The Savvy Networker
Liz Ryan, Yahoo! HotJobs


One of the most alarming bits of job-search advice going around says, "You don't have to explain everything in a cover letter and a resume. You can leave questions unanswered on those documents, because that'll give you and the employer something to talk about in the interview."
This may be true if you mention in your resume that you won an Olympic medal. A lot of people would want to meet you just to find out more about that. It's the same way if you won a Grammy or were an intern in the White House. You don't have to say much -- you can share all the details in the interview.

What job-seekers don't always understand is that certain, pressing questions can't be answered in an interview. You won't have the chance, because the presence of these alarm-raising issues on your resume will knock you out of the race altogether. Employers like a lot of things in a job candidate, but uncertainty isn't one of them. You need to nail down the big issues right there, on the resume or in the cover letter, or the interview will never take place.

Here are five top items to explain on paper, in your very first overture to a prospective employer:

Gaps in Employment History

Gaps are to resumes what open sores are to people you meet on a first date through a personals site. They're alarming. We can reduce the level of concern by explaining our gaps right in the resume. Months-long gaps can evaporate if you list the years, and not the months, of your assignments. (This won't help in the typical online application form, which asks for months and years both.) You've got to explain, either via resume or cover letter or both, that you took time off work to care for an ailing relative, or start a business, or go on a pilgrimage or what have you. An unexplained gap is an easy "knockout" item otherwise.

Dives

Gone are the days when the typical employee's career was represented by a straight shot up the corporate ladder. Most of us take twists and turns these days, but unexplained career dives -- moves from a responsible job to a significantly less responsible one -- give employers the willies. If you quit your consulting job to help your uncle in his landscaping business, say so. Use the last bullet point under each section of your resume to explain your next move: "Left IBM to answer the phones at Friendster, believing it to be the next big thing." Oops.

Short-Term Jobs

Employers don't expect (and don't necessarily want) their job candidates to have spent decades at one assignment, but a series of short-term jobs is a major source of concern. If you ran into a rough patch, use your resume and cover letter to tell the reader what was going on. Don't leave them guessing why you spent six months at one gig, nine months at the next, and four at another.

Self-Employment Stops and Starts

Entrepreneurism is a wonderful thing, and plenty of large and small employers appreciate a candidate with the moxie required to start his or her own shop. If your resume includes numerous entrepreneurial stints interspersed with W-2 assignments, employers will shun your resume unless you fill in the gaps. Otherwise, it looks like you went on your own when times were good and only came back to the fold for port-in-a-storm reasons, and that's not what employers want to see.

Geographical Moves

If you moved from New Jersey to Oregon for a job, that's awesome. If you moved back to New Jersey, then to Alabama and from there to Seattle, employers start to wonder what's up. You can use some of your resume's real estate to tell us what drove your wanderlust. A spouse or partner's relocation? Family issues? You don't have to lay your personal life bare on the page, but a bit of insight into your meanderings might make the difference between an interview and a "No Thanks" letter (or not even that).

Don't think, "The screener won't notice that one item." Resume-readers have eagle eyes where oddities are concerned, and you'll be glad you resolved these issues before they had a chance to do in your chance at the job.

Also on Yahoo! HotJobs:

Make the most of the first 10 minutes
8 tips for better email cover letters
5 phrases that can poison your resume
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