Career + Disclosure Advice | ADHD Information
Hi All,
It'd been a VERY long time since I have posted so I will summarize.....
Senior in vet school, almost failed out one year short of completion..
Purdue (my saviors) had me tested to find out why I could get this far and hit a wall now...
Diagnosed with ADD innatentive in March, I am now on Wellbutrin and Ritalin and doing better that ever.
I have officially pass 4 blocks (1/5 of program) 
and I am starting to look for work.
That said....
I am trying to write my resume and I am discouraged by the fact that there are so many gaps, several very short employments and it has taken twice as long then average to get my degrees (4yrs - AA, 8yrs - BS, willbe over 5 for DVM).
Personally I am proud that I got this far undiagnosed and thrilled to know why I have been struggling for so long BUT an employer will want to know why my past performance appears less than exemplery and other that the truth I don't know how to explain it.
I have NO issues telling anybody, my life was saved and I want to sing the praises of Ritalin, BUT I have read throughout this board not to disclose until you absolutly have to, so i don't know how to handle this.
Any advice would be GREAT
...Jessi
Jessi - davido is right that you should avoid a chronological resume. They are being phased out in professional circles anyway. A focused resume on the skills for a particular field is probably the best way. If the employer wants it all then do try to make it the way they want it - but usually they are happy not to have to dig through every small job to find the ones that are pertinent to what you are looking for.
The best place to mention your ADHD (and you should if it could affect your work) is in the cover letter. Make it clear that ADHD only changes how you work it doesn't prevent you from working. It can be shown to be an asset as it gives you a different angle to see things and very creative aspects. But also you should mention that you may require visits to professionals and some leeway on scheduling and that as long as they are flexible you can be twice the worker that others can be. You have energy that others don't and can be your greatest ally.
Don't worry - the only places that truly don't want ADHD are law enforcement or other places where they have a stigma attached to medication.
Construct a skills based resume, rather than a temporal reflection.Find a thread of continuity throughout your employments, and reiterate it without detailing start and stop dates.
As for graduation dates, just put the date graduated, not the start date.
Keep it simple, with a common thread.
Don't list a short term job that didn't relate.
Don't mention your diagnosis, but use truthful keywords like creative, multi-tasker, intuitive, entrepreneural, etc.
You have 20 seconds to sell yourself for an interview with a resume.
Design it like a yellow page ad, with a HEADLINE, keywords that stand out,
pertinent information, and an offer they can't refuse.
Make them hungry for more info a/b you.
Once your in the interview, now YOU can control their perception of you.
Ask them questions. Show them portfolios.
Be confident. After all, you've survived this far.
You have something to offer them that NO ONE else does.
Uniqueness.
'luck
D
I hope that if you opt to tell and you have success, you will post that here.
Just a random note. Thats cool that you go to purdue. I'm going to IU!
Thank you for your advice. i have been doing a lot of research and have discovered functional resume format which is exactly what I looking for.
But, I have another question....
Long story short, I have an interview in Los Angeles(home) on Tuesday. It was set up very informally, via e-mail, last Tuesday, so they don't have my resume or a cover letter.
1. Since I am handing in my resume at the interview, should I still provide a cover letter?
2. If I am not writing a cover letter should I disclose about the ADD at the interview or never mention it? BTW all my accomidtions are academic, once in the real world i will most lkely not need any.