Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 6 month or one year gap is not a big deal especially in this market. If I ask ‘what have you been up to in that time - aside from the job search?’ - you need to have a well crafted answer - one that you can support. Something like
I’ve taken the time as an opportunity to
Further my involvement in national trade organization and taking on a leadership role
Go back to school and complete a certification in… took courses in … to advance my skill set
Dabble in consulting and worked with a couple start up founders on…

Basically, Stay productive and marketable beyond just the job search - make your story credible - don’t sweat it, you’ll get hired.

For the person considering pivoting now vs later - you need to assess two things - your network and the demand for your skills/expertise - those are what will get you hired at or near 50

-HR

So you are basically saying that as soon as someone gets laid off they need to, in addition to job searching, start a certification program or consult just so they have a glib backup line to deliver. Even though they might get a new job in two weeks... because they might not....

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A 6 month or one year gap is not a big deal especially in this market. If I ask ‘what have you been up to in that time - aside from the job search?’ - you need to have a well crafted answer - one that you can support. Something like
I’ve taken the time as an opportunity to
Further my involvement in national trade organization and taking on a leadership role
Go back to school and complete a certification in… took courses in … to advance my skill set
Dabble in consulting and worked with a couple start up founders on…

Basically, Stay productive and marketable beyond just the job search - make your story credible - don’t sweat it, you’ll get hired.

For the person considering pivoting now vs later - you need to assess two things - your network and the demand for your skills/expertise - those are what will get you hired at or near 50

-HR

So you are basically saying that as soon as someone gets laid off they need to, in addition to job searching, start a certification program or consult just so they have a glib backup line to deliver. Even though they might get a new job in two weeks... because they might not....

Anonymous wrote:As a mom in a high demand job (biglaw partner), honestly if i was interviewing a woman who straight up just said "I took a year off when my kids were little just because our family needed to take a beat and now i'm ready to go back" I wouldn't flinch and I would totally get it. I'm not sure my male partners would agree, but i wouldn't have any issue. And one year out of the market isn't going to make them rusty.

I'd think this is less of a red flag than someone who had been laid off for a year, because usually in the legal sector, layoffs don't happen to the better attorneys.

Anonymous wrote:A 6 month or one year gap is not a big deal especially in this market. If I ask ‘what have you been up to in that time - aside from the job search?’ - you need to have a well crafted answer - one that you can support. Something like
I’ve taken the time as an opportunity to
Further my involvement in national trade organization and taking on a leadership role
Go back to school and complete a certification in… took courses in … to advance my skill set
Dabble in consulting and worked with a couple start up founders on…

Basically, Stay productive and marketable beyond just the job search - make your story credible - don’t sweat it, you’ll get hired.

For the person considering pivoting now vs later - you need to assess two things - your network and the demand for your skills/expertise - those are what will get you hired at or near 50

-HR

Anonymous wrote:Bumping. How bad is a 6 month gap?

Anonymous wrote:
Was just reading an article about how a resume gap of over a year is like the kiss of death if its over a year. I'm sure some truth to that but is it overblown?

Let's say you have a great resume and big list of achievements and are burned out. Like service partner at respected law firm. But you are 45 and have saved a bunch and have a few million in the bank. So you spend a year hiking the Appalachian trail and visiting your aunt in Korea or whatever. Then you look for a new job. Are you like done?

What if you start a business but it fizzles?

Anyways I'm not at a law firm but the rest of the analysis is true. I could take a break at 45 from a financial standpoint and then come back and do more. Or I can just push to 50 and have more than enough and pretty much just admit I may be walking away from full time work for good. Is option #1 reckless?

Anonymous wrote:Ha ha! This was a COVID-era thread, in Biden's administration, before AI, ICE, and all of Trump's actions.

Why revive it now?

Anonymous wrote:Thanks. I am 37 now and just planning so covid is not a concern. I expect I'll be lame and just push to 50 and then take a break once I have well more than I need. There will probably be another downturn again so would be good to first get through that and be adding $$ at the bottom.

Still its a little disappointing how rigid our culture is but my impulse is to not slow down until I'm 100% sure the marathon us done so I get it and appreciate the feedback.