Lisa’s advice is right on target… anticipate the question and prepare/practice an answer that is concise, truthful, and draws you back to a discussion of your skills and strengths. First of all, have some confidence! The fact that they are even calling you or inviting you to interview means that you showed them something in your resume that said “I can help you.” Also take comfort from the fact that EVERYONE has some issues that need to be dealt with. The company simply wants to know that you are not a job hopper.

So think about saying something like this – that will explain the situation and reassure them that this is not a chronic situation:

“It does seem like I’ve jumped around a lot. In fact, the circumstances these last few months have been very unusual. You can see from my resume that the vast majority of my experience has been very solid. I’ve stayed with with each company through several job changes and promotions, based on the value I brought in the area of XXXX. Most recently it’s been a series of unexpected occurrences outside my control that caused the short-term jobs. First, I was excited to move to DC because the job was a great fit for my strengths in XXX. Unfortunately, the company lost a major contract shortly after I was hired, and XX jobs were cut immediately, including mine. I was fortunate to find several contract opportunities immediately, and within a couple of months I was approached by a recruiter about joining a company I had admired for a long time. Again, the timing was bad, because the current economic crisis caused our stock to fall significantly and that prompted a major layoff. I’m very proud of the work I did in the short time I was there, and it sounds like your current opening would be another great fit for me. As you know, I have a track record of ….”

Don’t get discouraged, Denise. And don’t feel like they are “out to get you.” They are simply asking a question to be sure this won’t be a problem in the future. If you can reassure them, you can refocus the discussion on what’s really important… your skills, strengths, and value to the company.

It sounds like you need a very succinct way to answer the question, “what have you been doing?” Start practicing that. You’ll need to spin it so that the conversation goes back to you and your skills and expertise. Take the focus off the last 6 months.

Also, I’d go back to temping during the down time. It will keep you connected to the job market, and you can make new connections.

What does your resume look like? How does it address the ‘down’ time? You may need to get your resume either reviewed or reworked entirely. If you’re a JibberJobber member, check out http://www.resumepie.jibberjobber.com.

Finally, work your network. And work it again!

Since August, I’ve been looking, and can’t manage to get in front of people. In each conversation, I am told, “you’ve jumped around alot.” And, everyone pushes me about the reason for leaving. Seems like it would be simple, and I can deliver my talking points without emotion, but I am scared I’ll never get a job again.

Does anyone have any advice for me?

It has helped me by giving back to those in need – especially these days. Its not easy but it’s the price to pay to feel worthy again.

Along with the job I too lost my health insurance. I started a company that provides non-insurance health products on a shoestring budget but it is slow going since we don’t have money to get the word out.

A shameless plug – download a free drug card from our site at http://www.EasyDrugCard.com and you can at least save some money on your prescriptions.

This blog really helps me feel like I’m not alone so for that I’m grateful. Hang in there!

@Michael – as you know Cobra is a joke… but, if you have serious health problems I guess it’s all we got. My insurance issues came because I had “assets,” which I found very ironic. Basically, the state said “oh, you have a 401k – you don’t qualify for help!”

@Carlos – awesome. Awesome. It is eye-opening, and hard for people to understand when they have the need for dependency, but I totally agree with you!

@Deb – There should be some program to help people into these life-changing events. Even if it’s just a simple daily e-mail for 90 days or something like that.

@Andres – awesome. I got that push too. I didn’t realize it until JibberJobber came along, but it certainly was a push.

Same here!

As I was reading it occurred to me that the same feelings are often shared by people who have left the “paid” workforce to raise children, care for aging parents, deal with a chronic illness, or retire. Even new entrepreneurs can feel it.

No matter the reason for leaving, or how useful the new work is, the change from paid, connected, insured worker to an unsalaried new gig, takes some getting used to.