According to the U.S. Department of Labor, March 2004 had the largest gain in hiring in nearly four years. But as of then, there were still about 8 million Americans without jobs, and almost 23% of those had been unemployed for six months or more.

Many of those who are unemployed were laid off, terminated, downsized or let go ("fired") through no fault of their own.

In this era corporate mergers, dot-com disasters, and a struggling economy, we've all come to realize that job security is quite rare these days.

While losing your job is still very painful, it is no longer considered a career-ending experience.

So when you're interviewing and that question about a gap in your employment comes up, there's really no need to lie.

Keep your answer brief, state what you've learned from the experience (if anything positive), and express your desire to move on. It shouldn't be the focal point of your interview.

Employers want to know about your talent, skills and capabilities, so emphasize those, assure them that you can help solve their problems, and convince them that you will be a hard-working, loyal and dedicated employee.

You may reprint/republish this article if you include my name and a link to this website.

Bonnie Lowe

Bonnie Lowe has been writing professionally for more than 10 years. In addition to her two popular ebooks, “The Job Interview Success System” and “Networkaholics Revealed! True Confessions of People Who Networked Their Way to Success (And How You Can Do The Same),” she has written a wide variety of winning communications – sales letters, media releases, brochures, web content, articles, fact sheets, reports, newsletters and more – that enlighten and entertain readers while helping business owners to achieve their goals.