Resume writing: one side says do this, other side says don't

[Ns1]

Short time in all roles = job hopper, bad hire

(Possibly) Overlong time spent in current role = someone who has plateaued at their current company and isn't high potential (or they would have been promoted where they are.)

Total time spent in similar roles = level of experience. You don't want to hire someone with 8 years of experience into an entry level job, and you don't want to hire someone with 6 months of experience into a job that needs a very solid experienced background

So what's the ideal #? 3, or 5-7?

And we're talking about time with a company, or time in a role?

Because I've been with the same company for 4 years and I'm now in my 3rd "role" (2 lateral promotions + 1 promotion)...

 

[Farang]

So what's the ideal #? 3, or 5-7?

And we're talking about time with a company, or time in a role?

Because I've been with the same company for 4 years and I'm now in my 3rd "role" (2 lateral promotions + 1 promotion)...

Longevity is not necessarily good or bad, but it shows how you approach working.

A great contractor is going to show months-long stints at various companies. I'm going to look at which companies he has worked for (do they have high bars?) and how long he has been unemployed inbetween (if he gets picked up right away by good companies, he is good). A red flag is long periods of his own LLC, which to me means a strong probability he was unemployable and did whatever piecemeal work he could pick up in between real gigs. Definitely exceptions in that regard, pretty easy to pick up once you meet the person.

Also, if you are a lifelong contractor that tells me you are focusing on finally getting that FTE gig, I get a red flag. So the contracting wasn't by choice?

A great direct hire candidate has years-long stints at each company. Why is this important? We call them "fee-worthy" candidates. As recruiters charge 20%-30% of first-year salary for placement fees, a company isn't going to hire someone who has a history of quitting after a short period of time. It's too much risk

 

[Ns1]

^^

Thanks. Makes sense. +reps

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Add list of skills, don't misspell anything, it's all about the interview. Most hiring managers take 20-30 seconds to look at your resume.