Too much experienceI was recently denied a position from a company with the reason given that I have ' worked for too many companies'. This decision was made by an operations manager after having gone through a month-long process of interviews and background checks. I impressed the local lead technician as well as the regional supervisor (the people who do the work) as well as having cleared the bacground investigation.. I am sure you can imagine my disbelief as to the OM's position. Should they have sent this guy my resume first so that he could screen out the people with full resume's??? My industry requires that I divulge my entire experience over 19 years and to be told that I have worked for too many companies is tantamount to being told that I am finished in this industry. How in the world do I deal with that??? How many years on each of those jobs did you work? In other words over 19 years, did you have 19 jobs in which you only stayed one year? Or 5 jobs but stayed in each job for 3.8 years? Or, maybe the operations manager wanted someone who stayed in a position with a company for more than 5 years and preferably wanted someone who had been in the position for the entire time they were employed until present. He may have had his reasons for wanting this, such as to make sure the person they hired would be staying longer than just a few years. He may also be of the belief that if a person stays for a while and then moves on, they take to another company information that can be used to move that company ahead and his company behind. (which is, I believe, what non-compete contracts are used to guard against) And, yes, if he is going to be that picky that he bases his decision on the amount of companies you have worked for rather than on your extensive experience and knowledge, then he should have been the first person to review the resumes. Or, if not the first person, then the second person to make sure that nobody was being called who would not make the cut for working too much. To answer your query, 3 jobs were for over 5 years out of 11 companies. And I have never been terminated for poor performance. And yes, I like many other Americans have been terminated from a position, and have never violated a non-comp agreement. This is the only profession that I can command a livable wage for my family. I am feeling really lost after this, I cannot change my past. I write this mainly to vent and in the hopes that other employers may read this and consider the fact that, frankly, if you wish to add experienced people to your ranks, you have to realize that they weren't born yesterday.
To analogize this: how many lovers has your significant other had before you? If that (previous) relationship was so wonderful, would that person be with you now? This Operations Manager guy needs to restructure his hiring program and strictly advertise for 'one-trick ponies'. Thats obviously what he wants.
Or....this may fall under the old "jack of all trades, master of none" theory that companies use as a tactic to NOT hire someone, even if that person may fit the job functions. A few years ago, I was once told that phrase, almost word for word. After the initial defensive stance, I inquired as to what specifics the hiring manager saw on my resume to make that statement. Then, HE got a bit defensive with me!! Imagine that. My resume clearly show nothing in the form of multiple tasks with no specific concentration. This guy was trying to blow smoke at me. | |
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