Interview Question

by Wayne
(Kennett Square, PA)

How do I answer a question about how long I've been out of work?

I'm a senior sales professional and opted for an early retirement offer due to a corporate restructuring. Now I want to go back to work, but don't know how to handle my time off.

Wayne -

In today's economy, being out of work happens to many outstanding professionals. It's happened to me on more than one occasion!

Practice your explanation of why you're out of work. Keep it short. Don't do too much explaining. For example:

I was offered an early retirement package as part of a corporate
restructuring. My job was impacted, along with 50 others. I'm looking forward to leveraging my experience with ABC in a new organization.

Customize Your Resume

There are a couple of things that you should be doing in order to position yourself in the market. Take some time to perfect your resume. Be prepared to tailor your resume to the jobs you're applying for. Customize your Summary section to include some of the keywords from the job ad you're responding to, or the position description a recruiter shares with you. I'm not suggesting you mislead anyone here. If you can't honestly tweak your resume for a particular position, chances are it's not a good fit for your background.

Interview Preparation

Hone your interview skills. Since you mention that you took an early retirement offer, I'm guessing that you've worked for the same company for quite some time. That likely means that you haven't been on a job interview in quite a while. Brush up on frequently asked interview questions, and think about how you'll answer them. Review the position description and map the requirements to your background and accomplishments. This will help get you prepared.

Job Interview Questions

If you need help, you can check out our Job Interview Questions for a comprehensive list of questions to expect - and more importantly, suggested ways of answering them.

Questions to Ask

Make sure you do your homework on the companies that you're interview with. Scour their website for information. Pay attention to their press releases. Have good questions prepared. Questions about the business - not about what's in it for you. You can find some good suggestions at Interview Questions to Ask.

Preparation is key.

Good luck with your search!