Job Search Advice: How to Explain Your Unemployment (and Get Your Confidence Back!)

It seems that there’s always been a stigma attached to being unemployed, and even in this economy, when so many people are without a job for a lengthy stretch, it still causes candidates to be uncomfortable and nervous about telling people that they’re unemployed. They don’t quite know how to handle the situation in the job search or in the interview.

It’s very important that you keep in mind that unemployment is a temporary state. Just because you’re unemployed, that does NOT define you. The only difference between being unemployed and employed is ONE offer letter…or one phone call, one contact, or one interview. That’s all.

So tomorrow when you get that job offer, will you be any different than you are today? No.

Sometimes we have to remind ourselves who we are. So I want you to go back and look through your resume and think about your documented successes. If you don’t have them documented there, they should be. (This might also be an excellent time to compile your brag book, if you haven’t already.)

I also want you to think about calling people you’ve worked with in the past. You know who your great supporters are—the manager you had in ’95, or the person who tried to get you to come over to his company in 2000, or the gal who wrote your great review in 2003. Call those people and say, “Hey, look—I want to be honest with you. I’m feeling a little down because of this very tough job market. I’m about to go into some important job interviews, so I want to be strong about who I am and what I have to offer. I was wondering if you could take a moment to talk to me about how you experienced me and how you would describe me to others. Maybe it would help me describe myself and remind me of the successes I’ve had in the past. Anything I can do for you to return this favor, I would be happy to do.”

Sometimes, hearing someone who loved you in the past talk to you again about what you did for them, about how you secured XYZ contract or how you solved ABC problem or how you communicated with so-and-so in such a way that it did ______ for the company—or how they’d love to hire you if they had a spot or how they’d love to recommend you—is enough to give you the strength of character and feeling of confidence so that when you talk on the phone to a potential employer, it will project in your voice. And when you meet in person, it will project from your heart. And I want you to have that.

Just because you’re unemployed right now, doesn’t mean it’s forever. It’s temporary. And it’s no indication about what kind of a tremendous employee you are—and will be to the company who takes advantage of the opportunity and hires you.