In May I was laid off from an executive recruiter. I took me about 90 days to find a new position. I took a position with a factoring finance company and worked there for about two months. A comany that I interviewed with around the same time called me back for a different position - ea to the ass't general counsel. The CEO's admin had remembered me and asked the atty to interview me. I had a terrible time making a decision when I was offered the second position. You see I really like the director at the finance company, but having a paralegal certificate wanted to get back to legal. I also wondered how the blip on resume would look. The finance company even offered more money for me to stay - I did a lot of cleaning up purging files and setting up new programs. We all want extra money, but I didn't want him to rethink that decision down the road that he had to pay me to keep me. My dh finally asked the right question, if I had the two jobs on the table not knowing either boss which one do I want - the legal without a doubt. Still I felt really bad and was only able to give a four day notice. But I left an admin book with screen shots of programs, a file directory and my email for contact questons - which he used the first week. I even sent him a candidate.
The new job - two weeks in, is wonderful. I was taken out to lunch the first day, the second day the atty in the NY office sent me flowers, the local atty gave me a plant for my desk, the local hr dept made a goodie bag and the company recruiter even sent me a goodie bag. (That first week was gift heaven!) (We joke he (NY atty) is a relative as we have the same last name but spelled differently. In the interview I told the atty we couldn't afford the "i" in our name - she later told me that joke got me the position - I had a sense of humor.) The office is very nice - legal and compliance are on the 14 floor a quiet corner. The building even has a gym where I can work out at lunch.
The job you ask - well I've already worked on a confidential special project (into the fire) and so far it's great. I have a lot to learn (medical company), but the atty is very nice (she was a nurse before becoming an atty) and very open to questions.
The company has 18k employees, Can you tell I'm psyched about this position. My atty was out the last three days of last week, but left me projects and I took the time to learn the office and set up my area - which surprise is not a cube. I even asked my dh to come in a make my computer wires pretty (he is an airline mechanic and does that kind of stuff on plane all the time - so I always have him come in a clean up wires, attach to desk so they aren't on the floor etc.) I just look forward to going to work again - which I haven't had in a while. I'm even on a bit of flex time - so if traffic gets me I don't have to panic if I'm ten minutes late - which in Atlanta traffic you can never tell. My commute is only seven miles another bonus.
Okay so I rambled - basic question - how do I record the finance company on my resume. If I leave it out I have a gap from May to September. I haven't updated my resume yet - I'm not looking at this time but I think we should all have an updated resume.

Atlantaz,

The simple answer is note it on your resume as normal. If you ever move jobs again be honest and say you accepted the role as you were unemployed and 2 months later a better more suitable role became available. No one is going to blame you for doing that and it looks better than being unemployed and doing nothing.

As you know I too was made redundant at the end of July and have not worked since. At interviews I have had a hard time explaining that but we all know that applying for jobs takes time as well as the shortlisting process.

I have now like you obtained a job so my "blip" obviously didn't matter and basically it shouldn't. No matter what you did during that period you should not really have to verify for every hour of every day.

I would put it in.

What's an atty though - I have no idea and therefore found it hard to understand.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

atty = attorney

Its a common abbreviation in the States.

Michelle

I would leave it off. I only use years on my resume anyway, not months, i.e. from 2000 to 2006 vs. May 2000 to June 2006.

Laura,

I have to say I think this looks bad as employers quickly pick up on periods not accounted for. This way you can get easily overlooked for work and employers will tend to dismiss a CV/resume if there are periods left blank.

Not everyone can use "years" on a resume if you have worked somewhere for less than 1 or 2 years. I think it's best to be honest in the long run.

I have even had to account for the past 8 weeks during which I have spent my time jobhunting and going for interviews.

Sorry about the abbreviation - it does have common use here. I can see where it would read confusing.
Thanks for the help - I will record the position, but figure out a professional disclaimer for the short term. I am even optimisitic enought to think that if someone were to call the Director he would give me a good recommendation.

gee, again I think it may be a difference between US and UK. I have always listed my previous employment this way and it has never been questioned. I have had several positions (not that I'm proud!) that lasted just a few months and have left them off my resume.

Rather than: Job A: January 2000 to March 2005; Job B March 2005 to July 2005; Job C July 2005 to September 2008

I list: Job A 2000 to 2005; Job C 2005 to 2008

This is for a resume. On an application (legally binding), I would list actual dates of employment for both Job A and Job C; however depending on the position most likely would leave Job B off the application as well. I may have mentioned this previously, but of jobs I have been hired for, I have been hired on based on my resume and interview, the application was the afterthought/HR requirement. By that point, hiring managers have made their decision and the application is just the formality.

Again this may be one of those differences between our countries, as I believe that most in the UK have contracts; while that is few and far between here.

Strange that employers wouldn't want to know what you did during a period that was left blank.

In NI that is just unheard of - it would be picked up immediately and I would and have had to account for it.

For a lot of jobs a CV or resume is required instead of an application form.

I think it very much depends on the length of open time. For less than say 4 months (maybe 6 but that is pushing it), most companies here would simply assume you were looking for a job and it took that long to find it. If it were longer, they certainly would want to know why.

I have a job that I don't list on my resume. I was hired in May. At the end of the first week, I asked for feedback and was told to perhaps not joke around and that I was giving too many "helpful" suggestions. I looked her straight in the eye, said thank you for the feedback, however, my sense of humor and ability to streamline and organize was not only part of the reason given for hiring me, but was also one of my greatest assets in every performance review I have ever received. I immediately began looking for a new job and had one within 6 weeks. I don't list that job on my resume and don't feel bad or dishonest for omitting it.

In the same fashion, it is quite common to only list "x" number of years experience (recommendations from most recruiters are 10-20 years). This reduces the focus on the age of the applicant plus eliminates positions which may no longer be relevant to the present position.


Marie