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• Reputation: 51 Q&A: 2 0 0 11 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Expert: 3 topics Un/Employment Jobs & Education Job Hunting Follow Following 0 Maria Escobar-Bordyn

  2 0 Good for you for taking the time off! Fortunately, we live in an area where sabbaticals and time off are not only understood, but accepted and sometimes even envied! This isn't the case in other parts of the country. How you answer the question though, will dictate whether the hiring manager will see a red flag, or not bat an eye. The strategy for answering this question (or any question we're sensitive to, for that matter) is to keep the answer short. We, unfortunately, tend to do just the opposite. We'll say more than we should, so they'll understand (or so we think), when instead we sound defensive. In addition to keeping the answer short, keep it focused forward as well. For example,you could say (in your words, of course), " I was fortunate to have had a large, complex project in 2008 that left me set financially, so I took the opportunity to take some time to travel (or volunteer for ____, or learn ______)as well as spend time with family and friends. Now that the economy is turning around, I'm looking forward to diving back into _______, which is why I'm excited to be talking to you today." What you'd be saying in an answer like this is all positively focused (so they see an optimistic, positive person), and will rarely raise a red flag on the part of the hiring manager. Less is more (but positively stated)! Good luck to you! Maria Escobar-Bordyn answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 2 Q&A: 0 0 0 2 0 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 Given the economy, I think employers and recruiters are way more open to 'gaps in employment' as a reality of the job market for the last two years. Given that, get creative and fill in the absent time on your CV with something that you did that wasn't work. Make sure that the words "playing video games and hanging out with friends" are avoided. For instance, I had an 11 month lay-off in which I volunteered at KEXP and drove the Alaska-Canada Highway (and back after spending a summer at a cabin in AK) and I made those activities evident on my CV. Brian Connolly answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 1045 Q&A: 28 0 3 485 60 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0

  1 0 Fair enough to say that after a grueling and demanding two years of constant travel and long hours, you wanted to recharge your mind and body, and spend some time with family and friends, as sort of a personal sabbatical. You could also point out the obvious fact that it was a crappy time for a stressful job search and you didn't need to, so you didn't. Now you're rejuvenated and eager to get back into a challenging and rewarding gig. capicola answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 1383 Q&A: 33 0 4 757 114 0 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 0 Dan Williams

  0 0 Thanks for the question. I agree with Capicola in that your best strategy is to position your time-off as a personal sabbatical. The tricky part is listing what you were actually doing while on sabbatical on your resume. Focus on listing any volunteer or community activities that you engaged in while taking the time-off. If you didn't do any work like that keep the activities vague, spending time with family, working on personal projects, etc. Stay positive and don't reference the negative job market. You want to position this time-off as a conscious choice you made to not one that was forced upon you buy the economy. The key is to list enough information to address the gap in work history but not to come off as, as you say, "a lazy bum." Focusing on volunteer or community activities, spending time with family/friends and personal projects should do this. When it comes time to interview and they ask about your sabbatical be honest but professional. Saying something about taking time off to focus on pursuits you had put off while working in your last position would be a good starting place. Again you want to address the question but not share too much information that would raise a red flag or cast doubt on your professionalism or employability. Dan Williams answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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• Reputation: 1812 Q&A: 22 0 42 1409 992 23 Classifieds: 0 0 what's this? Follow Following 3

  0 0 Please share how you landed that sweet driving gig... and how do I do it? O my captain answered in Un/Employment about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question New comments are not being accepted at this time.

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