| CAREERS NOW 08-16-09 |
| Gear Up Job Search with Free E-Booklet |
DEAR JOYCE: Laid off last week, I'm beginning to sort out my options. (I wasn't
fired and was liked by my bosses and colleagues.) Where do I start finding another decent job? And how do I explain
the 3.5year gap in my working years when I spent time traveling, studying independently and helping my parents
with home renovations? I also spent 1.5 years caring for my grandmother who was terminally ill. I wasn't in jail
and I don't have any skeletons in my closet. I was just busy living life and never found the right place.
Firms are rejecting me because of the gaps. I can talk about my gaps comfortably and positively, but I'm not sure
what to do about it on my resume. Can you offer me some input about this situation? - N.O.
Thanks for the cue to mention a topic stunningly overlooked by far too many job seekers, to their disadvantage
- job search preparation.
PREPARATION IS ESSENTIAL. Jon Davidson, a successful recruiter and placement consultant, knows with certainty
that searching for new employment is a full-time job in itself and, as with any role in life, the better prepared
you are, the more successful you'll be.
"Athletes prepare by not only conditioning their bodies but also watching hours each week of game film on
the competition, eating properly, getting enough rest and learning the playbook," Davidson says.
Adding that firefighters also shape up before going to blazes, Davidson says: "Firefighters have extensive
preparation to maintain equipment, train for life-threatening situations and sustain fitness to function with 60
pounds of gear on their back. The preparation you do prior to a job search isn't much different"
KEY FREE ADVICE. Davidson is the co-founder of The Resume Bay, a company in Columbus, Ohio, that creates
forward-looking resumes and creative job search strategies for the Information Age. He and co-founder Jay Hofmeister
explain the details of how to prepare for a winning search in their new 30-page booklet, "Sharpening the Axe."
You can download a copy of this very helpful e-booklet free by visiting The Resume Bay's Web site: theresumebay.com;
click on booklet title held by the woman on opening page.
The booklet's title is drawn from an Abraham Lincoln quote: "If I had eight hours to chop down a tree, I would
spend six hours sharpening my axe."
RESUME GAP SOLUTIONS. As you gear up for a new job search, include research on you'll handle your gap problem.
Your work history will look less vulnerable when presented in a functional style, also called a skills style. The
main idea is that you communicate up front what you can do in the future for an employer (rather than the traditional
reverse chronological listing of what you've done in the past).
Advice on repairing resume holes has become a cottage industry, but however you handle it, remember two powerful
principles:
1. Present the time gap as a positive event.
2. Detail why it made you a better worker - not a better person, but a better worker with more favorable
characteristics, polished skills and mature understanding, all of which you're enthusiastic to contribute to your
new employer's profit lines.
One approach: You can do the heavy lifting in a cover letter that accompanies your resume. You might say something
like this:
"After completing college, fueled by my ability as a hard-working, analytical learner, I completed independent
studies in -. I also traveled extensively to develop my understanding of the real world and how it works. Additionally,
as my family had deferred home maintenance costs to pay for my education, I cheerfully learned the basic purchasing
and repair skills I needed to effectively pitch in on our successful home renovation project."
As you cruise the Web for resume examples that illustrate gap repair techniques, keep an eye out for the work of
the late Yana Parker, who created some of the best.
Email Joyce
Sorry, the volume of mail makes personal replies impossible.