JMN wrote:
So how do I explain a six year gap when the truth is that I left my last job after a complete nervous breakdown from job stress? Never mind that that job was so vastly more stressful than anything I'm applying for now that it doesn't mean much. I've gone back to school, and fortunately I'd never filled out the paperwork to graduate, so I can list a graduation date of 2007. Then I can list getting my Master's of Accountancy in 2010. None of that changes the fact that I'm 43, trying to get my first job in an industry that got cratered by the recession with a six year gap since my last job.
For gaps I would use a functional resume format. It's a skills-based format that focuses on acheivements and abilities, and can cover up (to a LIMITED extent) chronological gaps you may have. There are a lot of people with larger gaps looking for work these days.
I supposed you could say that you changed careers at a time when the economy was beginning to suffer? If you took time off 'to resolve a personal/familial matter' upon someone questioning a gap, I don't think they can pry too much. For all they know you were the executor of someone's will.
09 Jan 2012, 10:39 am
