Victim of Bernie Madoff Needs Resume Help

A victim of the Bernie Madoff scandal needs to return to the workforce, and he wants to know how to handle his failed retirement on his resume. Can anyone with experience in the world of Wall St. and financial services add to this advice for him?

Should I Mention Bernie Madoff on My Resume?

Eight years ago I retired early. I am re-entering the workforce because a major portion of my assets were invested with Bernie Madoff. Before I retired I was a CFO of a mid-size company. Should I include an introductory paragraph in my resume, or use the objective statement to explain why I am returning to the workforce? I fear that without such information, someone reading my resume will see the eight-year gap of real work and chuck my resume.

During the period 2002 to the present I did some minor consulting work and participated in some entrepreneurial activities. Nothing of real significance but certainly enough to state that I've been working as an Independent Accounting Professional and Consultant. Prior to retiring I worked as CFO/COO for mid-sized corporations in the managed care industry. My goal is to attain a similar position.

How do I let the reader know that my recent eight-year span was an intentional sabbatical from the corporate world -- not a period of unemployment because no one would hire me?

From the Desk of Susan Ireland
I see two parts to this situation:

1. How to present this unemployed period on your resume in such a way that it gets your foot in the door for an interview.

Don't mention Bernie Madoff at all on your resume. Your personal finances are your business, nobody else's. Simply refer to your Independent Professional Accountant experience for that time of retirement, perhaps citing a few specific projects or clients if they are noteworthy. Write confidently and unapologetically about your consulting so the prospective employer with view it as a valuable addition to your corporate experience.

2. How to talk about that time once you're in the interview.

If pressed for an explanation, say that you retired in 2002, and then became an Independent Professional Accountant as a way to supplement your income. As we all know, the economy has forced many people who were in full or partial retirement back into the workforce. Emphasize that you have valuable expertise and many good years ahead of you, which you'd like to offer to an employer.

More Advice from Maureen Nelson, Resume Writer
I agree with Susan completely. Don't mention Bernie Madoff. If they know about your involvement with Madoff, people might think you have poor judgment. On your resume, you could include quotes from your clients.

Are you doing any volunteer work? If so, add that. If not, start right away with SCORE or Taproot. No reason to sit around. Also, float your resume to headhunters who specialize in your area. (Check out Kennedy Information's Red Book for names and contact info.)

Readers, how do you advise this job seeker who needs to transition from retirement back into corporate leadership?

Career Clothing for Women In Need

Dressing for success isn't easy if you're unemployed and can't afford a professional suit for your job interview. That's why Rachel Grady founded Hold Your Head Up, a nonprofit that provides career clothing for women in need.

"Clothing is so important to the success of a job seeker's interview because it presents a polished image, while building the job seeker's self-esteem and confidence," says Rachel. "The three main ingredients to success of a job interview is your appearance, being knowledgeable about the position you're applying for, and your style of presentation."

In hard economic times, a job seeker might have the last two (knowledge and presentation) down pat. But what if getting nice clothes (ingredient #1) to wear to an interview presents a financial burden? That's where Rachel's organization and many others around the country come into play. They offer a wardrobe of professional clothing for free to women in need who are going on interviews and relaunching their careers.

I asked Rachel a few questions about her work and her organization:

Are there any no-no's about how one should dress for an interview?
Image is everything when dressing for a job interview. Before you even have a chance to say a word to a potential employer your image will be the first thing they notice. Here are some tips for women who want to make a good impression:

• Avoid wearing a dress. Wear a classic skirt suit or pant suit that won't go out of style too quickly.
• Makeup should be minimal.
• Nail polish and lipstick should be in conservative tones.
• Pantyhose should be a conservative color (natural skin color).
• Carry a brief case or folder with your resume. Don't bring a purse.
• Skirt length should be below the knees. You should not wear something that's too low, too high, or too tight.
• Wear cleaned, polished, conservative closed-toe shoes
• Have a well groomed hair style.
• Be sure your finger nails are cleaned and trimmed.
• Wear minimal perfume.
• No visible body piercings beyond single pierced ears for women. In other words, no nose piercings or multiple earrings per ear.
• Have well brushed teeth and fresh breath.
• Have no gum, candy, or other non-dental objects in your mouth.
• Wear minimum jewelry.
• Have no body odor.

Any other image tips to be sure you make a good impression?
Just before your interview go to the restroom for a final check of your appearance.

Who is eligible to get help through your organization?
Our programs are for low-income women transitioning into the workforce. Women come to Hold Your Head Up only by referral from a range of non-profit organizations and government agencies in the Durham, North Carolina area, including homeless shelters, job training programs, educational institutions, domestic violence shelters, and many other programs in our community.

If someone wants to donate clothing or needs clothing, how can she find a local organization such as yours?
To find an organization like Hold Your Head Up, tap into resources available in your community:

• Community websites (city and county sites)
• Religious organizations (for example, Catholic Charities)
• Charity organizations (for example, the Salvation Army)
• Human Services Department
• The United Way
• Government-run Employment Agencies and Career Centers (for example, One-Stop Career Centers)
  

You focus on helping women with their professional wardrobes. How can men get the same type of help?
Men can get the same services by reaching out to nonprofit agencies and churches. Many churches have career closets for men, and several thrift stores have nice men suits for a minimal fee. Being registered in a job program will make it easier to get assistance.

How can someone get involved in this cause?
Other than donating clothing there are many ways you can support Hold Your Head Up or a similar organization. You can volunteer at the organization, organize a clothing drive in your place of work (a tax-deductible donation), and encourage your company to sponsor and spread awareness of our mission.

Rachel Grady is Founder and CEO of Hold Your Head Up. She can be contacted at (919) 402-6984 and through her Hold Your Head Up website or blog.

Thank you for joining us in the Job Lounge, Rachel, and for your good work!

6 Ways Not to Get a Stressful Job

Question
I have been ill for quite a few years. I suffer from fatigue, and have trouble concentrating when I get tired or stressed. Basically I don't want a job where I will be working overtime. How do I convey this to a prospective employer? How will this affect my employment opportunities? (See answer to this question...)

Mystery Shopping Job Scams

Created by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Lexington, KY, this video explains a scam that steals money from job seekers' bank accounts. Here's how it works:

1. A fake company offers to hire you to be a mystery shopper or customer service evaluator.
2. Once "hired" you receive a cashiers check for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
3. You're told to deposit the check into your bank account and then wire cash to your "employer" to test a client's wiring service.
4. The check looks so real it fools your bank, which accepts it for deposit into your account. But the check is fake and it bounces, leaving you owing the bank all the money you wired your "employer."

Not all mystery shopping jobs are scams, but the BBB recommends you not sign up with any that ask you to wire money or pay an upfront fee.

Warning: Don't Use Work Email on LinkedIn. Your Boss Can Steal Your Account!

A new warning has popped up about using your work email address for anything related to your job search. Jibber Jobber has posted a story, LinkIn Maintenance II: Do This Right Now (Or Else), about a woman who listed her work email as her primary email address for her LinkedIn account. She had built a tremendously valuable professional network through LinkedIn, which she considered something that belonged to her and therefore planned to continue using where ever she worked.

The problem arose when she left the company. Because she had listed her work email as her primary email address for her account, her exboss was able to access and take over her account and prevent her from accessing all her contacts.

Read the Jibber Jobber article to learn how you can prevent this from happening to you, as well as other tips on how to backup your LinkedIn account.

Fired for Personal Use of Internet

Question
I was recently fired from my job for using the internet for non-work related activities, after being warned more than once. When I go to look for another job, do I include my firing on my resume, and how do I disclose this to the potential employer in an interview?
--Fired and Off-line

Answer
by Dan Schawbel, Personal Branding Spokesman

Interviews are times when individuals are viewed on set criteria. A hiring manager’s perception of a candidate is either their ticket to a position or to a failed attempt at one. Candidates are judged today based on their Personal Brand, which by definition means “an individual’s total perceived value, relative to competitors, as viewed by their audience.” Basically, employers are looking for a complete package (i.e., Personal Brand) and compare one candidate’s Personal Brand to the Personal Brands of others who are applying for the same position.

Saying this, I believe that any direct mention of something negative impacting a Personal Brand will devalue the candidate and lower his or her total perceived value compared to others competing for the same job. After an interview, when a negative instance is revealed, such as in the scenario in the question above, the hiring manager will always think of this negative aspect when they think or view the candidate associated with the instance.

If you don’t reveal that you were fired for using the internet for non-work related activities, the company you are interviewing with could find the details out if or when they call for a reference from your previous employer. The only way around this is to either be upfront or just plain lucky!

If you’re upfront, you will tell the hiring manager directly that you were let go from your last position because of your conduct and the prospective employer will either take you out of the applicant pool or keep you in because he or she values your honesty. Most likely you will be taken out of the pool because competition is steep, and it’s very easy for them to find a replacement.

However, if you don’t tell them about this negative circumstance and you’re lucky, they won’t call your last employer for a reference. Or, if they do call your former employer, he or she will not divulge the details of why you were fired.

My advice would be the latter. Do not put on your resume the reason your job was terminated and only explain in the interview what happened if the question, “Why did you decide to switch jobs?” is raised. No matter what you decide, your Personal Brand has been tarnished and you must seek new ways to rebuild it.

Building a Personal Brand can be as challenging as building a corporate brand. I have been one of the pioneers of this concept for quite some time now, helping individuals discover, create and maintain their brands over time. Gain a Competitive Edge by Establishing a Personal Brand and Personal Branding, The Future of Recruitment are two articles I wrote that might help you recover from this incident.

It’s all about storytelling. After getting fired from a previous position, try doing some community service or some other community building activity to raise your morale and others’ perception of you. You want to focus on activities that will help balance your misfortune, so that if you are asked about why you left your previous job, you can explain what happened and then move on in the conversation to talk about constructive activities you’ve been doing since that time.

My final recommendation is to start brainstorming and strategizing how you can strengthen your brand and how you can communicate your redesigned brand to your audience (hiring managers).

Susan Ireland’s Two Cents
Fired and Off-line, you’re not alone. Non-work related Internet use on the job is prevalent, as indicated by the following statistics found in Who’s Reading Your Email by Paul H.

• Non-work related Internet surfing results in up to a 40% loss in productivity each year at American businesses. (Gartner Group)
• 85.6% of employees use office e-mail for personal reasons. (NFO Worldwide)
• 70% of all web traffic to Internet pornography sites occurs during the work hours of 9am-5pm. (Sex Tracker)
• 92% of online stock trading occurs from the workplace during work hours. (Business Week)
• 30 to 40% of Internet use in the workplace is not related to business. (IDC Research)
• 24% of American workers admit to shopping online while at work. (IDC Research)

It’s clear that employers don’t like personal Internet use on the job so I’m afraid employees need to resist the temptation. I wish you success in this area on your next job.

Susan Ireland’s Two Cents
Job Lounger, do you have a question? Email (joblounge@aol.com) it to me and I’ll post your question and an expert’s answer here in The Job Lounge.

Answer This!

Question
I share a cubicle with a co-worker who’s constantly surfing online while doing his work. He has a big monitor so he can have a few windows open at the same time.

Now, I’m pretty good at multi-tasking so I sort of get that he can work and play at the same time. But it irks me because it feels unfair, like he’s cheating. It’s against company policy to use our computers for non-work related activities so he’s definitely breaking the rules. On the other hand, he gets his work done on time so why should it matter?

Well, here’s why it bothers me: The sites he goes to are dating and sex sites. Not exactly porn (at least I haven’t seen any of that on his screen). But it’s definitely guy-looking-for-girl stuff, including emails to his Match.com prospects.

What do you think? Should it bother me? Should I say something, do something? Or just let it go?
--“Ms. Irked”

Temptation in the Office

Question
I'm submitting this question anonymously because, for obvious reasons, I don't want my identity known.

I'm a manager in a pretty high profile firm. I manage a fair number of employees; a few of them are cute young women. I guess you can hear my dilemma: I'm a healthy, decent-looking, straight male who's attracted to one of these women in particular. As her manager, I have a lot of contact with her.

"Professional flirting" (if there is such a thing) is common between us. Joking, a little touching, leaning into each other, that sort of thing. So far, I've resisted the urge to go any further even though the opportunity has presented itself on days when we're alone in the office after five.

What can I say... the flesh is weak and I can see the handwriting on the wall if I don't figure something out. I know it would be wrong to act on any of my temptations but I don't know how much longer I can resist. I'm not married so I wonder if maybe I should just go for it. But then what would happen if/when it didn't work out. Any suggestions?

Answer
by Susan Ireland

It sounds to me as if this is lust, not love. If I’m right about that, then you have no business getting involved with your subordinate. You need to transfer your sexual desire away from her and express it outside your workplace with someone else or in some other appropriate way. And do it soon, before this gets out of control!

There are two reasons you don’t want to touch this woman:
1. Office affairs can interfere with productivity and complicate company politics, as described in Pitfalls of Office Romance.
2. You could be accused of sexual harassment, which could have legal implications depending on the country and state you work in.

Look ahead to the consequences you could bring on yourself and your company. Your company could suffer legal expenses and embarrassment that would likely lead to you’re being fired for cause. Your career history would be marred with “fired for office affair.” Good luck mending that professional profile!

If you can’t resist going after this woman, find a new position for yourself in a different branch or even at a different company.

Most important, consider getting help with a professional counselor so this won’t happen again, as I’m sure you’ll run into more pretty girls at work before you retire. Learn how to separate your personal “emotions” from your professional life. Lots of people are attracted to the opposite sex at work, but not all of them fall prey to their attractions. Doing so almost always hurts both people involved in the affair. Remember, your advances toward this young woman could hurt her career as well as yours.

Plain and simple: DON’T DO IT!

For more sound advice on this subject, read Rules of Office Romance.

Job Lounger, do you have a question? Email (joblounge@aol.com) it to me and I’ll post your question and an expert’s answer here in The Job Lounge.