Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Not Applicable?

Not everything fits into neat boxes in life. This is a problem, when those neat boxes are the gatekeepers to getting a job. How do I explain "No, really, I haven't collected any unemployment, I'm not a lazy layabout, I've just moved twice, gotten married, finished restoring a '41 Taylorcraft and flown it four thousand miles across the country between the last time I was punching a time clock on an 8-5 with a regular W2 and now? (Not that the last one was 8-5, but anyway?)"

Sigh. I think I'm going to indulge the inner child who's glaring in puzzled bafflement at the job apps and go clean the house and do laundry, so I can feel like I was productive and got something done today. Then back to being in a maze of twisty job apps, all alike, hoping I don't find a Grue...

5 comments:

  1. As a former recruiter & hiring manager of several years' experience, what you've just explained would be the best way to complete an application.

    Record your most recent activities as if they were a job - for in fact, they were. The worst thing is an unexplained gap in the resume.

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  2. I second that. List the time period you were working on the plane as if it were a paying job.

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  3. Third'ed over here... THAT WAS a job, paid or not!

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  4. The name of your former employer was Ihadalife LLC.

    :-)
    Josh

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  5. In this job climate, temp agencies are your friend.

    A lot of companies fill permanent slots that way. It's how I got on with Medtronic and SmithKline...

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