A resume can say a lot about a person – education, background, skillsets, and personal interests.
And trying to make a good impression with the hiring company can become tricky when you might have less favourable items in your CV. Let’s look at the ways to mitigate such issues and prepare a better job profile.
Short job roles
Having a number of jobs in a short time is not necessarily a bad thing, depending on the industry.
To avoid giving the impression that you are unable to stay committed, the candidate can explain the job type and indicate if it was a contract, temp, or internship. Seasonal employment is also a legitimate reason for the short time frame.
Focus on the achievements and skills learnt during the limited time there and highlight how you can value add and take on steep learning curves.
Long gaps
Gaps in the resume can be voluntary or involuntary due to unemployment, illness, caregiving or overseas ventures.
While having gaps are not uncommon, these should be reflected and explained in the CV.
If you have been travelling or caregiving, you will have learnt valuable skills such as time management, communication, and attention to detail during your experiences.
If you were not working due to illness, you could use the experience to show your maturity and resilience in getting your health back in order.
Too many job experiences
Is your CV overfilled with job roles since your teenage years? It is best to trim it down to a profile that is concise and coherent.
It can be tempting to add as much information as possible, but recruiters focus on keywords.
You can remove any jobs from a decade ago or not relevant to the role you are applying for, keep minor roles’ descriptions brief, highlight achievements and not day-to-day tasks.
