Get “job hopper” out of your (and your hiring leader’s) vocabulary
I recently saw a post about a job seeker applying for a role and being asked, “Are you currently employed and have been in your job for at least one year?” When they responded, “no,” they received a automatic “no thank you” notification. Wow! Talk about an arbitrary and non-job-related screen out. Not to mention the talent this organization is leaving on the table.
A quick story from my personal experience: I once presented a resume of a very qualified candidate to the hiring manager, and was stunned when he decided not to interview. When I asked why, he said that the candidate was a “job hopper” with 4 roles in 5 years. I told him I didn’t see it that way, and asked him if he would mind if I talked to the candidate. I did, it turns out, he followed an executive to 4 different companies as that executive continued to grow. After explaining this to the hiring manager, he decided to interview – and ultimately hired the candidate.
There are very real reasons why you might see more short tenures on resumes right now. Educating your hiring leaders is a good first step to ensure you’re not screening out the right candidate. Here are a few reasons I’m seeing:
Pandemic-related job changes: Many people reevaluated their roles or had changes in their employment (furloughs, layoffs, etc.)
Layoffs: Technology companies and others have had significant layoffs late in 2022 and into 2023.
Illness, leaves, childcare or other caregiving responsibilities have prompted people – especially women – to step out of the workforce or scale down in level since the pandemic began in 2020.
Contract roles or other short-term roles have provided a way for many to navigate the pandemic and its aftermath.
My advice is to talk to people, find out the reasons behind the short tenures and work with your leaders and others to ensure you are not filtering out great, loyal, and talented employees who are looking for a place to call home.