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Many of the candidates who have been coming in for interviews have been out of work for a very long time. (8 months or longer). Traditionally our recruiter and hiring managers will try to pin them down and find out why they have been out of work for a long time and what they have been doing while they have been unemployed. Here are some typical responses:
" It's tough out there. I keep trying to find a job but no luck so far."
"I just have not found the right fit for me yet, but I keep trying."
"I have been interviewing up a storm but so far no job offers."
"I have spend every hour of the day looking for work" (during his 12 months of unemployment)
Are these good replies to the question? How would you explain up to a year of unemployment?
Id say I was on a year long safari and lost track of time....seriously recruiters and hr are idiots. It must be nice to work in a department that never gets laid off and spends all of their time critiquing peoples life choices/experiences...
Lie/Fake it. They are going to use it as a reason to screen you out and you will keep banging your head into the same wall (HR people will assume you are undesirable, were in prison/mental hospital, are covering up a job that ended badly, are a lazy welfare bum etc).
Many of the candidates who have been coming in for interviews have been out of work for a very long time. (8 months or longer). Traditionally our recruiter and hiring managers will try to pin them down and find out why they have been out of work for a long time and what they have been doing while they have been unemployed. Here are some typical responses:
" It's tough out there. I keep trying to find a job but no luck so far."
"I just have not found the right fit for me yet, but I keep trying."
"I have been interviewing up a storm but so far no job offers."
"I have spend every hour of the day looking for work" (during his 12 months of unemployment)
Are these good replies to the question? How would you explain up to a year of unemployment?
I'm not sure what you mean by "good replies". If it's the truth, it's the truth. Would I be satisfied with that answer as a hiring manager? I guess some of it would be a good start - e.g. for that second answer re: fit, I would follow-up with more questions regarding what they ARE looking for.
But if you wanted to know what they have been doing while unemployed (assuming you are referring to keeping up with their skills etc.), you would just ask that question - no?
"It's due to the competitive market conditions and the fact that I'm not just looking for A job, I'm looking for THE job and THE company I would like to work for."
Tell them you've been doing SOMETHING. From my experience, I know which responses got awkward silence with a cough to punctuate these silences, or eager smiles and nods.
Do not say:
- Nothing.
- Looking for a job. They know. They want to know what you do BEYOND that and really want to see how much of a go-getter you are. Corny, I know.
- Relaxing/unwinding for any reasons.
- Anything that suggest you've been sick. They don't want to hire someone who has health issues.
- Hobby stuff, as in "fishing." or "reading lots of books".
Things like that just turn interviewers off. Good responses are things like:
- Volunteering, working at shelters
- Temp/contracting
- Searching for the best fit while doing odd jobs on the side.
- Anything that makes it seem as if you live for finding the perfect job for you. Will make 'em feel like you're a real go-getter.
- Interviewing, but you have to be careful how you spin this, because they may say "well, why haven't you found something?"
A lot of people have given great responses, though. Good luck!
If I were the hiring manager I would assume that if the person had been sending out resumes for a year and had gone to countless interviews and kept being rejected, there is something wrong with them. People want to be around winners and those highly respected and accepted by others.
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