Job Talk: Gaps in resume? What gaps?

Dear J.T. & Dale: How do you handle questions concerning gaps in your resume? I worked before I had my children, then did jobs that allowed me to stay home with them. I've held several retail, food-service and managerial jobs, and even had my own business for a few years. I'm going to college for an accounting degree and look forward to working again, but I've gotten looks from interviewers about gaps in my work history. — Sheryl

DALE: Those aren't gaps, Sheryl, those are just stops along the way in your decades-long preparation to be an accountant. Let's back up and think about all those other recent accounting grads who will be your primary competition for jobs. You have a depth and breadth of experience that can differentiate you from them. So, on your resume, pick an advantageous starting point and put a heading like "Work Experience, 2000 to Present." Then put highlights. You don't have to include every job.

J.T.: The key is to tie your past to your future. There must be a reason why you chose accounting — focus your resume on all the accounting-related functions within your past jobs. That way, they'll see where you got your desire to get into accounting.

DALE: The goal is to make your new accounting job seem like a logical progression — looking back on your work life, you have created a path that led you to the point where you are the perfect entry-level accountant.

J.T.: If you still get any of those funny looks, go on the offensive with something like: "When I started my family, I opted to get creative in my career so that I could work and take care of my kids. As you can see, I've really gravitated toward the accounting elements in my past jobs. The one constant in my work has been my interest in numbers and finance. That's why I'm getting a degree in accounting." That's the "logical progression"; it seems that you are exactly where you should be, and the only logical thing for the interviewer is to acknowledge how perfect you are for the position and let your career progress.

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Hello, J.T. & Dale: We just found out that our company is closing the plant where I and others have worked for more than 20 years. There isn't a final closing date, but it will close in three to six months. In this job market, does it make sense to wait until the plant is closing to look for a new job and thus retain severance (close to a year's pay)? Or should I start looking now and leave without the severance? — Andre

DALE: Most people don't just wait for their severance to start — they wait for it to end. There's even an old line among cynical outplacement counselors: When the newly laid-off employee asks, "How long will it take me to find a job?" the outplacement counselor responds, "However long your severance is, plus two months."

J.T.: In this economy, the average length of unemployment is more than 10 months. So, you probably would blow through your severance even if you started looking right when the plant closes. Your search could be even longer than average, given that all the other employees will be looking for the same type of jobs.

DALE: In fact, if you start looking now, odds are you won't find a job till after the plant closes. You might even get the double bingo: starting a new job shortly after the plant's closing, allowing you to put that severance to other uses.

J.T.: It's going to take time to get your resume together and start the networking process, so the sooner, the better. I'm sure it's hard to cope with the idea of starting a job search after investing 20-plus years of your professional life in the same company/job, so it's natural to want to put it off, and most of your colleagues probably will. Jump in now, and you'll have a head start, and what's the potential downside of that? You find a job so appealing that you jump on it and leave early.

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