View Full Version : Stop calling a thru-hike a 6 month hole in your resume
I've seen a number of people saying, "I don't want to have to explain away a 6-month hole in my resume."
You weren't sitting around watching daytime TV, you were hiking 2200 miles. If that doesn't impress your prospective employer at least a little bit, maybe you should be interviewing somewhere else :-?
warraghiyagey
01-06-2010, 20:58
K. . . sorry . . . . .
Lone Wolf
01-06-2010, 21:06
I've seen a number of people saying, "I don't want to have to explain away a 6-month hole in my resume."
You weren't sitting around watching daytime TV, you were hiking 2200 miles. If that doesn't impress your prospective employer at least a little bit, maybe you should be interviewing somewhere else :-?
you "get" it. most never will. jobs are a dime-a-dozen. live before ya die off schedule
K. . . sorry . . . . .
It's okay, I forgive you. Just don't do it again ok?
Jester2000
01-06-2010, 21:22
Who's been saying that? I'll go Jesterize them.
Chaco Taco
01-06-2010, 21:26
Bad warrghy bad......
DrRichardCranium
01-06-2010, 21:36
Hmmm, well, I've been working as a molecular/cell biologist for 20+ years. When I get back & apply for a job, should I put that in there? It's not DIRECTLY relevant to the job description.
Hmmm, well, I've been working as a molecular/cell biologist for 20+ years. When I get back & apply for a job, should I put that in there? It's not DIRECTLY relevant to the job description.
I was talking to my nephew a few years ago, giving him a "hard time" about going to 4 years of college to be a photographer "I mean, how hard can it be: put film in camera, point at something, push button."
Like most of my family, he is (as my wife puts it) Immune to me, his first answer was "the professor talked r e a l y s l o w l y." but his real answer was perfect "They wanted me to be a more well rounded person".
I have got to find easier "marks"! :p
I think, as a non hiker employer, if I was either, I would have mixed emotions: walking 2000 miles all at once would show the ability to be dedicated to do a difficult task, & you would have to have serous problem solving ability! But would you be inclined to go hiking at any time without notice? Could I count on you? For me, I would be more inclined to be impressed, and I for one would more wonder at "gaps" especially a six month gap. 6 months missing from a resume may mean prison. I'm just saying.
I thought the point of a great resume was to differentiate you from the rest of the herd. What better way than to include "I hiked the AT"?
warraghiyagey
01-06-2010, 22:57
There's a hole in my AT resume. . .
DrRichardCranium
01-06-2010, 23:07
IFor me, I would be more inclined to be impressed, and I for one would more wonder at "gaps" especially a six month gap. 6 months missing from a resume may mean prison. I'm just saying.
Not so uncommon. Before I got my current position, I had been laid off from my previous job (along with about 1/3 of the company).
That was in Dec. 2002. I was unemployed for about 6 months until I found the new job.
Jester2000
01-06-2010, 23:12
There's a hole in my AT resume. . .
There's currently a pretty big hole in my hiking resume.
Chaco Taco
01-06-2010, 23:23
There's currently a pretty big hole in my hiking resume.
Maybe Hooch can fill your "pretty big hole" with something for you:D:D
Not a problem. I'm an HR guy. We see gaps all the time -- most have a simple reasonable explanation. If the employer happens to ask about it, just tell them. (Just don't go on and on and on and on about it. And don't mention the smell.)
Johnny Thunder
01-06-2010, 23:47
put your name
then your address
then your profile/bio/purpose
then your work experience
then your education
then your related experience (AT is related experience for any employer with a brain...did someone say brains?)
then your technical proficiencies.
I see no holes.
Jester2000
01-06-2010, 23:52
put your name
then your address
then your profile/bio/purpose
then your work experience
then your education
then your related experience (AT is related experience for any employer with a brain...did someone say brains?)
then your technical proficiencies.
I see no holes.
I had so many jokes here that my brain locked and then rebooted. Now I've got nothin'.
With the recent SC Govenor "Hiking" the AT in Argentina you might have to put "Really/Seriously Hiked the AT".
I really ran into the Virginia Govenor Backpacking in the SNP back in April but he was not AWOL
Some possible job interview explanations for your six month period of involvement in "non-traditional continuing education activities" could include:
1. "I took a six month sabbatical.
2. "I was participating in a six-month period of intense outdoor field research" (in a subject area that was of great personal interest to me).
3. "I took early retirement, and after six months of retirement, I decided that I really wanted to be back in the workforce. I actually missed what it felt like to be a vital and contributing member of a successful team."
4. I spent six months purposely expanding my "skill set" through involvement in a deliberate program of "non-traditional continuing education activities".
5. NOTE: I bet that there are colleges and universities that would actually grant you academic credit for a thru hike--if you read a few books, write a paper about it (and pay tuition). In such a scenario, you could tell potential employers that you returned to college for a semester of additional education.
Then there is my favorite explanation:
6. Just tell potential employers that you spent six months thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. Then explain why that experience will make you a great employee and a valuable asset to their company. If they don't like that answer--you probably don't want to work for them anyway!
Even though I didn't complete a thru-hike, I have always put my AT hike on my resume...most people are in awe when you tell them you have hiked more than 800 miles in one stretch...its never hindered my ability to get a job...I think it helps more than anything...one employer was a fitness nut and he was incredibly impressed with my hike...he figured anybody who walked that far with a pack had to be in shape. I've often spent half of an interview discussing the hike...people hire people they like, and if you can tell them some interesting stories they will like you.
Now if your resume consists of AT '07, PCT '08, CDT '09, etc, etc, this may not work much to your advantage because they probably will see you as a flighty/risky employment prospect...they figure you're gonna fly as soon as you get your next grubstake and may not want to invest any time/money training you for a job you won't hold very long.
My work history is very colorful...I've worked a lot of different types of jobs and tend to move around a lot, but I make a point of promising employers a specific time frame...ie "I'll make a two year committment to this job." So far it has worked...I've never walked out of an interview without being offered a job.
Jester2000
01-07-2010, 01:58
Now if your resume consists of AT '07, PCT '08, CDT '09, etc, etc . . .
In that case you might actually be better off saying that you hiked a long trail once and were in prison twice.
Anumber1
01-07-2010, 03:37
When I got home in June I was unable to find work... until I put the AT on my resume and now I work happily for an outfitter.