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Topic: "What have you been doing since your last job?"
| Author | Message |
| jobhunter08 | Posted – 6/23/2008 4:21:25 PM | show profile In terms of this question from employers, I have 2 hypothetical answers, and I'm having a hard time seeing either one as good. Hypothetical 1: I've been aggressively seeking employment for the past x months. Hypothetical 2: I've been working part time waiting tables as I seek employment. Do employers think something is wrong if you've been out of work for a significant amount of time? Or if you go from a decent job to something like waiting tables? What if you're waiting tables and had no plans to list it on a resume whatsoever? Is this even a fair question to a candidate? |
| mellowd | Posted – 6/23/2008 5:14:50 PM | show profile Have you done any temp/freelance work relative to the position or even volunteer work in the time that you have been unemployed? You could use those as examples. I don't think they are quite as interested in what you've been doing but more of why you are no longer with your last employer. |
| laprgrl | Posted – 6/24/2008 12:48:26 AM | show profile Right there with you.. been waiting tables to save $$ to move to NY to get my pr career back on track. was wondering the same thing. |
| jseconds77 | Posted – 7/5/2008 8:42:19 PM | show profile "Helped make wedding cakes for people happier than me." |
| candylilacs | Posted – 7/6/2008 2:15:16 PM | show profile "I have been looking for a job, freelancing and taking other/short-term/temporary jobs to pay the bills." I think they ask it because they see a break in your resume and that's just a natural question to see if you're going to say something idiotic like, "Oh, just chillin'." "Fair question" is irrelevant. They ask all sorts of questions like that. Just try not act nonchalant and not defensive, that's all. Nothing embarrassing to say you had to wait tables. People are being laid off all over the place. Anyway, good luck. ------ Dealing with being laid off, so you don't have to! www.laidoffjournal.com |
| Grateful Deadline | Posted – 7/6/2008 3:19:08 PM | show profile This question has to do with initiative. A long break of nothing looks like an extended vacation -- and, for all they know, this could be a pattern for you. So tell them what you've been up to as you've been looking for a new job. Definitely include anything related to the profession -- freelancing, workshops or whatever -- so they know you've attempted to keep current. |
| foodlit | Posted – 7/6/2008 9:18:36 PM | show profile Yes, employers do think something is wrong if you've been out of work for a significan amount of time. It raises a red flag. Don't say you've been agressively seeking employment, as then the first thing I'd wonder is 'why haven't you been hired?' (and yes, I know the market is tough, but still, that is what an employer would wonder, it just is) A lot of how you answer this question goes to confidence and attitude. If you can say that you've been freelancing, or temping while looking for the right thing, you can come across as selective rather than desperate. If you have been waiting tables, you can mention that as well, but I wouldn't emphasize it...if you can work in that you've been 'doing some freelance work' that just sounds better as its more inline with what you're going for....if you're not doing any freelance work, can you attempt to, send out query letters for instance so you can say 'I'm focusing on doing some some freelance and working part-time in a restaurant while seeking an ideal position' It's all how you spin it, taking the glass half full approach.....perception vs. reality...you want to be viewed positively rather than have a red flag go up. Hope this helps, Pam |
| Marie | Posted – 7/6/2008 11:11:19 PM | show profile And as someone else said, do emphasize any seminars, conferences, short-term courses and, especiallly important, any additional training you've sought. And really, you should be doing some of this. I know, I know, when you're out of work it's hard to think of spending money on these things, but not every course or conference is horribly expensive, and if you're on unemployment, you can often get low-cost training through the state (this was true in New York a while ago--don't know how much it's been cut back). You can then say you're using your time to get more training, blah, blah. That would impress anyone. It makes you sound resourceful. Good luck. |
| frankhotdogs | Posted – 7/21/2008 3:13:10 PM | show profile | email poster This is a good question to raise, and I've seen some helpful replies. I think honesty is always the best approach. And in the current state of the economy people will be more accepting of it anyway. I've been wondering about something related to this topic. I was laid off from a staff position, took 6 months to pursue other interests and tend to some family matters, and then became a freelancer. I'm now looking to return to a staff position. I am male. I have a sense that some prospective employers who ask me to "fill in the gaps" on the last few years wouldn't ask the same questions of female candidates - they might assume the absence was for childbirth for instance. Do you think that men and women are scrutinized equally for "breaks in service"? And would it ever be especially appropriate / inappropriate to mention that you took time to care for a newborn, tend to other family matters, etc.? Thanks and good luck to all! Frank |
| candylilacs | Posted – 7/22/2008 5:45:15 AM | show profile I don't think it hurts at all to say that you were laid off and became the primary caregiver of your child. I think the emphasis is that now you are not going to be in that role and are looking for a full-time job. I went from freelance to full-time (but I was just laid off!) so it's possible if it's a good fit. Good luck! c. ------ Dealing with being laid off, so you don't have to! www.laidoffjournal.com |
| writesonwater | Posted – 7/22/2008 9:21:49 AM | show profile | email poster Honing my skills writing freelance pieces for national magazines doesn't sound too bad -- it shows someone cool wanted your work, and doesn't sound as committed to the freelance thing as to writing well. I was once ruled out as a candidate for a job editing a two-bit trade publication after mentioning I had had my first book published. It was a group interview, and they all scowled, mentally calculating the many hours my SECOND book and signings and tours would steal from the workplace. |
| foodlit | Posted – 7/22/2008 12:07:07 PM | show profile Yes, they are treated equally and asked the same questions about gaps. With women its never assumed to be a childcare thing unless they state it, and its definitely good to do so if that is the case, same with personl family issues such as an illness or caring for a child, as long as you make it clear that you are committed to returning to work full-time. |
| WordyBird | Posted – 7/29/2008 12:37:01 AM | show profile If you have been freelancing, remember that you're running your own business--you're not just writing or editing, you're also billing, marketing, and doing all the "office work"--and it's perfectly fine for you to say so. I think that plays into what some of the others have said about not sounding desperate. It's so weird, but since I stopped looking for a job, I've had more freelance work and other solicitations (temp work, on-site work, headhunter solicitations, etc.) come in than ever before. If a nifty assignment comes along, like the one I'm in now, I take it. Invariably, the contact there will ask what I'm looking for, and I say I'm fine running my own business, but if an on-site job is really spectacular and it's a good fit all around, I'm always open to the right offer. Which is the truth. |
