For years, employers have been fighting against job hopping or gaps on resumes, and looked for ways to retain talent for the long haul. Some have called out those with a sporadic job history for having a bad work ethic. Even so, employees continue to jump from one job to the next in today’s candidate-driven market.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics found in recent data collection from individuals between ages 18 and 28, millennials held an average of 7.2 jobs. In contrast, baby boomers held an average of 11.9 jobs between the ages of 18 and 50. It basically took millennials a third of the time to go through almost the same number of jobs as their parents’ generation. As young people age, will they give up their job hopping ways?
The advantages of hiring a job hopper
There may actually be advantages to hiring an employee who has done a fair amount of job hopping: job-hoppers typically have a wide range of work experience and skills. They pull from diverse experiences when tackling problems. Instead of making all new hires go through a complete onboarding course, you are able to focus on the gaps in their knowledge which allows them to hit the ground running.
Some employees are job hoppers simply because of their skill level. For instance, in the tech industry, great coders are in high demand and may be poached at any moment. Most employees in the tech industry, to include techies in defense, work within an agile environment to manage their workflow. For many tech employees, applying ‘agile’ to their workflow includes jumping at a promotion opportunity when it becomes available, or when they see the chance to pursue new technology.
Product of Industry?
Moving on to better opportunities regardless of tenure with current employer seems to be the culture that industry is cultivating.
The nature of government contracting often emphasises short term contracts. Employees are forced to be resilient and find another gig quickly. The player (individual) may simply be reflecting the rules of the game? (contracting) with a resume filled with short-term stints and frequent job hopping.
COMBATING THE GAPS
Despite the changed hiring market, some hiring managers or recruiters still make assumptions about resume gaps. They ‘raise red flags’ & make employers ‘justifiably nervous.’ On the other hand, you’ll have interviewers who are understanding about gaps and will give you the opportunity to explain why.
How do you bridge gaps on your resume? Whether you were waiting on an interim clearance to come through, wanted to raise kids, were laid off, or couldn’t figure out what the next best move was, you should be able to explain the gaps.
Explaining your circumstances can help you to get the job, but only if you get an interview. The best way to get ahead of this dilemma is explaining longer gaps in a cover letter or in your initial application. Be honest, but professional.
Let’s say you are a veteran who needed to deal with other things at home after long deployments, needed to work through an injury, or pursue a degree. Simply state that you took time from employment, and the reason, but are ready to rejoin the workforce. You might feel comfortable discussing details during the interview, but you don’t need to put all of that in your resume. While an employer doesn’t have the right to know the details of your illness or absence, your goal should be to put a period on that time in the resume. Focus on what you did during that time, and highlight if you had any short-term, temporary, or freelance assignments.
If the gap was short term, it is not necessary to highlight why, in my opinion. You can use years, rather than months and years, for employment history. The gap could come out in an interview or when references are checked, but the chances you will make it into the pile following the first resume matching cut are high. In a face-to-face situation, you can explain it in detail you cannot give on a resume. At this point, be very honest. Hiring managers appreciate honesty, so explain, don’t hide.
I believe that things need to change with this initial disqualifier or placing ‘red flags’ when a military spouse hasn’t had a traditional employer in the last decade. Employers could be missing out on the hardest working candidates.
