How to explain multiple changes in employment without appearing to job hop?
The economy in the last 30 years has been extremely volatile. Many have experienced Recession, economic collapse, 911, the savings and loan crises, the housing crises, bank failures, and countless wars and conflicts.
The cost of living for the middle class has increased while the one percent rewarded for cutting operational costs and boosting profits for shareholders. Breadwinners are now receiving bread from food pantries while working less than their previous wages less than ten years ago.
Mergers and buyouts have resulted in monopolies, Disney and its subsidiaries control our movies and television programming, Sirius XM once separate satellite radio providers now own Pandora music streaming service managing musical content. Strategic partnerships with companies Ford and Microsoft for information systems in cars.
Many of these action, while good expanding the scope of the businesses, may result in redundancy of staff. AT&T completed the $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner gave the communications giant the media content of Warner Brothers, HBO, and the Turner Network brands it lacked to remain competitive with other streaming, digital, and cable services. The recent iHeartMedia layoffs resulted due to the changing market in communications.
None of these changes come without cost. A buyout may be required for the key stakeholders and stockholders of the purchased companies as well as absorbing debt. These goals require staff redundancy elimination. In some cases, the high-level executives and management may or may not remain during the transition and can transition to other careers due to position but not experience in different industries. These individuals are very mobile and highly desired due to their advanced training and proven results.
The non-exempt staff, however, may find it harder to transition due to the competitiveness of massive layoffs in the labor force and the lack of visibility in the higher positions. Many will have to settle to survive, and loyalty by either party is not guaranteed. Very few companies still have employees who start after high school, trade school, or college and retire in thirty years.
Ninety days of unemployment in this economy is standard. Red flags not raised due to the many temporary positions or temporary to hire format that many companies now employ as the try before you buy strategy standard for IT, Project Management, and seasonal jobs.
The effect of coronavirus has affected world markets and economies. China is one of the biggest exporters and ground zero for the virus. How will this affect supply chains and eventually labor?
Companies in emerging markets can fail. If you are a victim of companies in those markets, be honest about the reason you are not with the company. Many companies will converge on an exchange at the same time. If you move from company to company, some may see it as resilience if you stay within your skillset. If your tenure with the firms is short and sporadic, you may be viewed as unstable and lack loyalty. The same can be considered with rapid career changes as well.
In the event, the conversation turns
to job-hop, have evidence of why you are no longer with those companies. Explain how previous skillsets were transferable to new careers. Sell that the various experiences have enhanced your growth and that of the companies you have worked for, Recruiters and Headhunters have scanned your resume previously. Explain all gaps in employment if asked. Many industries share resources and information. In the end, honesty is the best policy.
If you have gaps in employment or transferring to a new career, Info eNConnect can help you. Check out our resume services and receive your free resume consultation with us today.
Subscribe to our site to stay up to date with more industry news, blogs, and more, and what we are doing here at Info eNConnect.