After being laid off last June I plunged into a bout of debilitating depression.
With the benefit of hindsight this has been a remarkably enlightening experience. I am a High C & High S, I readily internalise other people’s needs and objectives as my own making me easy to delegate to; no-one else can do “the job” quite as well as I can so I am reluctant to delegate to others and a less than perfect result is a failure – combined this makes me prone to burn myself out. Now fully recovered I am keen to return to work.
So, I'm thinking about how to handle this in an interview? As a long-term MT listener my gut is telling me to be open and honest … my brain is telling me that this is an often misunderstood phenomenon that still has a stigma about it.
As a former hiring manager, in my naivety and to my shame, a candidate presenting before in this way would have received a smiling, nodding and sympathetic interviewer … who after the interview would have put his/her CV straight in the bin.
What does the group think? Open and honest or try and paper over the cracks?
As an interviewer what would you see? A risky decision (depression is episodic) or a willing worker who needs encouragement to go home on time?
frame it positively
Hi,
Could you try a response like this.
After I finished up with my previous employer, I felt burnt out and uncertain about what to do next. I avoided jumping straight into the next role as I needed time to recooperate and reset myself before deciding upon my next challenge and taking it on. I enjoyed some quality time with my family and after a while I began to feel relaxed and comfortable choosing a direction. I'm now feeling refreshed and ready for an opportunity just like this one.
Or similar. Massage to fit.
Kev
RE: Depression
When i was in outplacement for 3 months, i began to find the situation impossible. Job hunting's not new, but its harder in a difficult situation. One interesting bit of advice i heard was to taker a holiday and i know people benefited from taking the advice.
I now know that my heart was not in my job search because i was nave and desperate not to be unemployed.
Doing things in a difficult situation is very hard and sometimes that's all you can do, but taking a break can be essential.
One of the questions i asked my counselor was how to handle questions about redundancy. her advice was basically to be honest and tell it like it is. You've obviously bounced back invigorated and 'good for go'. So I'd suggest being truthful and positive to show how you've recovered with a positive attitude and learned from the experience.
Disagree
I don't believe that your health issues are relevant to the employer unless they will affect your performance. If you are effectively treating your depression then there is no need to disclose. If someone had heart problems and was taking medication they don't reveal in an interview.
My recommendation is to say you took personal time after the layoff. If asked to expand you can say you were researching what would be your best next step which I think is true and there must have been other personal things you did during the time, reading, catching up with family/friends, etc.
Good luck with moving forward!
Dawne
Agree with Dawne. It's your
Agree with Dawne. It's your job to put your best foot forward during an interview. No need to go into "I had a rash, but it cleared up." Saying you had some personal items that needed your attention sounds much more in control than saying you went through bad times but you're fine now.
Stigma
Unfortunately because of the stigma attached to depression and mental illness it is probably not the best thing to bring up in an interview. Your goal is to progress through the interview process and get an offer and while you should be open and honest saying that you have had or continue to deal with depression may not be seen in totally favourable. As others have said be honest, say you were taking time to take care of yourself, to recharge or to think about what you wanted to do next.
That being said once you land in a new role and develop a good relationship with your boss, you should be able to speak openly about some of the issues you have had or what you are going through. It will help your boss understand you and support you. As with any health issue, you should have the right to discuss it openly but you must judge how other will react to it. I would not want you be openly talk about your medical issues in the lunch room but it could be alright in a personal conversation with a peer or your boss.
Lastly it is unfortunate that there is a stigma attached to depression. For something that affects such a large percentage of the population we should be able to openly talk about it. We talk openly about heart, lung and liver problems but because depression is a mental illness it is kept quiet and that does not help those individuals that are dealing with it.
S
I'm pretty sure there are
I'm pretty sure there are some studies that show that many people who are laid off go through atleast a period of depression. So on one hand it is normal, and on the other hand, it really isn't anyone's business. If they ask about your gap in employment you want to be prepared with a good, honest answer.
However, honest does not mean disclosing every detail. You are a high C/S so it's important for you to keep in mind that other people do not need all of the details that you may feel compelled to provide. I recommend keeping it simple, and focusing on what matters: you are ready to go back to work.
I also recommend listening to the "Getting Fired" podcasts. I think Mark's recommendations about "How do I tell people" apply well not just for people who were fired, but also how to approach answering any interview question where someone feels uncomfortable about their circumstances.