How to Find a Job after a Period of Unemployment
Functional Resume and Transferrable Skills May Help Find Employment
Back in the old days, it was often thought that getting laid off from a job meant the worker did something wrong or was simply being too lazy.
Worse, lengthier gaps in the employee’s work history was often thought to mean that the person was even lazier and simply refused to look for gainful employment.
But in today’s world of frequent layoffs and downsizings coupled with a crippled economy, it’s not uncommon for a job seeker to have one or more gaps of six months or longer. Therefore, it is important for the job seeker to tailor the job search and the resume accordingly.
Job Search: The Functional Resume
First and foremost, the person seeking a job who has one or more work history gaps longer than six months should reformat his or her resume from a traditional chronological format to a functional format.
The functional resume format places the candidate’s summary, job skills, and areas of expertise up front rather than a reverse chronological presentation of current and past jobs held. This way, transferrable job skills are emphasized over career progression and dates of employment.
The purpose of a functional resume is to impress employers with the candidate’s job skills and areas of expertise rather than a progressive chronological work history where they may question lengthy gaps. The functional resume also emphasizes transferrable job skills for those seeking a career change.
When writing the functional resume, the job seeker should keep in mind the following tips:
- write a strong qualifications summary that “sells” the candidate
- below the qualifications summary, include a bulleted list of capabilities which include general job skills
- pull two or three job roles out of the work history and place a bulleted list underneath each job role that explains key achievements
- for work experience section, include only job title, company, city, and state (no dates)
Job Interview Tips
When the job seeker has been out of work for six months or longer, it is important to remember several tips for interview success:
- search the web and read career advice on the do’s and don'ts of effective interviewing
- wear up-to-date, modern clothing and hairstyle
- place more emphasis on the things the candidate is currently doing (e.g., taking classes, freelancing, retraining, consulting) rather than on past work history
Career Change
If the job seeker is changing careers, it is important to emphasize transferrable job skills. Transferrable job skills are job skills gained in previous positions that can be transferred to another position with a different job focus.
For example, a magazine editor seeking to become a broadcast journalist may emphasize transferrable job skills in research, writing, and effective communication to a wide audience.
Job Search: The Bottom Line
If the job seeker has one or more gaps of six months or more, the job search must be customized to impress employers with job skills over a progressive work history.
The job seeker will want to focus on three areas: creating a functional resume, reading up on the latest interviewing tips, and emphasizing transferrable job skills if changing careers.
This way, employers will be more willing to consider the candidate once they see what the candidate can do over when and where they’ve done it.
See related articles, “How to Write a Functional Resume," "Top 3 Websites for Resume Help," and "Best Websites for Career Planning."
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