Are you considered a flight risk to potential employers?

All too often we are finding that employers are asking us why candidates have moved jobs so frequently. Hiring managers, who have been working in their own position for over five years, can have un-realistic expectations of how quickly the job market can change, as they have not been an active job seeker for an extended period of time. Some of these hiring managers can have the perception that a candidate who has had more than one or two jobs within a 3 year period, can be a ‘flight risk’ and therefore a ‘red flag’ is raised. This can be quite a misconception of the situation.

The reality is, the job market for hiring managers, can be quite challenging, as there is a very small number of employers who do not experience business cycle fluctuations and rationalise their staff numbers accordingly. A number of people who have accepted new roles, have been forced back into the job market for reasons, being out of their control such as; restructuring, offshoring, projects completing or simply contracting out of necessity. The reasons are not always negative.

Unfortunately, this mindset has resulted in some hiring managers missing out on securing some great talent. A resume is a one dimensional/virtual document, it doesn't take into consideration the 3 dimensional nature of a candidate and their work experience. It is recommended that a more thorough investigation should be undertaken when a prospective employee has had a few different positions within a shorter period of time.

Do not dismiss a solid working experience without a good look into their reasons for leaving their various positions. If you are a job seeker who has moved jobs more than you would have liked, then a helpful hint would be to put the reasons for leaving your roles on your resume.

Unfortunately employers are often looking for reasons not to hire you and it is all too easy for the person reviewing your CV to reach a negative conclusion. We need to change this flawed way of thinking. The reality out there is that there always a huge amount of change in the job market. Someone who has changed jobs a few times, is not always doing so for a negative reason.