How to Address Working for a Company in Turmoil

“My current employer is having financial hardships. Fearful that I might be laid off, I am looking to start applying for other jobs. I lost the file to my old resume so at the moment I am without one. I also have no idea how to speak to my employer’s problems.”

At some point, most people will be associated with an employer experiencing some sort of turmoil – financial problems, a scandal, a public relations ripple, etc. Here are some things to keep in mind when and if you find yourself in a similar situation:

1. Never speak to it. So often candidates feel that they have to bring up a past employer’s turmoil. The truth is that most potential employers don’t know and don’t care. They are considering you for a job, which they believe you are qualified for. They are not asking you to speak to the actions of a previous employer.

2. As always, focus on the impact you made. What potential employers want to hear – despite the turbulent history of a previous employer – is what you did. What you achieved. If the previous employer’s negative history comes up, speak to what you were able to accomplish despite the difficult situation.

3. Always have your job-search documents ready to go. I get lots of e-mails like the one above. Always be prepared for your next move. You never know what opportunity might pop up that you may want to run to, or what problem might occur that you may want to run from.

The Importance of a Covering Letter

I recently checked with a client who – at the start of our project – was as anti-covering-letter as anti-covering-letter gets. She was one of the many people out there who believe that a covering letter is a "throw away" item – something that needs to be done but not very mindfully. Early on, I explained to her the importance of writing a covering letter.

First off, always submit a covering letter (or, as they are called here in the States, a cover letter) with your resume unless a company/organization specifically asks that you only submit a resume. An ideal covering letter can take many forms to be sure, but its main goal should be to motivate the reader to take a closer look at your resume. Moreover, I typically like to see a covering letter that gives the reader a bit more information – some  context that will help them to make further sense of the resume. Oftentimes, a covering letter becomes more important once the list of job candidates has been whittled down. That's when the "extras" that a covering letter provides can make all of the difference.

Back to that client… She let me know that she believes it was ultimately her covering letter that got her a job. Her new employer told her that it expressed a level of interest and sincerity that set her apart from other applicants.

Covering letters are still a big part of the hiring process. So don’t skip them.

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