Cat Miller answers your questions on addressing employment gaps, explaining credit problems to a prospective employer, and facing a nasty team leader.
DiceTV: How to Deal With Employment Gaps, Bad Credit and Bad Bosses
11 Responses to “DiceTV: How to Deal With Employment Gaps, Bad Credit and Bad Bosses”
yikes
Hey Cat, you know what i was thinking …
The comments were interesting, but the bit with the arm and the envelopes is silly. We are job hunting and looking for information. Cute is not that important. If you could put this information in text, the document can be saved for later review.
Dear Cat;
I have been out of work for four years now, I do not agree with you at all if functional resume will be effective with huge gap that I have. Why? because employer know your are hiding something.
What will happen if a question arise from employer during the interview such as: what you have been doing NOW? Are you prepared to answer that question? I will not be. Yes, I have 4 years gap and nothing helped. I am a telecom professional for more than 20 years.
Appreciate your feedback.
Best,
Mark Moradoff
@Mark: It’s true, you’ll probably be asked that in an interview, but remember the point of the resume is to GET you the interview. So, you have a chance to prepare your answer for when you sit down with the hiring manager.
I think also managers right now look more kindly than they used to on people who’ve been out of work for a while. The recession hit a lot of people hard, and the managers don’t live in a vacuum. I’m not saying your search won’t be more difficult than some, but if you can get in the door through your resume, you have the chance to showcase your skills and lay out the reasons you’ll be a good hire.
Best,
Mark
My advice— There’s always someone better than us— if you didn’t get the job per you resume and interview? Move on to the next interview and quit sniveling as to what might be wrong.
The presentation, while providing good info, was silly which detracted from its usefulness. Why can’t Cat just present the info instead of trying to be cute, which minimizes her empathy for people needing the info.
Could be presented in a better format, including PDF for printing and download for later review.
Cat, what do you do about an abusive boss? One that is a screamer, undermines any authority you have, and who does not back you up?
@Barbara: Check out our story here:
http://career-resources.dice.com/articles/content/entry/dealing_with_workplace_harassment
Mark
Any employer that gives a damn about employment gaps is focusing on the
wrong things. If they want a nose to the grindstone droid, they will be overlooking
some of the most talented people out there. And if they care about a credit
rating, they are just conditioned for behavioural compliance, again, focusing on
the wrong things. Ability, skillset, intelligence, flexibility, enthusiasm, cultural fit,
are the things I look for when adding to my team.
This other stuff is relevant only to HR wonks that think they are avoiding risk.
They aren’t.