Background: Joined a company in 2008 and 6 months into it, the whole accounting staff leaves. I leave to follow my boss into a startup and we both realize that the company has no customers nor any forecasted revenue in the foreseeable future. I leave 9 months later and join another startup. Flashforward 3 years, the company is failing and has been up for sale multiple times and going into bankruptcy. How do I explain this without making any employer think I am a jumper. Thanks.
If you've been at the latest company for 3 years, I wouldn't worry about it. If they ask, just explain as you just did. Earlier on your career, there is not much of an expectation for you to stay around too long. If you keep doing it throughout your career then it becomes a red flag.
I never look at people's jumper history, folks always should do what is right for their own best interests, if they are happy they stay.... DD
I'm surprised to hear that from someone who hires often. I definitely would pay attention to a jumper history. I wouldn't necessarily hold it against them but I would like to know why. Are they jumping because of a better job? That's okay. Is it always because they don't get along with their boss/peers? After a while the only common denominator is them. If I have to spend 3-6 months to train them then I would be concerned if they are constantly leaving after a year.
This is the attitude I take as well. There's two ways to look each type of history. Someone who stays somewhere 10+ years: Positive - Loyal, consistency, easy to work with Negative - Lack of drive, not talented, lazy Someone who jumps jobs once every 1-2 years: Positive - Motivated, talented, driven Negative - Disloyal, difficult to work with, erratic Everyone's situation is different. If you judge someone's character by a piece of paper, you're gonna have a bad time.
I have a friend whose company was recently bought by Google and they actually look down on job stability. They asked her why she's been with the company for so long. I'm interested to know from those of you who hire how you look at a resume for an internal position that has a lot of job hopping within the same company. I'm applying for a new position (again) this week. I've had about 6 different jobs in my 11 years with this company, but each job has been a promotion.
I can't speak from experience but I would say that should be looked upon in your favor. Bad things happen to productivity when people become too complacent, so pursuing new opportunities within a reasonable time frame should not be seen as a bad thing IMO. Gives off the impression that you are committed to the company (no matter the role).
Whenever an HR looks at my resume and ask why I left a company, I answer because I felt that I've reached the peak at that company and they have nothing left to offer. Basically self betterment. So far they've agreed with me.
Do you put all 6 in your resume? I usually pick and choose the ones that are best suited for a particular job.
The 6 job's in 3 years you might be able to explain. If they found out you were asking DD for his advice on anything that would be impossible to justify.
No need to say what's going on with the company you're leaving. Just say you're looking for a better opportunity and want to be challenged more.
You explain it in person precisely how you explained it in this thread but elaborate on your reasoning, sound passionate about your decisions and insist that you are looking for a long-term career move, that you want to settle down in a stable environment where you can grow for a long, long time. I've switched jobs every 1-1.5 years for the past 4 years (to all you older folks, there is no career ladder anymore, you switch nowadays), it's all about positioning.
This! A smart employer is looking to sniff the butthurt in a jumping applicant. If there is no butthurt, but just enthusiasm for new things and new challenges, then the candidate is viable. It's amazing how much butthurt a candidate can reveal in an interview if you give them enough space and comfort.
Here's your answer. The truth tends to come off as such in an interview, same for lies. So just tell it how it is. If you've made mistakes, mention them and talk about what you took away from it. (Nothing damning of course). When I screen through 100s and 100s of applicants I start with playing the odds. Odds are if they have a stable/relevant work history, along with a few other things I look at, I'll be able to cut the canidate pool by 2/3s and really start recruiting. I depend on referrals to add canidates into my pool that I would've normally screened out early on.
