Worried about the short career stints showing up in your resume?

“Oh well, I’ve just been working with my current organization for 2 months. So, maybe I won’t show this experience on my resume” – said the candidate.

Did you just raise a brow?

We, as talent consultants, oft come across candidates who blatantly state that they would not like to ‘show’ an experience that isn’t long enough for it to be considered stable. It could be with the current organization or perhaps a stint, a few years back.

Firstly, we consider this ask to be a major red flag for the candidate. Why? Because it’s raises doubts on the candidate’s integrity and ethics. For a moment, put yourself in the hiring organization’s shoes – would you like to hire a candidate who at the outset is withholding information that he/she potentially feels will impact his/ her chances of being hired? Am sure the answer is a resounding no.

Secondly, you are putting your career and years of hard work in jeopardy. Even if you do get offered/hired – at any point in time thereafter, if the employer gets to know about it (through a verification or an ex/current employee of that organization or other sources), you stand to lose the offer/ job and most importantly, your credibility. We work in an environment where word of mouth spreads, and oft precedes your reputation. Remember – a single lie discovered is enough to create a doubt in every truth expressed. 

So, what must you do, if you have one or more of these short stints in your career. The answer - be honest to yourself, and to your prospective employer(s). And to set the context, you could do some changes to your resume, as listed below:

1. Put a one line statement in your CV against that work experience, giving reasons for the move. E.g : organization shut down, organization downsized, personal/health emergency, moved to pursue entrepreneurship but came back owing to non-conducive market conditions.
2. If the shift was reasons that would warrant further probing from the prospective employers (or may be perceived as unacceptable) – e.g. for a better opportunity, or offer from a dream company or a fallout with the management, or the role wasn’t as promised – don’t mention the reason in the CV. Instead, write that you will discuss the reasons over a call/ meeting. And over the call/ meeting, own it up. Even if it was a career mistake – own it up. Give them reasons – and demonstrate how you have been cognizant of your stability thereon. And that you are looking at having a long term working relationship with any organization that you work with.
3. Again, if the stint in question is your latest one, and you are looking out for opportunities within less than a year of joining, you might as well have strong reasons for looking out. If the only reason is ‘financial growth’ or ‘better opportunity’ – you mostly won’t land that job, and even if you do, you will need to keep justifying that move with every company you interview with thereafter.

As a Talent & Career Advisor, I’d strongly recommend you treat your career choices with caution. A whimsical, not-thought-through move can have potential long term implications. A stable portfolio definitely holds merit against a portfolio of someone who’s equally good, but has had an unstable career.

But at all costs – speak the truth.

After all, as Benjamin Franklin says, it takes many good deeds to build a good reputation, and only one bad one to lose it. Your reputation, is your personal brand – safeguard it.