Gap in employment...

[Dee]

hello. i have been out of work for over a year now because of health reasons. i got into a serious car accident in november '06 and i basically have been rehabbing up until the middle of jan. of this year.

employers don't seem to want to hire people who haven't had a job in such a long time...i've been trying to get work for the last 2 months and i've had a hard time even getting interviews, let alone getting hired.

i'm wondering what i can do to give myself a better chance of being hired despite the fact that i've been unemployed for so long?

it's very frustrating, i just want to go back to having a regular life...and obviously work is a part of that.

[walkman]

What kind of work are you looking for? If you're in IT or a technical job, your skills may be dated unless you can prove you're current. I also assume you had a solid work history up to the accident.

Try an employment agency or recruiter (disclosure: I work for an employment agency, based in Calgary and Toronto). Agencies frequently work with people entering or reentering the workforce. We look at skills and personality more than continuous job history and make placements based on fit. A recruiter's job is to "sell" you to a client and take care of any objections to gaps in work history, etc.

I know some agencies have a bad reputation, but there are good ones out there - like Officejobs.com - go with your gut when you meet the recruiter. I've been placed by agencies in the past, and the experience has been very positive.

A concern that employers may have is your current health - be very clear to a recruiter if there's anything that would impact your performance (daily headaches, etc.).

[Dee]

hmm. that sounds like a good idea.

do agencies/recruiters take a cut of your pay? what's the incentive for them?

[walkman]

Agencies will pay you the market rate - if admin assistants are getting paid $12-$14 in your area, you will get $12-$14. You get full pay.

The agency will charge the client a premium, though. If you're getting $12/hr., they will bill the client $19/hr. Clients are paying for pre-screening, pre-testing, pre-interviewing - a recruiter will do all the footwork and save the client a whole lot of time and effort for which they are willing to pay.

Talk to a few places - different agencies will treat you differently. You will need to find a recruiter you are comfortable working with and they are looking for people they can trust; a bad placement makes the agency look bad, and they can lose a client. A good recruiter is worth their weight in gold; I probably wouldn't be in my current career position without a placement I got 12 years ago.

Good agencies can do two things for you (if you're good and reliable): get you into companies that aren't hiring or where your resume would get lost in volume, and get you permanent work. Many agency jobs are called "temp-to-perm" meaning that you'll go in as a temp, but if you work out, you'll get hired permanently.

Where are you based and what kind of work do you do (no specifics, please)?

[Dee]

I'm based in Toronto and I've mostly been involved in sales in my work experience. However, I'm not so certain I'd like to continue in that line of work.

But then again, at this point, I'd probably take anything.

Thanks for your help by the way, Walkman.