When searching for a new job, your evaluation begins long before the interview. In most cases, there has been several rounds of eliminating candidates before the hiring manager calls to schedule interviews. This is why your resume is so important.
In the initial stages, all you have to promote yourself is the information on your resume. They don’t know what you look like, how charismatic you are, if you have an approachable personality; all they know is your experience.
Stand Outs
In order to stand out among the other resumes, there are a few key indicators hiring managers are looking for. One is Longevity, or how long on average you tend to stay employed at one position. Longevity at a job shows stability. It shows that you are able to stay in one spot and indicates to the hiring manager that they can trust that you will not leave early from the position they are hiring.
When eliminating candidates in the initial stages, hiring managers are more likely to keep those those candidates that look like they will be there for the long haul over experience. For example, if you have 15 years of experience at 32 jobs, in most cases, you are less likely to get the interview than someone with 5 years experience at the same job.
The longer you stay at one position, the more experience and stability you gain, which makes you more marketable when searching for a new position. Having multiple jobs on your resume isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you tend to jump from position to position and have noticed a drop in your ability to obtain an interview, you may want to work on longevity. This will help you become more marketable in the future.
