JOB HUNTING AFTER CANCER TREATMENT

When your cancer treatment is finished, and you're eager to get back to work, you can begin to feel anxious and alone. That's especially true if you have left your former job and you're looking for a new one.

But statistics suggest you are far from alone. More than 10 million people in the U.S. are cancer survivors, and many are in the prime of their working years when the cancer is diagnosed.  Like you, many are eager to get back to the work force, looking forward not only to a steady income again but also to the psychological benefits of work and of feeling more "normal" again. Even so, most people say they are anxious about how their work life will play out. In a survey of 29 cancer survivors, researchers found that:

• One-third found it difficult to cope and concentrate initially and worried about their productivity once they got back to work.
•  The more stressful the job, the more difficult the re-entry.
• The larger the company, in general, the easier the transition because accommodations were often more plentiful.

You can ease the anxiety. Here, useful  tips for a smooth re-entry, offered by a career coach, a two-time breast cancer survivor, an employment law professor and an education expert from a cancer organization.

Tip #1: Tailor your resume format to your needs.

Before you even apply for a new job, get your resume in order so it will be ready to go the minute a potential employer contacts you. First, figure out which type of resume will make you look best on paper.

• If your gap in employment due to your cancer treatment is greater than a year, write a "functional" resume--one that is skills-based, not chronologically-based.

For example: if your background has been in sales, customer service and public relations, list those as career skills up at the top . Under each of those headings, include three to six bullet points that will summarize your core skills or highlight your achievements.   At the bottom, you can briefly list the companies you worked for, titles and dates. Don't include months in the dates, only years. That helps narrow gaps, and is still honest.

Functional resumes work because they impress potential employers with your skills first, and keep the focus on that as much as possible without being dishonest.

Another option: If your gaps in work have stretched to multiple years, list your experience and skills and present them not in a list of dates but rather like this:  "6 years of customer service work,"  "2 years of managerial work in customer service," and so on.

• If your work gap is less than a year, a traditional chronological resume could work, especially if you eliminate the months and list only the years of your work history. --Career Coach Wendy Enelow, Co-author, "Expert Resumes for People Returning to Work," JIST Publishing, 2003

Tip #2:  Rehearse your job interview ahead of time.

During an interview for a new job, ticklish questions may come up if you have noticeable employment gaps.  You can reduce the anxiety in a number of ways:

• Decide in advance what you will say.  If the interviewer asks about  the gaps, for instance, you can say, ''I was dealing with health issues." Then be sure to emphasize that the issues are resolved and that you're ready and eager to get back to work.
• If you know anyone in management at another company, tell them your ideas about how you will respond to ticklish interview questions and ask for feedback.
• Ask a family member or friend to "role-play" an interview so you can get used to answering tough questions. --Breast Cancer Survivor Mary Carpenter, San Diego, Ca.

Tip # 3: Know about employment laws that are relevant to your situation.

• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to employers with 15 or more workers. It prohibits discrimination against someone with a disability or a history of a disability, and cancer is on that list. During a job interview, for instance, a potential employer bound by the ADA cannot ask you to take a medical exam as a condition of being offered the job and cannot ask you about your disability history.  (After an offer, a medical exam can be requested, but only if every employee is required to have one.)  The ADA also requires covered employers to make reasonable accommodations for your medical condition.

The key to obtaining those accommodations, however, is this:  you have to communicate specifically what you need. Your boss doesn't have an obligation to provide any accommodation if he or she isn't aware of it and hasn't been asked to provide it.

More information on how the ADA helps cancer survivors get back to work can be found at the government website,  http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm.

Besides the ADA, another federal law, called the Rehabilitation Act, provides protection for some other workers with a disability. For details, see http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/cguide.htm#anchor65610.

Numerous state laws also prohibit disability-based employment discrimination; some specifically spell out cancer as the disability.

Whenever you ask to be accommodated under the ADA or other laws, keep the focus on your purpose: to make a successful re-entry into the workforce and to be as productive as possible. When you ask for the accommodation under ADA, such as flex-time, it's a good idea to tell your new boss how this will make you more productive. Or, if you know you will be less productive for a time, due to treatment or side effects, be sure to spell out how you will make it up and when you expect to be back up to par. --Pauline Kim, employment law expert,  John S. Lehmann research professor, Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Mo.

Tip # 4: Manage your off-duty time so you have more on-the-job energy.

Under the best of conditions and health, starting a new job is often exhausting. Factor in the fatigue that can follow cancer treatment and the situation can be even more difficult. To save valuable energy for the new job, focus on conserving as much energy as possible during your off-duty hours.  To do that, try to use technology and other time-savers for running your household and family.

• If you need prescriptions filled, use your health plan's mail order or phone order line to avoid long waits at the pharmacy.
• Order your groceries via the internet and save shopping time and traffic hassles.
• Pay bills online or by phone to avoid stress of getting the payment to the mailbox or bank.
• Ask your partner or other family members for help doing laundry, cleaning or doing other tasks. Think of it as a sure-fire way to keep more energy in the bank for your working hours. --Danielle Leach, director of education, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance,  Washington, D.C.

Tip# 5: Check in with your boss regularly.

If your new boss knows about your medical history, you can reassure him or her that your productivity will increase as time goes on.  Suggest that you would like to check in regularly to update your boss on your increasing energy, your decreasing need for treatments, and other important pieces of information.

You might check in biweekly or monthly, whichever seems to suit the situation, and review the work plan. You can update your boss about your ability to work more hours, for instance, if began the job as a part-timer.  

By touching base often, you will feel more in control and empowered. Your boss will feel like you are an effective employee who is interested in becoming more and more productive. --Danielle Leach, director of education, Ovarian Cancer National Alliance,  Washington, D.C.