Overcome situations outside of your control

Dear Sam: I am 59 years old and trying to return to work after being on disability for 6 years. How do I handle this on my résumé? I have never had the need for a résumé prior to this "new age" handling of job applications and searches. Most jobs require an online application and this stops me in my tracks!

Also I have another question for a friend. He was let go from his employment due to a personal issue with a harassing superior. He has been given the idea that this previous supervisor is black balling him when it comes to securing future employment. He cannot omit this employer from his résumé as this would leave a gap and would be dishonest. He was such a good employee for this company, that when they had to downsize several years ago, he was one that received a generous departing package! They then recalled him to return at a higher wage. He also has letters of praise from other supervisors at this company. Not until the hiring of this new individual was there ever a problem! He is now at a loss as to why this has happened but would like to move on. What does he do about this on his résumé? - R.

Dear R.: Let's address your situation first. Obviously you have to follow the guidelines mandated by an employment application, so there is little you can do to hide disqualifying factors, other than making sure you are focusing on areas in which you went above and beyond when at all possible. There are however a number of things you can do to make your résumé more effective.

First, be sure you are only presenting the amount of experience that supports your candidacy. Typically hiring managers like to see focus paid to the last 8-10 years of experience, but in your case you may have to go back a little further due to your recent 6-year absence. Second, present a strong summary showcasing what you offer (experiences, skills, and education) in relation to your career objective(s). This should be a direct response to the job postings of interested, and should answer the hiring manager's question of why they should hire you. Use this section to highlight your strengths, which will also minimize potentially disqualifying factors. Third, be sure you are not noting your absence from the workforce on your résumé. Now of course there may be a gap in employment, but there needs to be no mention of the reason why. I know this might seem strange, but I've seen cases where we can make such a strong picture of the candidate's "value" both through a qualifications summary and accomplishments section, that the dates of employment play such a minor role when evaluating their candidacy. Additionally, if you can pull out your accomplishments or career highlights and place them on page one, possibly your professional experience will fall to page two of your résumé, along with your dates of employment. Lastly, if you have completed any training during the past six years, be sure you present that too. This will help make the case that you continued to learn new skills, particularly important if you are pursuing employment requiring a certain technical skill set.

To answer your question for your friend, I am glad you mentioned that he has letters of praise from previous supervisors. He should place the strongest comments from those letters directly on his résumé. These can go above or beneath the qualifications summary or even in their own section. These testimonials will reinforce his claims about the results he achieved, the service he offered, and the work ethic he exhibited. While validating, they will help minimize the impact of a negative reference. Lastly, be sure he notes he was recruited back to the company due to his performance, and even received a promotion. All of these facts will help support his candidacy and reinforce his claims (probably brought up during a personal interview) that he left due to an unfortunate situation with a new supervisor.

Do you have a question for Dear Sam? Write to dearsam@semissourian.com. Samantha Nolan owns Ladybug Design, a résumé writing and interview coaching firm. For more information, call (888) 9-LADYBUG (888-952-3928) or visit www.ladybug-design.com.