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There’s a common
belief that you have to tell everything on your resume. That the job
hunter should leave out nothing.
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Unfortunately, this does a disservice to prospective
employers and, as such, hurts the job seeker. Leaving “good”
questions unanswered provide hiring managers with “safe” questions to
ask. Luckily, these questions can help you avoid more difficult
ones. Let’s look at three common situations:
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Gap in employment ten years ago. I had a client recently who had a relatively
extensive gap in his employment, but that was ten years ago. Since
then, he’s held three other jobs. In fact, there are many clients in similar
situations come to my desk over the years. They may have been
incarcerated, raised families or had health issues. In this client’s
case, I advised him to delete his work history prior to the gap. The
gap, I told him, would be a red flag. I advised the gentleman that in
interviews, employers will naturally ask what he did prior to the work
history listed on his resume. I suggested he only mention he’d been a
painter for a number of years.
Grunt jobs. Many people take odd jobs out of the field of their choice
because they enjoy luxuries like food and electric and a place to
live. Often, they aren’t anxious to mention these positions on their
resumes. I advise clients to leave off those short-term “emergency”
jobs, even though doing so may leave short employment gaps on the
resume. When asked in an interview, it’s easy enough to say you took
a short-term job to keep some funds coming in while looking for the right
employment fit.
Ill-fated business. Small business is the backbone of commerce,
and owning one is a part of many people’s idea of The American Dream.
Unfortunately, more than half the businesses started crash and burn within
two years (according to many sources). Running a business – even an
ill-fated one – can bolster any resume. It’s important, however, to
not list the reason for the business ending. Hiring managers
will want to know why it’s not in business anymore. The safe answer
to this surprisingly safe question could cite a slight error in initial
projections, but that you learned from the experience.
IN THE CARAVAN: Provide plenty of information on your
resume, but leave prospective employers with some “safe” questions to ask.
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bSafari.c
The Lion’s Pride: Resumes
