As recruiters, we are conditioned to look for one major thing on a resume: job-hopping. “This person has had a new job every two years. If we hire them, they’ll leave in two years and then we’ll be working on this req all over again.” We look at great candidates that meet or surpass the job description, but if the candidate is hoppy, we hesitate to give them a call. We know a Hiring Manager will notice job-hopping. They will have a hard time seeing past the selling points we’ve provided. If you are the first person looking at a direct applicant or looking for new talent, there are a few things to know before you hit the Next button.
Layoffs
As sad as it to see, layoffs happen every day, and we can help redirect these recently unemployed people to vacant jobs within our companies. Depending on the industry, location, or the specific field a person works in, they might go through multiple layoffs throughout their career. Whether a person has been through one or numerous layoffs, they might not list it on their resume as a reason for leaving a company. So next time you see someone worked a role for only a short amount of time, do a quick search to see if maybe that company went through layoffs.
Conglomerates
According to Wikipedia, a conglomerate is a combination of multiple business entities, operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Often, a conglomerate is a multi-industry company.
In simpler terms: A conglomerate is a bunch of businesses that fall under one umbrella. Knowing which companies are connected is very important when it comes to recruiting. Some notable conglomerates include General Electric, 3M, and Honeywell. Did you know that Crest and Dawn are subsidiaries of Procter & Gamble? That Reese’s and Kit Kat are a part of The Hershey Company?
Instead of having to Google each conglomerate and their subsidiaries, LinkedIn takes care of this for you. If you search for a company, select the company page, and choose “See all employees on LinkedIn,” LinkedIn will search all companies for you.
I came across someone the other day who, in three years, worked at Ingersoll Rand, Club Car, and Thermo King. That’s one job per year. This person can’t stay put at a company. Wrong. Both Club Car and Thermo King are subsidiaries of Ingersoll Rand, so this person has been working for the same company all three years.
Another person I came across worked for Faurecia for one year, eight months, and has now been working for ZF Group for one year, ten months. While this would seem hoppy if you are browsing the profile, these two companies went into a strategic partnership in 2017.
A third and final example: Someone who worked at WhiteWave Foods and has made a move to Danone North America. If I am new to sourcing, I wouldn’t know that these two companies are the same.
Contract Work
A lot of people work Contract roles these days. Companies like to offer Contract roles, as they might not need someone for the long-term, and it also helps benefit the company. The problem is that not everyone lists (Contract) on their resume. Because of this, their resume quite often gets disregarded.
In Final
So, the next time you come across a resume of someone that seems to jump from job to job, take a second look. Research layoffs (set up Google alerts for these). Learn of conglomerates in your industry. Find which companies/titles often offer contract work.
Just make sure you don’t jump to conclusions, or you could be missing out on some great talent.