People who are laid off have reason to fear that with each passing day, the widening gap in their employment history makes them less attractive to potential new employers. No one likes to have a hole in his or her resume. If that hole starts to grow uncomfortably big, are you doomed?
Not really, says Fortune’s career advisor Anne Fisher, who checked in with several recruiters to get their opinions. As it turns out, when unemployment rises, employers cut potential new hires a break.
“In this market, six months is nothing,” one recruiter tells Fisher. “This is unprecedented. In the dot-com implosion, for example, lots of managers got laid off — but many other industries were still strong, so there was someplace for those people to go.You have to take a long-term view and expect that it may take you a full year to land the job you want.”
Fisher has found some polls to bolster her perception. One says that executives can now be unemployed nine months before it even begins to hurt their marketability. Another says that 10.1 months is how long most senior managers have to job hunt these days. Recruiters tell her is also always a mistake to jump into the wrong job simply out of desperation. That will lead to short stays in jobs, and that will make your resume look even worse.
The special advice for IT employees, of course, is not to fall behind on trends and technologies. It’s especially important in this field to stay up to date in your field, so even if you’re sitting home all day, keep reading those trade journals, industry blogs, and white papers.
