A year ago, when my career was finally taking off I was compromised for being a whistleblower against a fellow manager who was stealing from the company. I became dejected by the lack of support and ethical procedure from the company and the lies that were being spread by the manager that was subsequently fired. Due to this and a number of personal issues I resigned and took a year off to rediscover my philosophy of person and place in the world. After doing so, I am ready to jump back into the swing of things. However, I am unsure how to portray the year off and what I believe a barrier to finding a decent job. Any advice would be appreciated.

-- A. Nonymous (hymn@att.net), February 17, 2001

Answers

I have interviewed extensively. I believe that a good company looks for good people. In the current market, many companies are taking shortcuts in hiring, in that they term-match job descriptions to resumes. This annoys me. One of things I always liked to do is check a resume and find out what people did with their life. You work to live and not the other way around.

If I saw a gap on your resume, I would want to know what you did during that time. The fact that you weren't aggressively working to the exclusion of all else is a refreshing change; now it's how you sell it. What did you do in that time off? How did you afford it? Think about it; having the wherewithal to save money for a year off shows remarkable planning abilities and tenacity. Deliberately not taking the standard route of a new job shows someone who is really focused on their lives. If I was in a hiring position right now, I would tend to be more interested in someone like you precisely because of that focus. If your goals and the companies align, you can better demonstrate that you will be an exemplary employee.

One other word of advice: depending on the company, you can usually state honestly what happened. However, never badmouth or blame, simply state there was a situation that made you decide to step back and evaluate. Most people appreciate honesty and a lack of bitterness.

I'm assuming at this stage you're probably working and this no longer applies but I felt like writing it out anyway.

-- O'Flynn (flynniec6@yahoo.com), November 20, 2001.