Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I was laid off last month. Right now I plan to take a few more months to work on a personal project (publishing a book) before returning to the work force.
I am worried though about having a resume gap if I decide to take off, say, six months. Would it better to take a part-time position like retail before searching for a job in my field (QA), which would leave me time to work on personal things? Or would having a 'low wage' job be worse in terms of my resume? Is resume gap really that big of hindrance as the media makes it sound?
Find a part time job. If you decide you don't want to put it on your resume don't. Better to have it and not need it.
I imagine employers making paper airplanes out of resumes for fun they get so many. They'll look for any excuse not to hire you, because with so many people out of work, or looking for work they can survive on, they have their pick. I'm sure there are companies who'll look at your gap and think oh well you're lazy. You can use your retail job and say you were working. Otherwise you'd have to lie and that might come back to bite you.
Yea but why even risk it? I wouldn't tell people to start lying on job applications. Any company worth a damn will do a decent background check and actually check the info you put down on your application and be able to tell you lied.
My guess is he's looking to work for a company worth a damn. 3 days of worth a week won't kill him.
Is resume gap really that big of hindrance as the media makes it sound?
If an employer wants you bad enough the gap won't matter.
When I was hired for my current skilled labor job in May 2011 I had been unemployed for 14 of the previous 18 months and my resume fully discloses that fact.
The topic never came up during my interview... In fact they said "We've been looking for someone for months!"
P.S.
By "skilled labor" I mean I make parts for the Boeing 737, 747, 767, 777 & 787.
Could working on a project like publishing a book be included on the resume? I don't plan to self-publish, but there's still things that go into like setting up social media/a website and networking. Could I include this as evidence I wasn't just sitting around all day?
Just say you gave self employment a shot and it didn't work out.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
