vallierojas: Dear Jeremy work advice: have your say

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Dear Jeremy work advice: have your say

? I've lost all confidence since being made redundant
? I think I'll be fired. Should this job go on my r�sum�?

At the start of each week, we publish the problems that will feature in this Saturday's Dear Jeremy advice column in the Guardian Work supplement, so readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy's own insights. Here are this week's dilemmas ? what are your thoughts?

Problem one: I've lost all confidence since being made redundant

I was made redundant six months ago and have been unemployed ever since. Losing my job had more of an impact than I thought it would, and I find myself completely bereft of confidence. Two frankly humiliating interview experiences, in which I was inarticulate and timid, have made this worse. I'm at the point where I would now dread, rather than relish, another invitation to interview.

How can I pull myself out of this vicious cycle? I'd like to know of any practical steps I can take to restore my confidence and stop sabotaging my own chances at landing a job.

Problem two: I think I'll be fired. Should this job go on my r�sum�?

I started a job in the US in April but have clashed with my boss repeatedly. This culminated in an extremely negative ? and, in my eyes, somewhat unfair ? three-month review. My next review is at the five-month mark in September, and I'm pretty sure I'm on the path toward termination due to the paper trail the company is laying and the exaggerations that are written about me.

I have two questions: first, is it better to quit instead of being terminated? The thing is, if I'm let go I may still qualify for unemployment benefits (I've been saving the evidence of the praise I have received for some projects, and am filing responses/complaints about the misrepresentations I see in the review).

My second question is, as I look for a new job should I include this one on my r�sum�? On the one hand, I don't want to explain such a long gap (I was unemployed for six months before starting this job,) but on the other hand, what would I tell people who ask why I am already looking? And should I list the job if I am let go, as I expect, in September?

What are your thoughts?

? For Jeremy's and readers' advice on a work issue, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@guardian.co.uk. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or reply personally

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