| Topic Name: |
Addressing (widening) gap in employment |
| Message Name: |
Cover Letter |
| Date Posted: |
02/20/2002 |
| In Reply To: |
I was laid off from a cash-poor software company in October and have been looking for work in product management/marketing or business development ever since. I had decent interest from companies early on in my search, but am finding a slow down in activity even though the job marketing is *supposed* to be looking up (I live in the DC Metro area). I'm afraid I may be getting tossed in the UGH pile because the gap in my employment is getting wider. So, the question: Do I address this in my covers letters? Could it prevent the "HR toss"? Any advice? Thanks! |
| Message: |
Viccer,
It is a shame that cynics like R2 have such a poor understanding of the recruitment process. As someone who ends up recruiting, I would definitely explain circumstances in your cover letter. Recruiters are getting inundated with tons of resumes right now. I work for a small company and for each post I put out I get well over 100 responses within the first few days. It is no longer an employees market, keep that in mind when you hunt, and interview. It is time consuming to run through each resume, and unfortunately because of the volume HR people will have to look at ways to sift through them to find the right candidates. Things like content, spelling/grammatical errors (it is amazing how many resumes/cover letters/ e-mails have these issues), applicable experience etc.. will all play into who??s resume gets a second look. If the recruiter has too many questions that make them wonder about the resume, yes it may get tossed to the side. One easy way to avoid this is with a great cover letter, explaining the gap you have and why you are out looking. Don??t forget to really look closely at what they posted for and customize the letter appropriately ?? Qualifications that match job descriptions/requirements, what accomplishments/ and skills are you able to bring to this company??. . Good luck and try not to get too discouraged.
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