I worked at my first firm between 2015 and Dec 2017, when I was let go. I didn’t get website time, but they did give me a recommendation and helped me land a job at a peer firm very early in 2018. Yet recruiters keep asking about this 3 month gap in interviews…

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And I never have a good answer. I’ve said it was not a good year for the firm which resulted in me leaving (sounded insincere); another firm asked me why I chose to leave, and I had to say it wasn’t my choice. Is there any way I can work around this so it doesn’t sound like I was fired because I’m the worst attorney in the world? I think I’ve got a good resume and done a lot more than just sitting for 3 months 4 years ago, but it keeps coming up.

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The honest answer is the best answer. The firm had to downsize because of a downturn in business and you were a low man on the totem pole. Take them through your process step-by-step from that job to the next one and how you were able to turn that gap into your next move. If interviewers can’t take the truth as a genuine answer, then they must either be new at interviewing or not be good at their jobs to have never seen that happen before.

I left my previous firm in April due to a toxic environment and was funemployed from 4/23 until just this past 6/14. My paralegal died last summer and my boss never hired a new one to replace her so I got fed up doing everything myself for 8 months and not being able to put my daughter down to bed. The honesty helps breakdown the awkward interview barriers and lets them know story.

likesmart

Can you just leave the months off your resume and just put years? 2015- end of 2017; beginning of 2018-2021; etc

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Can you say you took a 2 month break to (i) re-charge for personal reason (marriage, child, health reason, etc.) and (ii) get a fresh start?

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