Interviewed for clinician position today. My boss asked me " so you graduated in 05', why haven't you worked as a clinician. After giving her my answer she replied " ok..... Well to be honest if I didn't know you and I saw your resume I wouldn't meet with you because of that gap". Sucks for me

She's right. I'm a hiring manager as well and I typically don't call people with big gaps in their work history.

well i suspected that was the case what sucks is that i shine in the interview portion but i am not getting interviews because they see the gap which there is an explanation for.... sort of

I work for a newspaper and with the job market the way it is today, we have poeple WAY over qualified appling for lower skill jobs,if your work record isnt perfect, the paper wont even grant an interview!!

yeah. unfortunately that's true even though many people have damn good reasons for gaps even before this whole economic breakdown. i've taken risks recommending the hiring of people that looked terrible on paper and it turned out great.

good luck man. seriously.

You need to fill that gap. Maybe some counsel from a local employment resource that helps with resumes. Good luck

well its not that i wasn't working because i was the issue was that i was not doing what i went to school for since graduating in 05

Wow, at the places were I have worked, it seemed like all an applicant needed was a pulse, speaking, understanding and writing english was not even a priority, even though all the clinical notes and reports had to at a certain level or payments would be rejected.

You're supposed to cover that in your cover letter if you have gaps. Also if you've done volunteer work or consulting during that period, it counts as work experience.

Still though, why didn't you find a job as a clinician if that's what you went to school for?

If you don't have a decent answer....make one up. I don't normally suggest being dishonest, but ya gotta eat and once you start one job, it won't be an issue again, unless you have another gap in the future. Though it's probably tough to come up with a reason for 3 years. Family issues is probably a decent one to go with, most people don't want to poke and prod when family comes up.