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Ask the Recruiter

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Joe Grimm
Joe Grimm, visiting journalist at the Michigan State University School of Journalism, tackles the toughest recruiting questions.
TO GET YOUR QUESTION ANSWERED on this page, send it to Joe. Please include your full name in your message. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate why.
 
 
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How Do I Explain the Layoff?
I noticed on Ask the Recruiter that you'll be in St. Louis at the College Media Advisers conference at the end of the month.

ASK JOE A QUESTION

To get your question answered on this page, send it to Joe here. Please include your full name in your message to Joe. If you prefer that your surname not be published, please indicate that.

I feel as though I owe you at least a cup of coffee as a thanks for all the tips you've given out.

Partly due to your advice, I landed a student-correspondent job last June in the Akron Beacon Journal features department. I have the job until Saturday, when I unfortunately get laid off. Now I'm preparing to apply for summer internships and am back reading through tips.

I'm just a student correspondent (Here, it's like an internship, but I can only work 20 hours a week.). I graduate in May.

Here's the question: How in the world do I explain being laid off in my resume? Do I even mention it?

Dan

I'm sorry to hear you lost that 20-hour position. Certainly, it's understandable, given that the B-J reduced newsroom staffing by about 25 percent, starting with the newest people. You didn't have a chance.

But a resume is typically not the place to explain why you leave a job. Do that in the interview. In the case of students, the question will seldom be asked. If it is, you have a good answer.

Posted by Joe Grimm 2:33 PM
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