Why Have You Been Out of Work for So Long?
By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
When the job market is terrible, the answer is pretty easy–I have interviewed at several places but, as you know, the market is extremely competitive and I have finished #2 on several searches.
When the job market is terrific and you represent yourself to having extremely marketable skills and, say, six months later, you’re still looking for work, employers look at you differently. They start to ask, “What’s wrong with this guy/person/woman that they are still looking for work?”
They really do start to think that there is something wrong, even if the question isn’t asked of you.
As such, it is important to tell them at some point in the interview that since leaving your last job, :
- You took time off for a long vacation you haven’t had in eons
- You traveled to visit family abroad that you haven’t seen in years
- You took time off to clear your mind after years of work to clear your mind
- You’ve been taking formal courses in your discipline that you never had time to take before and are now ready to return to work.
You’ve been looking for only a few weeks now (not, say, the full six months you’ve been out of work).
Unless you say something about this, they will always wonder and when they wonder, they start to look at other alternatives. And when that happens, they never return to you.
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ABOUT JEFF ALTMAN, THE BIG GAME HUNTER
People hire Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter to provide No BS job search coaching and career advice globally because he makes job search
and succeeding in your career easier.
38 Deadly Interview Mistakes to Avoid
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He is the host of “No BS Job Search Advice Radio,” the #1 podcast in iTunes for job search with over 3000 episodes over 13+ years.
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