Erasing Bad Experience From Your IT Career

Once this draft is completed, start looking at your resume from the interviewer's viewpoint.  Ask yourself:

• What skills did you acquire? 
• When and where did you acquire them?
• How did you apply them to your client?  

Make Positive Revisions

Consider revising your resume if you find that one of your positions reveals a glaring negative and adds nothing substantively.  For example, if you got the boot after three months because of a bad contract, don't go into detail about the original scope of the project or why you were brought in.  Instead, focus on your accomplishments and the skills you used.  You may find you can condense this bad experience into one line, summarizing what you did without drawing red flags.  If your resume says you were brought in to set up a 100-server network, the fact that your tenure expired in three months will raise eyebrows.  If your resume states what you did during that time frame, this can be more easily overlooked as a short-term assignment.

Consider Contract Work

Firings for any reason, but especially for poor performance, can be the most difficult and stressful part of selling your work history to a prospective employer.  If your skills are marketable but you have trouble dealing with management, think about moving into a contract or consulting role.  This would give you more flexibility and a variety of assignments.  Contracting would also allow you to concentrate on the technical side of your job, and for many IT people, this is the least problematic path.

Avoid Negativity

Regardless of whether you interview for a new contract or immediately look for another permanent position, don't spend too much time discussing negatives.  If something glaring appears on your resume or work experience, such as being fired, prepare for possible questions about it.  Be concise and remember to include what you learned from the experience and why you don't foresee a recurrence.  Turn the answers into a clear explanation of your accomplishments in that position, focusing on the positive aspects of the job and why you will bring value to your new employer.

Another important point to remember during your interview is avoiding negative comments about previous employers or employees.  No matter how much you feel someone at your old company was responsible for your demise, leave the expletives at home.  Here are some good reasons why:

• It is impossible to appear positive, with a good attitude, when describing your previous boss as the devil. 
• Interviewing companies will assume you will carry your vitriol into their office, lowering morale.
• You could offend your interviewer, regardless of your positive intentions.
• Workers in the IT arena are often well traveled, so you might be speaking negatively about a good friend, previous manager, or spouse of someone in the company.
• Explaining your own misfortune as the work of others could be interpreted as spiteful.

Think About the Big Picture

Bad work experiences are not uncommon in the IT field and do not normally disqualify you from employment consideration, especially in a tight labor market.  Take time to understand how your negative experience is part of your larger career picture.  Talk positively, saving negative comments for friends and family members.  Once you have another job, let the bad experience fade into the past.

If you stay positive, learn from the experience and focus on your accomplishments, you will be well on your way to closing a negative work experience and discovering a promising new position.