Question:

I am trying to improvement my interview skills. How should I answer them when they question why I did not stay long with some jobs? How should I answer them when they ask about my periods of unemployment?

First Answer:

I should think that your answers have to be suited to the specific situations under which you quit or were fired, and how long you were unemployed between positions. In other words, I can't tell you exactly what to say because everyone's situations are highly personal.

I WOULD suggest that if you have a rocky job history, punctuated with many periods of lengthy unemployment between them, it's ok to put a "spin" on the situation to mitigate it, but you should not create an outright lie. People do make mistakes, and some take longer than others to "find" themselves in their lives and career. If this applies to you, you needn't feel apologetic, but you should should look to your past to learn what didn't work, so you will not repeat the pattern, again in your next job.

I would accentuate the positives: you know what you want now and are ready to accept all challenges, if given the chance. Play up your good points, specifically as your skills relate to the position you're applying for. Don't get defensive, even if pushed. If an interviewer won't accept you as you are, then clearly, you're not the right person for that job.

If, as I suggest in my book YOU ARE THE PRODUCT-How To Sell Yourself To Employers, you market yourself well, you will attract the eye of the right employer and win the job-- even over more qualified candidates, even if you don't look so "great" on your resume.

-- Alison Blackman Dunham, life & career expert, columnist, personal public relations consultant, half of THE ADVICE SISTERS®, and the author of the ASK ALISON career advice column

Second Answer:

It is very hard to reply to this questions, without knowing the circumstances surrounding these events. In today's job market there are a number of reasons why someone might have several short term employment stints on their resume.

1. They were working a number of temporary jobs to decide what they wanted to do.
2. They took a job because it was available and as better opportunities came up they accepted them.
3. They were not a good worker and were fired from positions.
4. They accepted jobs believing that they were permanent only to find out a few weeks or months later that that was not true.

It is much easier to explain 1, 2 and 4 than 3. I believe that it is important to be honest but positive. Never blame a former boss or employer for being in the job market.

-- Linda Wyatt, Career Center Director, Kansas City Kansas Community College

Third Answer:

I would have to know the true reasons for your leaving each job and the situation of each period of unemployment in order to help you formulate the best answer. Without that information, all I can offer is some general comments. The premise you want to convey is that you have nothing to hide.

Your reason for departure must not contradict what a former employer will say when called to verify your employment, or what your references will say (two separate inquiries that most employers will make before making an offer). No one wants to hire someone whose integrity is in question. So the first piece of advice is, do not lie.

1. If you were dismissed for poor performance, don't call it a layoff. Explain what impacted your performance and the steps you have taken to prevent recurrence. For example, the job could have been a poor fit with your skills and interests, and being smarter now you are looking for an opportunity that better suits your talents.
2. If you had a personality clash with your supervisor, say "reasonable people differ" and be ready to describe how you saw things differently and after attempts to come to agreement, agreed that leaving was your best option.
3. If there were personal issues affecting your performance, such as an illness in your family, you can say so without being specific: what's important to an employer is that those issues are now resolved and you are ready to focus on work.
4. If you were laid off due to a reorganization, merger, downsizing, or plant closing, be sure to say so and mention how many were laid off; if you survived a round or more of job cuts before you lost yours, or were offered a "stay bonus" to remain for a certain period, or were offered a position that involved relocation that you declined, say so: all these things point to a separation NOT related to performance, and the last three say that you were a particularly valued employee.

To explain periods of unemployment, here are some answers, depending on your situation:

1. "I've had several offers, but I am looking for the right fit, not just a job."
2. "I'm changing careers, and it takes time to research a new field, build new skills, make contacts in a new field, and find an employer who can see my transferable skills as applicable to his or her business."
3. "In a downturned economy, too much talent is chasing too few jobs, so my search is taking longer."
4. "The closing of my employer's plant put 3,000 people in the job market in a city of 50,000, and I wasn't able to relocate, so it took several months to find a new local opportunity."
5. "The industry in which I built my career has largely moved offshore, and it's taking a while to identify other industries where my talents add value."
6. "I had to suspend my search for several months to deal with a health issue in my family that has since been resolved." You can use this one only if it's true, but you don't need to be more specific; you could be viewed as maudlin or looking for sympathy.

-- Carol Anderson, Career Development and Placement Office, Robert J. Milano Graduate School of Management and Urban Policy at New School University in New York City

Fourth Answer:

Well, of course, a lot depends on what the answer actually is to those questions. Why didn't you stay longer in some of your jobs, and why have you had periods of unemployment? The key is to put as positive a spin as possible on your responses to these questions while still telling the truth. Whatever you do, don't trash your previous employers in your responses. Ideally, you'll be able to say you left your short-time jobs for better opportunities. Your short stints in jobs may be less of an issue than you think. With workers today having several careers in their working lives, not to mention numerous jobs, it's more common than it used to be for people to have shorter stays in their jobs than they used to.

I hope you'll be able to say you were pursuing worthwhile self-improvement during your periods of unemployment. In the syndicated column she writes with Dale Dauten, Kate Wendleton suggests her Seven Stories exercise for situations like this. The exercise enables you to identify accomplishments and positive themes that run through your life and career. Talking about positive things you did during a period of unemployment, Wendleton says, "won't erase the gap in a resume, but they do provide the chance to move the conversation past the gap, while offering proof (to employers and to yourself) that you are ready and able to work." A worksheet that takes your through theSeven Stories exercise is available as a free download as a PDF document.

For practice with tricky interview questions, you might want to try this tool that enables you compose written responses to interview questions and then receive by e-mail a set of excellent responses to the same questions that you can compare with your own.

-- Katharine Hansen, former speechwriter and college instructor who provides content for the Web site, Quintessential Careers, edits QuintZine, an electronic newsletter for jobseekers, and prepares job-search correspondence as chief writer for Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters

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