Thought I’d share my experience on a recent information interview I had with a recruiter for a national employment agency to talk about my job placement challenges and employment opportunities. I have a big gap in my resume since my last job in 2008, due to an illness, and I’ve been trying relentlessly to get back into a finance career with no success. She filters through hundreds of resumes on a weekly bases and finds that her biggest placement challenge is not finding candidates that lack skills and experience but finding resumes with little to no employer perceived risks like long employment gaps and job hopping. The on-boarding costs for a new employee is an expensive investment and the stigma most companies associate to applicants who present with these risks factors is typically negative. She suggest getting active with skill building activities like online/classroom training, volunteer, or career development workshops to build up my resume. She also suggest getting myself prepared to answer tough interview questions around why I left my last job and what I’ve been doing during my time off. I feel like I walked away from our talk with great ideas and tools to help me develop a better job search strategy. I know getting back into a good job in my field will take some time and effort but hopefully it will all pay off. So if you’re struggling to find a job like me; Keep at it and don’t give up!!