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14 Oct 2011, 19:37
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Rule of thumb is four months before you should explain in an optional essay. It doesn't have to be 200 words -- if you can explain what happened and what you did in the intervening period inside 50 words, that's perfectly acceptable.
With regard to what you did during that time, I don't think the adcom is looking for another job. But they do want to make sure that you did useful things during that time and didn't just milk your severance package. It's hard to get a job in non-profit? What about volunteering? Going back home and helping your elderly/sick parents around the house? Did you study for xyz certification exam? Take a class at a community college? Be creative here - there are lots of ways to make it seem like you weren't just a jobless blob for six months. "It's harder than you think" isn't a good enough excuse for elite programs because there are too many people out there who were laid off but did amazing things during their unemployment.
With regard to what you did during that time, I don't think the adcom is looking for another job. But they do want to make sure that you did useful things during that time and didn't just milk your severance package. It's hard to get a job in non-profit? What about volunteering? Going back home and helping your elderly/sick parents around the house? Did you study for xyz certification exam? Take a class at a community college? Be creative here - there are lots of ways to make it seem like you weren't just a jobless blob for six months. "It's harder than you think" isn't a good enough excuse for elite programs because there are too many people out there who were laid off but did amazing things during their unemployment.
LionsSBC12
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14 Oct 2011, 20:09
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Yeah I'm not denying that it would have been great to have some volunteer experience during this time. All I'm sayin' is that when I got laid off, my first thought wasn't to reach out to a summer camp and commit to several months of volunteer work. I had a four month string of interviews at firms that probably didn't even fill the positions that I interviewed for and then I spent a month haggling with my current employer (who I've been with for quite a while) until they finally pulled the trigger and hired me. I'm just not sure if I can spin that into a good story that an Adcomm will want to hear. And I don't want to write an essay that will force the adcomm to focus on the 5 worst months of my candidacy.
However, it could be far worse not to write the essay and have the adcomm assume that I sat around and drank beer for a while. This is what I'm trying to ascertain. Write the optional essay, or no?
However, it could be far worse not to write the essay and have the adcomm assume that I sat around and drank beer for a while. This is what I'm trying to ascertain. Write the optional essay, or no?
14 Oct 2011, 21:01
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My ingoing view on this is that if you don't address it head on, Adcoms will assume the worst (i.e. you basically did nothing during the time you were unemployed). It's not enough to just say "I was laid off" in an essay somewhere. You've got to talk about what you did during that time. A blank spot is a bigger red flag than owning up to it.
It sucks to get laid off, I know. It didn't happen to me, but it did happen to my dad during the dot-com bust (several times) and it was miserable. But think deeply - what did you do during your unemployment? Yes, interviewing/negotiating with employers takes up a significant part of it, but surely you didn't spend every waking hour applying to jobs. What did you do in your time outside of that? Nothing? You must have done something to occupy your time.
As an example, if i got laid off, I'd probably have more time to work out, and would encourage my friends to work out, too. I could easily spin that into something like "During my unemployment, I helped organize a casual recreational sports/physical fitness group that ended up reaching x members by the time I was employed again." I dunno, you had to have done something in your free time. It's just a matter of really pulling that story out.
It sucks to get laid off, I know. It didn't happen to me, but it did happen to my dad during the dot-com bust (several times) and it was miserable. But think deeply - what did you do during your unemployment? Yes, interviewing/negotiating with employers takes up a significant part of it, but surely you didn't spend every waking hour applying to jobs. What did you do in your time outside of that? Nothing? You must have done something to occupy your time.
As an example, if i got laid off, I'd probably have more time to work out, and would encourage my friends to work out, too. I could easily spin that into something like "During my unemployment, I helped organize a casual recreational sports/physical fitness group that ended up reaching x members by the time I was employed again." I dunno, you had to have done something in your free time. It's just a matter of really pulling that story out.
