Q: In April of this year the company I was working for as a program manager was experiencing an extreme downturn, so they had a major reduction in force. Each manager had to cut one employee, and unfortunately, I was last in, first out. It took me five months to find a job as a director of product marketing. Within six weeks of my joining the company, they ran out of money and laid us all off. My resume shows two jobs in 2008, which could lead companies to think I'm a flake who jumps around a lot, but it's not true. What is the best way to show this?

While multiple jobs in a short period of time is often deemed a red flag when it comes to hiring, companies have been forced to become more understanding of this trend during the current economic downturn.

'Short-term employment has become more of the norm rather than the exception these days, especially during the past 18 months,' says Sherri Thomas, president of Career Coaching 360. 'Hiring managers understand that many companies are laying off good employees purely for financial reasons.'

One of your resume goals should be to show that this is was the case where you worked, suggests Fred Coon, chairman and CEO of Stewart, Cooper & Coon, an executive-search firm. An easy way to do this is to note after the company name that it is no longer in business. 'Doing so will place the blame on the company, not you,' says Mr. Coon. 'Any accomplishments can be stated as you would in any resume.'

Another approach is to move away from a chronological format into a functional, skills-based format. By doing this, your resume will focus on the results you delivered rather than the dates you worked a particular job. 'This style allows you to showcase your top three strengths and the results you achieved in each area,' says Ms. Thomas. 'The focus is on your career skill set and accomplishments as a whole, without breaking it down into specific performance for each company where you worked.'

For those who are wedded to the idea of a chronological format, there are still tricks to employ. Add a section called 'Consulting, Freelancing, and Short Term Assignments,' suggests Ms. Thomas. 'This is a great way to list any short-term employment without calling attention to an abrupt ending with an employer.'

While there is quite a bit of flexibility in what you do and don't include on a resume, filling out an employment application is another story. 'Include any employment, even if it's only for six weeks,' says Ms. Thomas. 'If you omit employment on an application, it's considered lying.'

After two layoffs in quick succession, it can be hard to stay positive. But, it's important to keep your head up, says Mr. Coon. Rather than worry that people think you are a 'flake,' realize that some things are simply beyond your control and not your fault. 'One of the worst killers of a good job search is attitude. People can sense 'attitude' and nobody who interviews you will tell you what they sense from you,' says Mr. Coon. 'It is up to you to be positive and leave that impression.'

問(wèn)：2008年4月，我擔(dān)任項(xiàng)目經(jīng)理的這家公司業(yè)務(wù)嚴(yán)重滑坡，公司裁掉了很多人。每位主管都必須裁掉一名下屬。不幸的是，我成了那個(gè)最后進(jìn)去、最先出來(lái)的人。我花了5個(gè)月時(shí)間，終于找到了一個(gè)產(chǎn)品營(yíng)銷(xiāo)總監(jiān)的職位。在我加入新公司6周后，這家公司資金枯竭，我們?nèi)急怀戳恕，F(xiàn)在我的履歷上顯示我2008年在兩家公司呆過(guò)，這可能會(huì)讓招聘員工的公司認(rèn)為我這個(gè)人喜歡頻繁跳槽，但實(shí)際情況并非如此。我該怎么解決這個(gè)問(wèn)題呢？

答：對(duì)用人單位而言，求職者短時(shí)間內(nèi)有過(guò)多個(gè)就職單位的確常被認(rèn)為是個(gè)不好的信號(hào)，但在目前的經(jīng)濟(jì)低迷時(shí)期，用工企業(yè)一直在被迫對(duì)這種趨勢(shì)給予更多的理解。

Career Coaching 360總裁托馬斯(Sherri Thomas)說(shuō)，短期就職如今并非例外，它已成為一種比較常見(jiàn)的現(xiàn)象，特別是在過(guò)去18個(gè)月來(lái)。招聘機(jī)構(gòu)認(rèn)識(shí)到，有許多公司純粹是因?yàn)樨?cái)務(wù)上的原因而解雇表現(xiàn)出色的員工。

獵頭公司Stewart, Cooper & Coon的董事長(zhǎng)兼首席執(zhí)行長(zhǎng)庫(kù)恩(Fred Coon)認(rèn)為，求職履歷的目標(biāo)之一應(yīng)該是顯示你之前就職的機(jī)構(gòu)存在這種情況。做到這一點(diǎn)的一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單辦法是在這家公司的名稱(chēng)后面注上它已停止經(jīng)營(yíng)。庫(kù)恩說(shuō)，這樣可以將責(zé)任推到公司頭上，而不是留給自己。此外，任何工作成就都可以像在任何一份簡(jiǎn)歷上那樣寫(xiě)明。

另一個(gè)辦法是不采用按時(shí)間順序羅列工作經(jīng)歷的格式，而是用實(shí)用的、突出技能的形式。用這種形式，你的履歷將著重于你過(guò)去實(shí)現(xiàn)的成績(jī)，而不是你擔(dān)任某項(xiàng)工作的起止日期。托馬斯說(shuō)，你可以用這種方式展示你最突出的三個(gè)領(lǐng)域以及你在每個(gè)領(lǐng)域的成就。重點(diǎn)是你的總體職業(yè)技能和成就，不要把它拆得太細(xì)、按在每家公司的具體表現(xiàn)分開(kāi)來(lái)寫(xiě)。

如果有人堅(jiān)持要用按時(shí)間順序展開(kāi)的履歷格式，也還是可以玩點(diǎn)“小花招”。托馬斯說(shuō)，你可以增加一塊標(biāo)為“咨詢、自由職業(yè)和短期工作”的內(nèi)容。他說(shuō)，這是一個(gè)不錯(cuò)的方法，可以在這個(gè)標(biāo)題下列出任何短期工作經(jīng)歷，而不會(huì)讓人注意到在一家雇主那里突然中止工作的事實(shí)。

托馬斯說(shuō)，盡管在履歷上寫(xiě)什么、不寫(xiě)什么有相當(dāng)?shù)撵`活性，但填寫(xiě)工作申請(qǐng)時(shí)則是另外一回事。她說(shuō)，要把每段就業(yè)經(jīng)歷都寫(xiě)進(jìn)去，即使只有6周。如果在申請(qǐng)中省略某段工作經(jīng)歷會(huì)被認(rèn)為是在撒謊。

在不長(zhǎng)時(shí)間內(nèi)連續(xù)兩次被裁員之后，你可能很難保持進(jìn)取的狀態(tài)。不過(guò)庫(kù)恩說(shuō)，抬起頭來(lái)，這很重要。不必?fù)?dān)心人們會(huì)認(rèn)為你“有怪癖”，要知道，有些事的確非你我所能控制，那并不是你的錯(cuò)。庫(kù)恩說(shuō)，可能讓好工作溜掉的一個(gè)最有破壞力的因素是態(tài)度。人們可以感覺(jué)到你的態(tài)度，而給你做求職面談的人不會(huì)告訴你他們從你這里感受到的東西。要靠你自己表現(xiàn)出積極的風(fēng)貌，并給招聘方留下這樣的印象。

滬江口語(yǔ)資料“絕密版” 免費(fèi)贈(zèng)送活動(dòng)進(jìn)行中