looking for work after voluntary seperation

[2dye4]

I left my last position more than a year ago because the
situation at this company had become unbearable to me.
It seems now when talking with prospective employers they
are most interested in this aspect of my job history.
I have tried to explain in terms of wanting to seek more
challenge in the profession but the leaving without another
position has them worried. When I took my last job I knew
it was not one I would I would be able to keep so I saved
my money vigourously and when I could take no more I
resigned. That is how I have been able to take vacation
from work. If you ask whether I regret this decision I
still do not. I would rather take an honest manual labor
job than work in the prior enviroment. It seems today the
ideal job canidate is mortgaged to the hilt and needs to
work two jobs to survive. How do I convince employers I am
worth hiring if they have jobs worth having?

 

[corus]

Basically any future employer will think that you'll do the same to them and suddenly leave. They'll also be worried that there may be some other reason for your departure, like you didn't get on with your colleagues. To an employer any future employee is an investment that they'll initially waste money on as they train them up to the do the job. They don't want to waste that money if they think you're either going to leave or be such a prickly character that you'll upset the boat, as they say. This is why they'll be quizzing you as to the reason you left your previous employer. Say that you decided to have a 'gap' year and went to Timbuktoo where you organized the local community dance and were made an honorary chief, or whatever. It shows you have management and team working ability. If you tell them you left the previous job because you didn't like it, you have no chance. I'd check where Timbuktoo is first though.

corus

 

[CRG]

I would say that I went on a sabbatical. It would be best to have a well thought out answer as to what your intent (studies or rest) was during the leave from work. If rest, you could describe your hobbies. If it was to pursue some personal education adventure, be prepared to describe it. Packaging the leave from work as a sabbatical is the way around this problem.

 

[funnelguy]

You'll likely need to re-establish your credibility with your next job. I'd suggest you find ways to make yourself more visible and less risky to potential employers.

Advisor to scholastic technical projects, community service organizations and professional societies come to mind.

Also, offer to work as a contractor for a year. This could help to smooth over any jitters they would otherwise have.

 

[IRstuff]

The fact that you planned ahead on finances can be used to back up the notion that you indeed went on a planned sabbatical.

Nonetheless, the fact that you did it at all by leaving, rather than arranging an official sabbatical would raise questions anyway about future actions.

You'll need to stress that you've accomplished what you wanted from the sabbatical and "got it out of your system"



TTFN

 

[tygerdawg]

Depends on circumstances, the "correctly phrased" truth may suit. Hiring authorities typically want to know if you're a bad apple and can't fit. "Why did he quit his job abruptly?"

I had a situation at a manufacturing plant making an explosive product. After less than a year on the job the propellant facility was blown to smithereens Baghdad-style twice in six weeks. I walked into my boss' office and told him I did not wish to work there any more. Poor B*stard, he didn't either, but was stuck there. I had a contract situation and the only way to get out of it was "mutally agreed termination", i.e., fired. Boss was gracious enough to give it to me in writing the way I wanted it to be said. I was scared to death of what my next interview would be like.

When asked to explain in subsequent job interviews, I tell them the truth, and invite them to call the company to verify it. No one has ever given it a second thought.

Another strategy that I have seen used is to claim some sort of vague "family issues" as a leading factor for leaving abruptly. In this litigious age, only an insane HR guy would try to investigate THAT.

TygerDawg

 

[johnwiss]

I would do what tygerdawg said also keep a few things in mind: if you work at a place < 6 months consider not mentioning it on your resume. Structure your resume that shows a progression of your career -- not necessary in strict chonological order. This allows for omission much better. Some people divide it up by broad categories (e.g., individual contribution, Management, etc) that allows you to easily omit a job and no one will know. Also you can just use years rather than months/days as the dates of employment (say you started and stopped at a place inside of the year--then just put job#1 1991-1993, job#2 sucked and you worked in 1993, and then say you worked at job#3 1993-1999--you can just skip mentioning it. Have a stock answer for "reason for leaving" category. anwering, "left to pursue a better opportunity" works remarkably well.

John