How To Create A Resume That Downplays Your Job Switch

How To Create A Resume That Downplays Your Job Switch If you made several job switches over a short period, and don’t explain the reason of changes on your resume, you might appear to them as a “job hopper” to recruiters and hiring managers. So here we share some tips to let you know how to create a resume which appeals the hiring manager and also keeps you way ahead of the rest.

Though the scenario of frequent job changes is more acceptable than what it was a decade ago, it can still raise brows with recruiters. Tom Lovett, an expert says that job hopping might be a sign of poor interpersonal skills and a lack of performance. So you must be careful; if you have a job-hopping resume. To get there for an interview, your resume must convince recruiters that you are not a short-term investment. Here we share some tips on downplaying your situation.

1. Define yourself in a brief statement: Create a tailored statement in short at the top of your resume to guide the recruiters through the document and make an influence on their interpretation of your job.

First highlight the collective number of years of experience in your industry in a sentence like, “Seven-plus years of marketing experience with expertise in planning, database, and writing.”

The seven years gives a cohesive feel even though it might have been with various companies.

According to a study done by HR Services Inc., a human-resources management-consulting firm in Milwaukee, candidates who have an average of fewer than three years per job during their first 10 years were 65% more likely to quit their next job within three years.

2. Create logic between hops: If you decide to ignore a hint of previous employment, it’s essential for your job changes to tell a story.

Marci Alboher, an author quotes that you might have to leave out positions that don’t relate to the direction you’re going in or are distracting. If you had jobs across different industries, simply keep focussed on the connections between them.

Make an attempt to show progression and that you’ve taken on better levels of responsibility with each jump. It is that forward-moving jumps are recognized as more favorable than lateral or backward jumps.

3. Mention involuntary hops: Not all job switches are viewed negatively. If your position changed due to merging or acquisition or you are a contract worker, mention that on your resume.

Incidents like downsizing, merging, and possesion are quite common these days and it might look like people have job switched and in many cases, it’s not a choice,” quoted Taunee Besson, president of Career Dimensions, a firm in Dallas for career-planning. He said that they were in a wrong place at the wrong time.

If your employer went through a merger or acquisition, adjacent to the company’s present name, in brackets mention “formerly ABC Company” with the company’s previous name, says an expert.

If you were a working on a contract basis, mention that in your job titles.

4. Include a brief account of your previous employment: In place of bullet listing your jobs on the resume by mentioning your most recent positions or changes and create a gist of previous employment section for prior jobs.

Give a collective start and end date for the former employment sections, instead of start and end dates for each job, says Mr. Bartz, partner of ExeCareers Inc. 5. Use the exact dates to your advantage: If you remove months when you mention the date of each position, it could give an illusion that you worked in positions longer than you must have. For example, if you list that you have worked with a company from November 2005 to January 2006, a recruiter will know you had a twomonth stint. Listing 2005-2006 and your position will imply a longer duration, says an expert. Mentioning years also helps you to leave out short stints that might raise eyebrows.

You have to divert their attention to your skill set instead of your tenure by mentioning dates on the right side of your resume instead of the left, says an expert.

6. Take help of a hybrid resume: If a conventional chronological resume doesn’t get positive feedback or looks random, you can try a hybrid resume where your work history is just secondary to your skills. Such a resume procures the skill features from the functional resume and makes a chronological history towards the end of the resume, says an expert.

Below the summary, write about 3 or 5 responsibilities which you must have excelled in and list the accomplishments from your past positions related to those responsibilities. An expert suggests that list a company where you achieved with every accomplishment in brackets at the end of each bullet point.

Below the list of responsibilities, make a section and there you list each employer, title and begin and end dates in reverse chronological order.

With this, we conclude. Hope this piece of information gave an idea about how to change careers and what points to mention in your job hopping resume regarding your job switch. It is not that companies don’t consider, hiring job hoppers but if you had several job switches in a short span, just remember the above mentioned points while writing your resume. Keep looking into this space by career advice for more tips and advice related to career and success.

Good Luck!