When hiring managers look for candidates, 54% say they want someone who’s committed to learning and upskilling. That’s according to a recent LinkedIn survey of 1,024 hiring managers. Almost half, 48% give extra consideration to a candidate who can start as soon as possible and 40% to candidates who are willing to work in the office full time.
On the flipside, there are resume turnoffs for hiring managers as well. More than a third, 37% said seeing that a candidate frequently changed jobs might prevent them from pursuing them. It makes them think, “if you were only there for nine months, maybe you’ll only be here for nine months,” says LinkedIn career expert Drew McCaskill.
Close to the same number, 34% said that seeing a work history that lacked direction might cause them to pause before moving forward as well.
Whatever your reason for your somewhat scattered resume, here’s how to let recruiters and hiring managers know you’re still right for the role.
You ‘need to have an explanation as to why’
It’s not uncommon for people to have multiple types of jobs on their resume and to have some short stints at some of them.
Maybe when you started out your career, you weren’t sure if you’d want to go into sales or marketing, so you tried both. Maybe you had to leave your job to take care of a sick relative for a year during the pandemic. Maybe there were layoffs at your previous company.
You just “need to have an explanation as to why” that has been your trajectory, says McCaskill.
Your resume summary, above your experiences section, offers an opportunity to connect the dots between your various career experiences or explain any existing gaps. The “about” section in your LinkedIn is another opportunity to craft your narrative and let recruiters know “how the things that you’ve done have made you the professional you are now,” says McCaskill. You can also explain it to them in your interview.
“Career gaps do not have the same negative impact that they would have had five years ago,” he says as an example. “Especially if you’ve got a really succinct reason why you had a career gap.” Tell them you were taking care of that elderly parent, you took a year off for your mental health — whatever it is.
If you’ve jumped around between industries or had short stints at some roles, you can say, “here’s what I got from each one of those experiences that makes me really good for this role now,” says McCaskill, adding that you should “explain it like it’s an asset.”
Whatever you do, don’t give them a reason to think you’ve done anything wrong, he says. “Don’t make apologies for it.”
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