Go to Greg

GO TO GREG

I was laid off in December 2011 after 10 years of 60-plus-hour weeks. It was a relief. I was burned out and decided to travel for six months, see family, read books and indulge my creative side.

I feel great and ready to get back to work. Should I explain the work gap on my resume, cover letter or in interviews? I don’t want employers to think I haven’t been able to find a job all this time, and see me as less desirable.

The only risk I see of not being hired is the envy people will have of your sabbatical!

Use this experience to your advantage and include it in your cover letters. But talk about it more positively than you described it to me. Don’t tell prospective employers you were burned out and didn’t have a life. It creates a negative impression about you, your outlook and how hard you might be willing to work going forward.

Portray it positively, saying you took advantage of an opportunity to take six months to travel, explore, learn, etc. — which is something most working professionals don’t get to do until retirement. Add that you are energized to resume your career full- throttle — and that the time off and experience make you even better-prepared for the next gig.

I discovered that someone on my staff was playing golf on a day they took off as a “personal day.” Is that what personal days are meant for?

Personal days were not meant for taking time off from work to play golf. They were meant for taking time off from work to go fishing. Trust me, it’s a lot easier to catch fish than to get that damn dimpled ball to go where you want it to. And you don’t find fishermen breaking their rods over their knees when they don’t hook the big one.

Lighten up. Unless your policy states specifically how personal days can be used — people use them as mental health days, to catch up on errands, to take care of unexpected events (which could be your buddies calling the night before to complete a foursome) — be cool. Now if someone called in sick and was caught on the back nine . . . well, that is a different matter.

cover letters, prospective employers

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