Lily Garcia: Good morning, and thank you for joining my chat. I look forward to answering your career- and workplace-related questions. Let's get started.
Washington, D.C: I have been out of the workforce for the past three years. I have been a stay at home parent during that time. On my resume, I list my last employment position and the dates. When recruiters ask me about the past three years, I inform them that I have stayed home and raise children. They give back comments like "OH! I see..."How or where on my resume could I add this to my resume. Do I add any household tasks that I have done to make it flashy? Thanks, Lily.
Lily Garcia: I would recommend explaining the gap in employment in your cover letter rather than in your resume. I think the idea of listing your homemaker duties as a job is novel -- and, certainly, it is not as if you have been eating bon-bons in front of the TV -- but I do not think that is where the information about what you have been doing for the past three years belongs.
Chevy Chase, Md.: Hi Lily, I have a Russian bachelors degree in linguistics/translation (English, Spanish, Russian). It is hard to find a job, would you advise me something please?
Lily Garcia: While you look for a job, I think that you should seek opportunities for freelance translation. Post your availability online and look for opportunities on job boards and with area translation services. Beyond that, it would seem to me that you could compete for most entry level positions in administration. Where, exactly, you look and how you direct your efforts should be driven by your interests. Once you have made your way into an organization and they have seen the quality of your work, you can move into a more desirable role.
Fairfax, Va.: Hi Lily, I'm in a bind and not sure what to do. I recently put in a rebuttal to my review - I didn't agree with many of the statements and (unfortunately) believe that many of the conflicts stem from interpersonal issues between me and my boss. Since then my supervisor has not said a word and it's very uncomfortable.I see two choices resign or be fired. I've never been in this situation before and have been quite unhappy for an extended period of time but go home completely apathetic and unmotivated. What is the best course of action in situations like these? What looks better for future employment?
Lily Garcia: Option #3 is to try to talk to your boss about the rebuttal with a view toward reconciling some of your differences. If that does not work, then you might legitimately choose to start looking for other employment. Try as much as you can, in the meantime, to make the best of your relationship with your boss. The job market being what it is, it might take you longer than you would hope to find a better fit.
New York, N.Y.: Hi Lily, I'm generally happy with my job as a training manager at a large, multi-national company (company "A"). My team and I work for company "B" and are on-site contractors at "A". There have been layoffs and multiple reorganizations at "A," and there have recently been quite a few changes and cost-cutting measures at my company. My (wonderful) boss is under a lot of stress and may quit or get fired. I'm concerned about all of these changes and want to know what's going on at both companies, but I've never been particularly savvy about office politics or office gossip, and I don't know how to keep myself informed. My boss (at company "B") does vent and tell me things that are going on, which I really appreciate, but he works at several different sites, and I don't see him very often. I like my job and don't want to look for another one if there's no reason to. I'd also like to be able to give my team a heads-up if they need to look for other work. Are there things I can do to be better informed about both companies? Thank you.
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