This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Laura writes: Since moving to Daytona Beach 5 years ago, I have worked for 10 employers and also tried self-employment. (Four of the jobs were temporary.) Only one of those employers was a good match for me, but unfortunately, they went out of business nine months after I started working for them. I am a highly qualified accountant/bookkeeper, but it seems this town is unwilling to pay a decent salary to someone with my skills and more than 25 years of experience. My age (over 50) may also have something to do with my inability to get a good job offer. I have been on several interviews, but I seem to come in second or third choice.
I think now is the time to reinforce the whole concept of a job search as a marketing campaign. Your cover letter and resume are the key marketing promotion documents and the job interview is the critical sales call. If you then look at yourself as a product, it puts job-hunting in a much different light.
You have a number of issues/problems/concerns that need to be addressed. First, I let me preface the rest of this answer with the depressing news that the Central Florida job market is one of the weakest and low-paying that I have ever researched. So, as you’ve discovered, job-seekers need to keep their expectations tempered.
Your resume. There are a number of issues you need to deal with here. First, you need to remove older job experience and take older dates off your experience and education so that employers can’t easily guess your age. Next, you need to do something with all the jobs; 10 jobs in five years is a huge red flag. I would consider lumping all your temporary work into one grouping in a traditional resume — or consider experimenting with some sort of chrono-functional resume, in which skills are emphasized and employment history is secondary. Next, are you current with your training/technology skills — and if so, does it come across on your resume? So much of accounting and bookkeeping practices have changed, even in the last 10 years, that employers may assume older job-seekers still do it the “old” way and may be resistant to change. Your task is to not let them assume that!
In the interview. Your resume can only do so much for you — which is basically get you to the interview. Now you need to sell yourself to the employer. Don’t go into interviews, as some older workers do, with anything but a positive attitude — focused on how you can make an immediate contribution to the company (rather than relying on all your years of solid experience). Attitude, especially with older workers, is critical.
I strongly recommend that you read some of the articles and other resources in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job Resources for Mature and Older Jobseekers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Julie writes: I have been unemployed for a little over a year, but I have been doing all the paper work for my husband’s business he has on the side. I also live on a farm. So I really haven’t been employed. How would I add this in my resume? If I leave it off they will think I haven’t been working.
So many job-seekers are in a similar situations as yours. Perhaps they worked for a family business, perhaps it was volunteer work, or perhaps it was taking a year off to go back to school…But what you and all these other job-seekers don’t understand is that all these things add up to your specific mix of skills and abilities. Employers are more interested in job-seekers that have been doing something during a hiatus from full-time, paid employment than job-seekers who appear to have been doing nothing,
What’s the answer? Don’t discount any of the year that you’ve been working on the farm and helping your husband’s business. Instead, embrace that experience. Find experience, skills, and accomplishments that you can pull from the past year’s work. If you find the experience doesn’t quite fit into a neat career path, then consider experimenting by supplementing your conventional chronological resume with a chrono-functional style. What’s the difference? Chronological resumes focus on your job history while chrono-functional resumes focus on specific (transferable) skills sets you’ve mastered. Read more in these articles published on Quintessential Careers: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? and Strategic Portrayal of Transferable Skills is a Vital Job-search Technique.
You can also find many more resume-related articles and tutorials in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
D. A. writes: There is no way for me to hide the fact that I’ve had 7 jobs in last 7 years. Although I have great credentials, no one will hire me — I actually have a job paying 1/3 less than what I’m used to making. Do I stick it out for a year? Do I try to finish my CPA license in this state (varies from state to state). Do I go back to school at night for IT? Thanks.
The Career Doctor responds: You actually have a couple of problems. First, you need to figure out why you’ve had seven jobs in the last seven years — not only for your own well-being, but because employers are going to be asking you that question — and then you need to determine how to stop the job-hopping. Second, you need to determine why you are working at a job that pays a third less than what you’ve been making — and whether you should continue to do so. Third, you need to determine your career interests — do you want to be a CPA or work in IT…or do something entirely different? I suggest you sit down and determine what you want to do for the next five years or so.
Once you’ve determined the root of your restlessness and have zeroed in on a career goal, then you can start with your career and job-search strategies. If you don’t already use one, I strongly suggest considering a resume in a chrono-functional format. Read more in this article: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? Keep in mind, though that many employers dislike any kind of functional format, so you’ll want to also have a chronological version in case the chrono-functional isn’t working for you (many employers don’t like them). You’ll also need to have an answer for your job-hopping — one employers will believe. You can find help in the interviewing resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Be sure to take the time to really address — for your sake — the reasons for your restlessness. You will be much happier (and healthier) when you are in a career field and job that challenges you and one which you enjoy doing.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
J.R. writes:
I have a 2-year employment gap on my resume. I took some personal time off for mental recuperation, but I know I can’t say this in an interview. How can I fill this gap or make it look somewhat better?
On your resume: I would suggest that you consider converting your chronological resume to a chrono-functional format. Chrono-functional resumes focus on your accomplishments in key skills areas; your employment history is summarized at the end of your resume — and gaps become less apparent. You can read more about functional resumes in Should You Consider a Functional Resume?
In the interview: It’s best to position this employment gap as time well-spent on improving or challenging yourself. If you took some educational courses (or even just read a lot), you should focus on the attainment of new skills and knowledge; if you volunteered your services, you should focus on your accomplishments; and if you did some consulting, you should focus on the gap as a time to spread your wings and try to make it on your own.
As you can tell from these examples, you need to position the gap as having some redeeming value — besides improving your mental health.
Finally, remember that while you are self-conscious about the gap, some interviewers may never even notice it … so don’t volunteer potentially negative information; wait for the employer to raise the issue before offering an explanation.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Anonymous writes:
I am a 27-year-old female student, currently unenrolled, and looking for work. The problem is that I haven’t held a job in quite a long time, since I was 17, and I really don’t know what to say when I’m asked what I’ve been doing, because I had some trouble and had a brief hospital stay. What do you say and how to respond without letting on my disability?
I think you really have two very tough issues to deal with, but I think the tougher one is your lack of experience, not your disability.
When you were a student during these last 10 years, what were you doing? You need to review all these years of school and see if you can develop a list of experiences — they do not need to be work experiences — where you have used, developed, honed skills. For example, have you done any class projects or major research studies or reports?
You will probably need to develop a chrono-functional resume. Please read Should You Consider a Functional Resume? to get more tips and advice.
As for your disability, I would suggest reading a great new article on our site, Job-Seeking Strategy for Differently-abled Candidates. You also need to know your rights. Wikipedia provides a good overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Rajan writes:
I have a resume that has large employment gaps. This may be OK for females, but for males, it is a no-no. I have tried different types of resume styles. Nothing.
I don’t get interviews. Is there any way to increase the number of interviews?
How should I explain my resume? At one time I stopped looking for work for about 1.5 years, the biggest gap to explain.
Then I did telemarketing and took a course in it. Telemarketing is not for me. I have stopped again for about 10 months. I don’t want to sit around. Right now I am looking for work as a network administrator. I have a background in hardware and software development, but I can’t move. In this area there is not much call for tech work.
The first rule of job-hunting is never expose a weakness to the employer — and never do it before you’ve had a chance to have an interview and build a case for yourself. Yes, employers do worry about employment gaps — for both genders — but you can do some things to make the gaps less obvious and to project yourself in a better light.
First, I would recommend you experiment with a chrono-functional resume that focuses on your technical achievements and skills. If you already have one, then I suggest you ask a professional colleague, mentor, or resume professional to evaluate and critique it for you. My guess is that you are so focused on these gaps that this weakness comes through on your resume.
Second, plan a strategy for explaining these gaps. Were you doing volunteer work? Were you taking classes? Were you working part-time or as a consultant? You will need to fill these gaps with something so that it doesn’t seem as though you were just sitting home all that time (even if you were).
Third, are your technical skills current? If not, you might want to take a course or two to make you more marketable.
Fourth, once you have a professional resume and feel more confident about yourself, you need to go back into the job market. And don’t worry so much about location, as there are definitely high-tech jobs where people work from home at least some of the time. Use all the tools available to you to find a job — your network, the Internet, etc.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jim writes:
I was wondering if you could advise me on how best to prepare a resume when you have gaps in employment so as not to magnify the gaps and disadvantage yourself.
Let me start by saying you are wise to think about this issue. A resume is basically a marketing tool whose purpose is to help get you an interview. Thus, given this focus as a marketing tool, your goal in writing a resume is to make it a positive and informative selling tool.
There are two basic formats for resumes: chronological and functional.
The typical resume is a chronological one, which shows your employment history starting with the most current and working backward. This type of resume works best when you have a specific career path and each of your jobs shows progression along that career path.
The functional resume is often used when you have employment gaps or when you are trying to make a change from one field to another and you want to emphasize your transferable skills, not your old career path.
Consider trying a functional resume, or better yet, a chrono-functional resume organized around skills clusters but including a bare-bones job history. Sit down and analyze the key skills you have developed and honed from your previous employment and use these skills sets for the bulk of your resume. Toward the end of your resume show an employment history, but you can do it in such a way as to de-emphasize the gaps. Note that even chrono-functional resumes carry some risk as many employers and recruiters don’t like them and suspect the job-seeker is hiding something. It’s best to experiment with a chrono-functional version, but be prepared to return to the chronological format if the chrono-functional doesn’t seem to be working for you.
And please be prepared to answer the question at the interview. Employers will want to know why there were gaps.
Finally, to get more information, links, and books about resumes, please visit Quintessential Careers: Resume Resources.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Tasha writes:
I have a question. I was fired last summer, but I don’t use my last employer on my resume so there’s a huge gap of employment and I don’t know what to put on applications for “reason for leaving” when really I was fired for a misunderstanding without opening a can of worms with an interviewer.
Example of gap: 11-2006 thru 12-07 is my last employment history on my resume. I worked 12-07 thru 06-08, but I was fired and don’t use this employer on my resume.
Can you give me a suggestion — please?
Yours is an interesting situation. Before I even get to the issue of the job you were fired from, let’s start with what you’ve been doing in the year-plus since you were fired. Have you worked at all during this time? Have you volunteered your services? Have you received additional education or training? You must find something to fill this gap — other than job-hunting or sitting home feeling sorry for yourself over being fired for some sort of misunderstanding. If you have not done anything — start doing something NOW.
While a resume is a statement of facts, it is also a sales document — it needs to convince the prospective employer that you are worthy of an interview. And in my opinion, a short stint is much better than having a much longer gap on your resume. Regardless of the month, hiring managers will see 2007 and think that you have been out of work for two years and there must be something wrong with you. It’s just too long of a gap. You could consider using a chrono-functional or hybrid resume centered around skills clusters, but many employers favor the traditional chronological resume because it’s easier to find the information they need.
As for job applications, simply put “left company” as the reason. You certainly do not need to go into any detail on the application. Again, the application is designed to weed out applicants, so it too is a sales document for you. Once in the interview, you may need to address the issue — so be prepared with a short statement about how you were fired over a misunderstanding, being very certain to address the lesson you learned from the experience so that you show a positive attitude and growth. Do not blame your previous employer or manager; accept your responsibility in the issue, but do not dwell on it.
And don’t worry too much what this past employer will say about you. The one benefit of living in such a litigious society is that most employers are very unwilling to say anything too negative about current or former employers for fear of being sued.
Finally, it sounds as though you are having a hard time rebounding from being fired. If so, consider getting some sort of career counseling to deal with these feelings. You might also benefit from my article, Getting Fired: An Opportunity for Change and Growth, published on Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Nancy writes:
Do you have any suggestions on how to explain/validate long periods of professional work gaps in a resume? I am a stay-at-home mother and need some convincing and creative ways to describe this recent position on my resume. I would appreciate any input.
I know I risk the wrath of some of the women reading this blog, but I don’t really like to see resumes that under experience list something cute, such as “Household Manager” or “Domestic Coordination Specialist,” as job title for women who stay at home to manage their households and parent their children. Of course, with a traditional chronological resume, if you don’t list something for when you stayed at home, you will have huge gaps between jobs.
So, you really have three options. First, you can take the approach listed above and make your time at home a category under experience. And while I realize there are many responsibilities involved — I was fortunate enough to be a stay-at-home dad for a few months a long, long time ago — I still don’t think, from an employer’s prospective, that it qualifies to go in this section.
Second, you can consider experimenting with reorganizing your resume into a chrono-functional or hybrid resume that is organized around skills clusters (such as communications, leadership, organizational, etc.) rather than specific jobs and experience. Unfortunately, this style of resume is a bit on the outs right now because employers fear you are hiding something by taking this approach.
Third, you can look beyond your household and compile all the volunteering, freelancing, or other part-time or educational experiences you may have had and use those to show that you were still using and perfecting your skills.
Remember that the goal of your resume is to get your foot in the door — to get you that job interview — and once in the interview, you can decide how to position yourself — your experiences, skills, and accomplishments — in order to sell the employer on your candidacy.
Learn more about mastering resumes by using one of more of the excellent resources found in the Resume and CV Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Janet writes:
When should you use a chronological resume? When should you use a functional resume?
You’re not going to like this answer: It depends. The resume format most in favor these days is the standard chronological resume, which is organized around a straightforward employment history. Job-seekers with a solid employment history who are looking for advancement within their career field typically use a chronological resume. Employers and headhunters prefer the chronological resume because it’s easy to assess issues such as employment history, qualifications, and career advancement by a simple glance at the resume. Functional resumes (and I advise not a purely functional resume but a chrono-functional resume) downplay employment history in favor of functional skills clusters, and are most used by new college grads, career changers, and job-seekers with employment gaps.
The answer I am giving to all my clients and students is this: In today’s job market, it is critical to have resumes for all job-search situations. Thus, I recommend developing both a chrono-functional and chronological resume for job-seekers in situations where a functional is typically the preferred. I also recommend having a least one electronic version of a resume as more and more of job searching moves to computer-based resume databases. The traditional print resume is not dead, but it is losing ground daily to its electronic counterparts.
Remember that a resume is a statement of facts designed to sell your unique mix of education, experience, accomplishments, and skills to a prospective employer. On the other hand, remember that a resume is a marketing document, so do not be modest; be clear about successes and accomplishments — and quantify whenever possible.
So, what are the most important things to remember about resumes?
- The function of a resume is to get you a job interview, not the job.
- A resume is a statement of facts, so do not fudge dates, titles, accomplishments.
- Focus is critical; each resume should be tailored to a specific job, a specific employer.
- With employment history, focus on (quantifiable) accomplishments rather than duties and responsibilities.
- Appearances matter, so make sure your printed resume uses conventional (for your profession) fonts, colors, margin widths, etc.
- Avoid mistakes. Typos and misspellings will end the chances of even the most qualified job-seekers.
- Provide detailed contact information. Include your home phone, cell phone, and email.
Read more in my article, published on Quintessential Careers: What Resume Format is Best For You?
You should also consider reading this article about e-resumes written by my partner, Katharine Hansen: The Top 10 Things You Need to Know about E-Resumes and Posting Your Resume Online.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Laura writes: Since moving to Daytona Beach 5 years ago, I have worked for 10 employers and also tried self-employment. (Four of the jobs were temporary.) Only one of those employers was a good match for me, but unfortunately, they went out of business nine months after I started working for them. I am a highly qualified accountant/bookkeeper, but it seems this town is unwilling to pay a decent salary to someone with my skills and more than 25 years of experience. My age (over 50) may also have something to do with my inability to get a good job offer. I have been on several interviews, but I seem to come in second or third choice.
I think now is the time to reinforce the whole concept of a job search as a marketing campaign. Your cover letter and resume are the key marketing promotion documents and the job interview is the critical sales call. If you then look at yourself as a product, it puts job-hunting in a much different light.
You have a number of issues/problems/concerns that need to be addressed. First, I let me preface the rest of this answer with the depressing news that the Central Florida job market is one of the weakest and low-paying that I have ever researched. So, as you’ve discovered, job-seekers need to keep their expectations tempered.
Your resume. There are a number of issues you need to deal with here. First, you need to remove older job experience and take older dates off your experience and education so that employers can’t easily guess your age. Next, you need to do something with all the jobs; 10 jobs in five years is a huge red flag. I would consider lumping all your temporary work into one grouping in a traditional resume — or consider experimenting with some sort of chrono-functional resume, in which skills are emphasized and employment history is secondary. Next, are you current with your training/technology skills — and if so, does it come across on your resume? So much of accounting and bookkeeping practices have changed, even in the last 10 years, that employers may assume older job-seekers still do it the “old” way and may be resistant to change. Your task is to not let them assume that!
In the interview. Your resume can only do so much for you — which is basically get you to the interview. Now you need to sell yourself to the employer. Don’t go into interviews, as some older workers do, with anything but a positive attitude — focused on how you can make an immediate contribution to the company (rather than relying on all your years of solid experience). Attitude, especially with older workers, is critical.
I strongly recommend that you read some of the articles and other resources in this section of Quintessential Careers: Job Resources for Mature and Older Jobseekers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Julie writes: I have been unemployed for a little over a year, but I have been doing all the paper work for my husband’s business he has on the side. I also live on a farm. So I really haven’t been employed. How would I add this in my resume? If I leave it off they will think I haven’t been working.
So many job-seekers are in a similar situations as yours. Perhaps they worked for a family business, perhaps it was volunteer work, or perhaps it was taking a year off to go back to school…But what you and all these other job-seekers don’t understand is that all these things add up to your specific mix of skills and abilities. Employers are more interested in job-seekers that have been doing something during a hiatus from full-time, paid employment than job-seekers who appear to have been doing nothing,
What’s the answer? Don’t discount any of the year that you’ve been working on the farm and helping your husband’s business. Instead, embrace that experience. Find experience, skills, and accomplishments that you can pull from the past year’s work. If you find the experience doesn’t quite fit into a neat career path, then consider experimenting by supplementing your conventional chronological resume with a chrono-functional style. What’s the difference? Chronological resumes focus on your job history while chrono-functional resumes focus on specific (transferable) skills sets you’ve mastered. Read more in these articles published on Quintessential Careers: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? and Strategic Portrayal of Transferable Skills is a Vital Job-search Technique.
You can also find many more resume-related articles and tutorials in the Resume Resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
D. A. writes: There is no way for me to hide the fact that I’ve had 7 jobs in last 7 years. Although I have great credentials, no one will hire me — I actually have a job paying 1/3 less than what I’m used to making. Do I stick it out for a year? Do I try to finish my CPA license in this state (varies from state to state). Do I go back to school at night for IT? Thanks.
The Career Doctor responds: You actually have a couple of problems. First, you need to figure out why you’ve had seven jobs in the last seven years — not only for your own well-being, but because employers are going to be asking you that question — and then you need to determine how to stop the job-hopping. Second, you need to determine why you are working at a job that pays a third less than what you’ve been making — and whether you should continue to do so. Third, you need to determine your career interests — do you want to be a CPA or work in IT…or do something entirely different? I suggest you sit down and determine what you want to do for the next five years or so.
Once you’ve determined the root of your restlessness and have zeroed in on a career goal, then you can start with your career and job-search strategies. If you don’t already use one, I strongly suggest considering a resume in a chrono-functional format. Read more in this article: Should You Consider a Functional Resume? Keep in mind, though that many employers dislike any kind of functional format, so you’ll want to also have s chronological version in case the chrono-functional isn’t working for you. You’ll also need to have an answer for your job-hopping — one employers will believe. You can find help in the interviewing resources section of Quintessential Careers.
Be sure to take the time to really address — for your sake — the reasons for your restlessness. You will be much happier (and healthier) when you are in a career field and job that challenges you and one which you enjoy doing.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Orly writes: I was wondering if you could give me the names of some books that you recommend for putting together a functional resume. I am changing careers and believe that my chronological resume is not having good results.
I also suggest you read my partner’s article, Should You Consider a Functional Resume?, which discusses the merits and problems with functional resumes.
The problems are worth noting — many employers dislike functional resumes, especially a purely functional format. Experiment with a chrono-functional format, but keep your chronological version handy in case the chrono-functional is even less successful. In light of your career change, you may want to hire a professional resume writer.
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This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
J.R. writes:
I have a 2-year employment gap on my resume. I took some personal time off for mental recuperation, but I know I can’t say this in an interview. How can I fill this gap or make it look somewhat better?
On your resume: I would suggest that you consider converting your chronological resume to a chrono-functional format. Chrono-functional resumes focus on your accomplishments in key skills areas; your employment history is summarized at the end of your resume — and gaps become less apparent. You can read more about functional resumes in Should You Consider a Functional Resume?
In the interview: It’s best to position this employment gap as time well-spent on improving or challenging yourself. If you took some educational courses (or even just read a lot), you should focus on the attainment of new skills and knowledge; if you volunteered your services, you should focus on your accomplishments; and if you did some consulting, you should focus on the gap as a time to spread your wings and try to make it on your own.
As you can tell from these examples, you need to position the gap as having some redeeming value — besides improving your mental health.
Finally, remember that while you are self-conscious about the gap, some interviewers may never even notice it … so don’t volunteer potentially negative information; wait for the employer to raise the issue before offering an explanation.
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This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Anonymous writes:
I am a 27-year-old female student, currently unenrolled, and looking for work. The problem is that I haven’t held a job in quite a long time, since I was 17, and I really don’t know what to say when I’m asked what I’ve been doing, because I had some trouble and had a brief hospital stay. What do you say and how to respond without letting on my disability?
I think you really have two very tough issues to deal with, but I think the tougher one is your lack of experience, not your disability.
When you were a student during these last 10 years, what were you doing? You need to review all these years of school and see if you can develop a list of experiences — they do not need to be work experiences — where you have used, developed, honed skills. For example, have you done any class projects or major research studies or reports?
You will probably need to develop a chrono-functional resume. Please read Should You Consider a Functional Resume? to get more tips and advice.
As for your disability, I would suggest reading a great new article on our site, Job-Seeking Strategy for Differently-abled Candidates. You also need to know your rights. Wikipedia provides a good overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Rajan writes:
I have a resume that has large employment gaps. This may be OK for females, but for males, it is a no-no. I have tried different types of resume styles. Nothing.
I don’t get interviews. Is there any way to increase the number of interviews?
How should I explain my resume? At one time I stopped looking for work for about 1.5 years, the biggest gap to explain.
Then I did telemarketing and took a course in it. Telemarketing is not for me. I have stopped again for about 10 months. I don’t want to sit around. Right now I am looking for work as a network administrator. I have a background in hardware and software development, but I can’t move. In this area there is not much call for tech work.
The first rule of job-hunting is never expose a weakness to the employer — and never do it before you’ve had a chance to have an interview and build a case for yourself. Yes, employers do worry about employment gaps — for both genders — but you can do some things to make the gaps less obvious and to project yourself in a better light.
First, I would recommend you experiment with a chrono-functional resume that focuses on your technical achievements and skills. If you already have one, then I suggest you ask a professional colleague, mentor, or resume professional to evaluate and critique it for you. My guess is that you are so focused on these gaps that this weakness comes through on your resume.
Second, plan a strategy for explaining these gaps. Were you doing volunteer work? Were you taking classes? Were you working part-time or as a consultant? You will need to fill these gaps with something so that it doesn’t seem as though you were just sitting home all that time (even if you were).
Third, are your technical skills current? If not, you might want to take a course or two to make you more marketable.
Fourth, once you have a professional resume and feel more confident about yourself, you need to go back into the job market. And don’t worry so much about location, as there are definitely high-tech jobs where people work from home at least some of the time. Use all the tools available to you to find a job — your network, the Internet, etc.
Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.
This posting is a guest entry from the Career Doctor, Randall S. Hansen, PhD:
Jim writes:
I was wondering if you could advise me on how best to prepare a resume when you have gaps in employment so as not to magnify the gaps and disadvantage yourself.
Let me start by saying you are wise to think about this issue. A resume is basically a marketing tool whose purpose is to help get you an interview. Thus, given this focus as a marketing tool, your goal in writing a resume is to make it a positive and informative selling tool.
There are two basic formats for resumes: chronological and functional.
The typical resume is a chronological one, which shows your employment history starting with the most current and working backward. This type of resume works best when you have a specific career path and each of your jobs shows progression along that career path.
The functional resume is often used when you have employment gaps or when you are trying to make a change from one field to another and you want to emphasize your transferable skills, not your old career path.
Consider trying a functional resume, or better yet, a chrono-functional resume organized around skills clusters but including a bare-bones job history. Sit down and analyze the key skills you have developed and honed from your previous employment and use these skills sets for the bulk of your resume. Toward the end of your resume show an employment history, but you can do it in such a way as to de-emphasize the gaps. Note that even chrono-functional resumes carry some risk as many employers and recruiters don’t like them and suspect the job-seeker is hiding something. It’s best to experiment with a chrono-functional version, but be prepared to return to the chronological format if the chrono-functional doesn’t seem to be working for you.
And please be prepared to answer the question at the interview. Employers will want to know why there were gaps.
Finally, to get more information, links, and books about resumes, please visit Quintessential Careers: Resume Resources.
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Job-hopping is far less a concern than it was just a few years ago. Mature job-seekers will remember a time when long-time company loyalty was expected. Those days are gone. Workers at all levels stay at their jobs for much shorter periods than they used to. That’s not to say that job-hopping is no longer questioned. Very short, frequent job stints can certainly raise eyebrows. A chrono-functional resume will deemphasize job-hopping but comes with its own significant drawbacks. Another choice is to omit jobs of short duration. In these days of background checks, however, your omission can be risky. Most hiring decision-makers we’ve surveyed emphasize that nothing should be left off because jobs you’ve omitted will be discovered eventually in the vetting process, and you’ll be eliminated. It’s best to list everything, but make a strong case for your qualifications in your cover letter and top third of your resume so that you get called for an interview. Then be prepared to explain and put a positive spin on problematic or short-duration jobs face to face. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.
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A chrono-functional resume is one way to deemphasize employment gaps, but these formats are unpopular with employers and especially recruiters. Another approach, if you can legitimately do so, is to frame periods of unemployment as stints of self-employment, consulting, or project work. Some job-seekers quit their jobs to pursue advanced education or training; you can account for a period of unemployment by listing yourself as a Graduate Student during that period.
One recruiter we tallked to called gaps “a huge red flag,” so they should be explained in your resume if you can gracefully do so. Other options include explaining them in your cover letter or being prepared to do so in an interview (however, gaps may preclude you from getting the interview). See our article, How to Handle a Gap in Your Job History.
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Do you need more than one version of your resume? Most likely, yes. You may need more than one organizational format for your resume. See table below for the most common organizational formats.
We include functional and chrono-functional formats because they do have their uses, but we should note that purely functional resumes are the least common, least preferred by employers, detested by recruiters… and most Internet job boards do not accept this resume format.
Chrono-functional/hybrid/combination resumes can suit a variety of job-seeker needs, such as a diverse job history that doesn’t add up to a clear-cut career path and situations where the job-seeker has work experience that is related but not an exact link to the desired position. Job-seekers who have large employment gaps or many short employment stints prefer this format because it downplays employment history. This type of resume has been known to work for mature workers, career changers, and job-seekers with academic deficiencies or limited experience.
While the chrono-functional/hybrid/combination resume is more acceptable to employers than the purely functional format, some employers are unaccustomed to functional formats of any kind, finding them confusing, annoying, and a red flag that something is wrong in your background. At the very least, they will probably scrutinize a chrono-functional resume more closely to check for details and find the flaws that inspired the candidate to use this format. Some employers insist on knowing exactly what you did in each job. Recruiters/headhunters particularly disdain functional formats, so this approach should never be used if you are primarily targeting recruiters with your job search. Employers in conservative fields are not fans of functional formats, nor are international employers. Functional formats, even chrono-functional, also are not acceptable on many online job boards. In summary, the chrono-functional resume has very limited uses but can be a viable marketing tool if well done.
See our articles What Resume Format is Best for You? and Should You Consider a Functional Format for Your Resume?
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