How to Approach Job Search Having Resume Gaps Due to Medical Leaves
[00:00:00] I worked in a medium-sized firm for two years after a state court clerkship. I had to take a medical leave for two years, questions on how to pursue the job search, addressing the gap in my resume.
The first thing is if you did that's great. You worked for three years. If you did have to take medical leave if you're a woman many times people will assume that you have kids and want to go back to work. If you're a man you may have to bring up that leave of absence. But it is a good market right now.
So what I would recommend doing is applying to as many places as you can hopefully you can apply to both law firms and then places and other practice settings I would apply to openings. And I would also apply to places that don't have openings and no openings. One of the things that I think is very useful for you to do wherever market you're in is to always research and look at Google and things like that to see firms that may be in different areas you'd be interested in, applying to as many geographic areas as you possibly can, is always important. I've done like searches before for firms, I'm just thinking right now in Hawaii, for example, and they've had an impossible time attracting applicants which would seem very [00:01:00] unusual when these law firms are like, right on beaches and so forth.
You want to make sure that when you're applying to positions you're always applying to as many geographic regions and places as possible. You want to make sure that especially with your bar and when you're trying to get back to work applying to a range of firms is often important.
And then just because you were out for two years, it's generally not a good idea. I'll leave. But when you get into interviews and then people see you and like you they're more likely to hire you than if you talk about a medical leave of absence right when you're in your resume.
So I wouldn't bring it up. Really, and again, if you're a woman, I'm just going to assume you have tents, usually having, I'm not saying that sexist or not sex status, but that's what they will say. And if you're just applying for jobs you can do it that way.
The other thing you can often do is, just some of the suggestions that I've made on this webinar so far, which is not email, many times showing up or, hand-delivering application if it's a local law firm,
I used to have an office, in downtown Malibu, like in the there's this big center there. And every so often, people would walk in and hand-deliver their resume, and I can remember everyone that's ever done that
[00:02:00] like, once every six months or something. And their odds of getting hired were very good.
I used to be in downtown Los Angeles and people would come in all the time and deliver resumes and and those people would get a lot of attention. These sorts of things are good if you need to stick out and you want people to see you people like that it's a good way to get hired.
I would say, writing people is another good way to get hired as things sit on their desk resumes instead of sitting in there. Anything physical is good, but I don't think you're going to have too much trouble finding that position, but those are things I would recommend.
