted: 09/09/08 10:11PM
Filed Under:
Lifestyle Features
