Submitted by ProcReg on
in
Forums
I'm trying to move past this statement from a recruiter:
"...This client is being super picky with job stability. Even though your moves are contract related…they are only looking at candidates that have very little movement if any on the resume."
This is a position looking for someone with my background, no question. Can anyone help me combat this in an interview?
I recently told an interviewer that the contract work was to put food on my table after leaving a *bad* fit position two years ago.
Rewrite your job
Why are you listing each contract as a different job? Why not have one job with multiple accomplishments?
Job: X years, Y months as independent widget contract specialist. Accomplishments, decreased widget part count; decreased widget to market time; increased widget profit margin.
I like that
That's interesting, sir/ma'am.
I did contract work for six months, bad fit, full time job for six months, six month gap, and two contracts totaling nine months. Calling myself an independent contractor would be fairly accurate. It's just a question of how to make that fit on a resume.
It could end up being moot, as I had an "AMAZING" interview last week. I agree, that means zero, but damage is already done, and they were pleased with how I handled myself.
Interesting. That's worth a shot.
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"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Public opinion is a weak tyrant to that of private thought." HD Thoreau Walden
There's a cast for that...
http://www.manager-tools.com/2010/09/writing-resumes-consultants-and-pro...
Enjoy!
Wendii
Is your recruiter talking with the hiring manager?
If your recruiter isn't talking directly with the hiring manager, seems like it's someone trying to filter based on irrelevancies. I counter with "contract work is by its nature shorter term than employment -- which means I have more exposure to different organizations, different ideas, and different contexts which have made me more effective in refining and using my skills. Let's talk about how I can serve you with this broader understanding."
If your recruiter *is* talking to the hiring manager, ask the recruiter point-blank: "So are they considering me or not?" This is yes/no: if the answer is "yes", keep working it; if "no", scratch this opportunity off the list and move on; if neither, do you really want to keep working with this recruiter?
Stability is relative to context, anyway. There's one two-year stretch where my wife and I were on (separate) contracts. During that time, we each had one manager, doing unchanged work, on one team. One client company got acquired after a bad stumble, both reorganized at least twice (once with a name and location change). Meantime, our employers-of-record got caught up in a fail-cascade of acquisitions, to the point where we filed six W2's one year and four the next. Eight different employers-of-record *for two concurrent contracts*. And health insurance plans changed out on me every 2-3 months. I asked myself then "Who's the unstable party here?" and have carried my own benefits through my own firm ever since.
THANKS!
Thanks everyone! I took the advice, and it feels like it's a great thing. I accomplished a lot in terms of dollar impact, process improvement, and general helpfulness. And I like how 2.5 years of consistency looks, rather than a six month gap, a *"bad fit"* position I left, and the current gap. The bullet list is about half a page, because I accomplished a lot for the companies.
It doesn't feel dishonest, either, which was my main concern. Beneath the "Independent Contractor" line, I explain my reasoning (the recession) and the companies I worked at.
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"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Public opinion is a weak tyrant to that of private thought." HD Thoreau Walden
Follow up
I love this new resume.
I'm not having to answer a bunch of stupid questions about my past anymore. There's still, "do you like contract work?" like it's a bad thing, but 7-10 minutes are no longer wasted by accusations of job hopping. It got ugly, and sometimes I did well with it, sometimes not.
Personally, i'm better off not working for those folks that weren't happy to talk to me about it.
"It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed." - Theodore Roosevelt
"Public opinion is a weak tyrant to that of private thought." HD Thoreau Walden