Solution for lost credibility from resume-gap?

Question

I worked as an in-house programmer for 7 years before developing severe burnout and decided to take 6 months off for a surfing holiday. At the time, a recruiter told me I would have no problem finding work when I returned, considering my skills and experience.

Six months turned into two years as I explored different parts of the world and now I am trying to find a full time job. I have gone on a few interviews lately but have not received any job offers and recruiters are becoming frustrated with the responses they are getting from employers about my candidacy and do not seem to be submitting me for any new openings.

Although I have an impressive record from my earlier experience, employers seem to have a lot of questions about the "freshness" of my technology skills and about my "stability" and "seriousness". This is making me very pessimistic about finding work, especially with the direction of the economy.

Is there anything I can say or do to make employers more comfortable with me? How can I get around this problem?

Answer 1

Work on a personal project that has technical relevance to the jobs you want. If e try to sell it/market it - even as free software.

This gives you something to put on your resume and also gives you lots to talk about in interviews.

Talk about it as a sabbatical. The good news is that you are back at it after considering other alternatives and you know you want to still develop software.

My return to full-time work after taking a year off was a little uneasy also. I interviewed at Microsoft after not having done any coding or designing for a full year. It did not work out too well. One of the team of 5 apparently overruled the 3 in favor and one abstain. Oh well.

I also screwed up chances at other places by suggesting I could work part-time. At the time it sounded like a good idea. Form the employer's perspective I sounded like an idiot.

Again, pick some technically challenging thing that you are interested in and develop something. Design, code, test, etc. If will give you a lot to talk about.

Keep interviewing and talking. Tell the recruiter what you are doing. Also tell the recruiter you will be happy to consider a one month trial period - to reduce the risk for employers. Doesn;t mean much, but addressing the issue might help.

Answer 2

I think you might be suffering from the current ecconomic climate, I think before you went on your holiday the econmic situation was good enough that had you gotten back from a 6 month holiday you might have been fine.

Now it's just harder to get a job, and people are hiring the people with current skills, or just not hiring.

It's a shame, I'd quite like to take some time off to travel, or teach in a third world country or something.

1. Try contributing to an open source project, you are unemployed and have spare programming time, it will keep you up to date.

2. Work freelance.

3. Try to come up with a project and publish it, some kind of tool that will make people go oh you are the guy who did that, wow!

4. Go into acedemia for a little bit, do a masters/Phd or whatever, at least then the Gap in your skills was a year or two ago and you've been in education. People might over look your period of absence if you've spent a year or two studying. Also you might just get a higher pay check? unless they suddenly start rejecting you because you are "Too Qualified"...

Answer 3

Stop trying to work for someone who would take an issue with that. You obviously want to lead a lifestyle that doesn't involve being locked in a cubicle - so why not honor that and play on your strengths?

Have you considered freelancing/consulting? Like the others say, perhaps making your own product/business would be a good solution. Freelancing could be the means to accomplish that.

http://freelanceswitch.com/

http://www.rentacoder.com

http://www.elance.com/

Answer 4

OK I'd never advocate lying to an employer, but there are definitely ways you can spin your situation. Maybe don't be so totally honest?

Also I'm answering because I was in EXACTLY your situation (after an 18 month sabbatical, finished about 3 years ago), when asked questions on the lines of "How do we know you won't get itchy feet again". I'd often make a joke out of it ("I'm using a powder for it now"), but say that I'd worked the traveling bug out of my system.

I'm Irish, and I think the most effective thing I said to prospective Irish employers was "The foreign girls are all lovely, but I want to settle with an Irish girl"

It was something they could connect with (we all know that our own "insert nationality here" people are the best in the world), and it was true - that I wanted to settle down with an Irish girl that is.

The economic environment was better, but I still did 10 - 15 interviews over 2 months or so before finding work.

Answer 5

Personally, I wouldn't WANT to work in a place that would disqualify me because I took an extended vacation. I would want to work somewhere a bit more progressive, where, if I decided to take some serious time off, my next employer would understand that my work (rather, his work) is not my entire life. Sounds like you're barking up pointy-haired-boss trees here. A GOOD boss would understand the desire to take some time off to relax, and may even appreciate the effort it took you to get to that point, financially. That said, two years WAS an excessive amount of time to take off. Make no mistake, the impression that the length of time gives is entirely your own fault.

Some employers say that they'd like to see open source work, your own work, etc, etc, on your resume. I find that it doesn't make that much difference in the real world. And regardless of what Gosuda is telling you, it's not a substitute for actual work. Don't count on software contributions to free products to pull your arse out of the fire.

Here's what I would do, in no particular order:

1. Find somewhere that you wouldn't be working for a suit who'll disqualify you based on a 30 second description of the last two years of your life.

1b. Failing that (and since this is obviously a serious problem for you), I'd cloud my description of the last two years. Like someone said, call it a sabbatical or something and leave it at that. Your new employer doesn't need to know that you took two years off to surf; honestly, that's not actually any of their business if you don't want it to be.

1. Start working on freelance/contract projects, hard-core. This is at least work experience, and those who are outsourcing their projects don't typically care what you've been up to in the recent past.

2. Go back to school and take some programming courses (whether you need them or not). This will demonstrate that you are serious about brushing up on your skills and really want to get back into it. You'll also seem less flighty, because you've invested significant time and money into improving yourself to get a new job.

Answer 6

I hate to sound patronizing, but have you ever stopped to question what lead to the original burnout you mention? Perhaps having an understanding of it will help you to develop a more compelling pitch for recruiters or potential employers.

Even in the best of times, the employment marketplace isn't very tolerant of those that have followed a non-standard career path. Recruiters and hiring managers can be very judgmental about this, adopting the mindset that people just can't change or learn when it comes to managing their career. Call it groupthink, I don't think there's a better word for it. It's important to somehow rise above this, or develop a strategy that builds your capacity for persuasion. It's the journey, not the destination.

Answer 7

Where are you located? We're hiring, and the very fact that you know about this site is a good foot in the door :)

Answer 8

Figure out how to sell your services through a consulting firm where interviewing is more straightforward. They tend to care if they can get you billed and won't focus on the gaps as much.

I would also indicate on your resume that your surfing experience was an educational opportunity where you picked up new development skills.