In addition to planning my sister’s wedding, my mother has made my job search a priority as well. She is a very busy woman. It was the morning of May 13, 2011, and the time was somewhere after 9:00AM. My mother called me earlier that morning around 8:00 AM and I think we spoke for about 30 minutes, so you can imagine my surprise when I saw her phone number show up on call display approximately 1 hour later. “Hi mom,” I said. “I was just about to leave for the gym.” “OK,” she responded but continued with “Did you watch the last 10 minutes of Good Morning America?” “No, not really mom because you called me mid-broadcast and I couldn’t concentrate on Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos, and you at the same time and then I started getting ready,” I answered. “Well, they had a segment about resumes and interviews and you can see what they said if you visit abcnews.com,” my mother said in her best TV host voice a la “and if you missed any of this segment, please visit abcnews.com and type in 6 Tips for the Unemployed to get all six tips. (The exact address url is: htpp://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/tips-unemployed-13601205. A url with the word unemployed in the address. It’s good to know that ABC is using its SEO to track its traffic sources but I don’t need the word unemployed staring at me as I read an article on the subject. I am living it.)
On the advice of my mother, I entered the above url, and instead of seeing a page of text listing the 6 Tips for the Unemployed, I was greeted with a video. What more could I ask for? Watching Cynthia Shapiro, Career Strategist, reveal her 6 Tips for the Unemployed (in what appears to be one segment in a series called “What Does Somebody Have to do to Get a Job Around Here?), would be like going to a career coach but without receiving a bill for services rendered. I dashed over to my desk drawer to grab a Little Fury linkable notebook and made it back to the computer just in time for the video to start. Let’s stop here for a minute. Please read this post in full before you grab your iphone, Blackberry, notebook or scrap of paper and then I will let you be the judge of whether these tips will help you in your job search.
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| http://www.coolhunting.com/tech/start-here-note.php Little Fury linkable notebook |
From this point on this post shall be referred to as “Really with the Pink Lady.”
(Inspired by the Saturday Night Live segment “Really with Seth Myers.”)
(Inspired by the Saturday Night Live segment “Really with Seth Myers.”)
2 minutes 50 seconds and counting
How can I plug gaps in my resume?
You should never show gaps in your resume. It is important to make it appear as if you are always moving your career forward. Suggestions:
1. Consulting
It can be unpaid. Try giving advice to friends and family around the dinner table.
Really, Cynthia? I can confidently say that my friends and family do not want to sit around the dining room table on a Friday night listening to “my expert” opinion on that evening’s subject of conversation nor will they consider it consulting. As my father says,”Can you take it the bank? No. Then forget about it.”
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A memorable dinner table scene from the film Wedding Crashers. |
2. Volunteer Work
Volunteer with an organization or association that is within your industry. Don’t disclose that it wasn’t paid or voluntarily unpaid.
Volunteer with an organization or association that is within your industry. Don’t disclose that it wasn’t paid or voluntarily unpaid.
Really Cynthia? Are you asking me to lie? Why can’t I tell said person that it was unpaid? Isn’t volunteer work unpaid to begin with?
If you can’t find a way to fill the gap…
3. Make it Deliberate
Never make it appear as if you were passed over or unemployable. Not working was a conscious decision. Say things like “I don’t like taking time off while I am working at a company,” or “I took some time off to do some chores around the house,” or “I went on vacation.” You can also say that you were taking some certifications. You want your resume to make it look like your decision to reenter the job market is a recent one.
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The bathing suit I may have purchased if I decided to go on vacation. |
Really Cynthia? We are coming out of a recession. Unemployment figures are still high. The competition to find a new job is fierce. Do you think that saying “I decided to take 6 months off and vacation in Europe,” is an acceptable answer for me to use when my prospective employer asks me to explain the 4-month gap in my resume? I don’t think so. What’s wrong with saying that you wanted to take the time to find the right job? That is if your financial situation allows you to do that. If not, you may have to take the first job that comes around but that still does not justify using any of the latter suggestions on how to fill the gaps in your resume.
4. Stay Away from Going Negative
Don’t complain about the economy or your past employer. It makes you appear unsuccessful and unlucky.
Really Cynthia? If we don’t know that by now, we being, the job searchers, then we are not ready to go on any interviews at this point.
5. Practice in Front of a Mirror or with your Friends and Family or Call a Professional to Conduct a Mock Interview with You.
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Maybe I will practice my interview in this Who’s the Fairest Mirror, from Anthropologie. http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/index.jsp |
Really Cynthia? There are not very many units in my apartment building and after living there for three years most of my neighbors know that at this point in time there is only one person living in my apartment, me. In addition to all of that, both of my mirrors are located close to the door. If I spend my days practicing my interview skills in front of the mirror I won’t have to worry about going on any interviews because my neighbors will call 911, and the only place I will be going to, is the loony bin.
I do agree with your comment about practicing your interview with friends. I recently did that with a friend who works in the industry that I was interviewing for a position in. She answered all of my questions and gave me some constructive feedback about my mock responses. As for the calling the professional point, I am unemployed. I can’t afford to hire a professional.
6. Tell Them What They Want to Hear. It’s Part of the Game that we play and it makes you the safest bet for hire. Even if you don’t do it perfectly, it’s going to be better than if you didn’t say anything at all.
Really Cynthia?
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