Getting Back In The Game
Ed Pollock, June 30th, 2010 
Getting Back in the Game. Keep your chin up!
A while back, as the economy was slowing down, I and a few other HR people were discussing if there was an interest in hiring a software person who had been laid off over a year before. The person had a good educational background, one 4-year job, and a couple of short term jobs during better times and was now at the Director’s level.
Some of the remarks were, “…what has he been doing for over a year?”, “if no one else wanted him all this time, why would we?”, “…looks like a job jumper to me, stayed long enough to keep the sign-on bonus”, etc. It ended up with nobody interested in setting up an interview. I am sure if they met the person they would have been very impressed, unfortunately he had just made some bad career moves.
What can a person do who has been out of the job market for a year or more? First of all, you should be using a functional resume that highlights your accomplishments, not the dates of employment. Keep in mind the resume is a marketing piece, not a life story. Also a good idea during this period would be to enroll in a school that offers you the chance to increase your skill level, offer to do some volunteer work for a non-profit, and/or start a consulting firm and try to get some short term work.
Most important is to be working at something. Stay in the habit of getting up at the same time you did when you had a job. Looking for the right career position is a full time job. Keep a calendar, set up your daily schedule in advance for each week and don’t forget to exercise every day. The more active you are, the less depressed you get, and keep in mind that companies don’t hire depressed people.
Job Hunting can be a fun experience; make sure you play the game the right way.
Good hunting!
Categories: Interviewing Tips, Job Hunting
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