Any HR directors out there? I’ve worked my current job for just over three months, and for reasons I’ll save for the Pit (although it does involve an irreversable anal/cranial inversion and an irreversable cranial/anal insertion, but I digress), I’m going to be bailing out on the job soon. Perhaps as soon as tomorrow. So, it being a while since I wrote a resume (I got this job “thanks” to a friend.), I’d like to have a rough idea of how I should phrase everything (since another friend tells me that all the things I used to put in my resume like how I did this or that for company X) are no longer acceptable in that manner. Also, how do I explain that I only worked for these nutbags for just 3 months? I know I can’t say that they were crazy, but since this’ll be the shortest job I’ve ever had, how do I explain that without sounding like I’m being negative?
in my company it is acceptable to hire someone that says “I wasn’t a match for that company” or “We weren’t a match for one another”. No more conversation necessary. As long as if someone says “are you re-hireable at that company”, you can say “yes” then you shouldn’t have anything to worry about.
Hmm. Being rehirable may be a bit of a problem. According to rumor (they have a high turnover rate), if you hand in your two weeks notice, they’ll boot you out on your ass the same day. Of course, I could always lie!
I agree with the vague ‘it wasn’t a good match’ line.
as to rehirable - don’t lie, you could say “I gave them proper notice, had not had complaints about my work. I’ve not asked them if I’m rehirable”.
My favorite kind of resume puts the skills out front - as in list the skills, breaking 'em up by category, get specific (add in wpm, kpm data if you have it, give specific programs you can operate). So, that way, if you have skills in say, customer service and computer applications, I don’t have to wade through 3 job descriptions before I find that you have it.
edcation/specific training yep. club affiliations no (unless you’re 17 and have few past jobs). Experience - what I’m looking for is continuity (any gaps?) and longevity - but if for example, you only have 3 months at your last job, but 2 years at the prior one, and 3 years at the one before that, I’ll not worry about it. I will worry about some one who’s job history demonstrates no or few jobs with more than a few months at each.
Actually, wring, I was kidding about the lying! (I know, I shoulda used instead of :D, but I just like how looks.) I have no doubt, that the owner’ll be more than happy to lie about how well I performed there! To quote him, “I’m a very vengeful person, and I intend to pay those guys back for what they did.” (Not the first clue I had that I’d made a bad career move.) Of course, when I do quit, I’m probably going to be taking 2/3rds of the employees with me!
Firstly, you didn’t say what field you were in, but I would warn you that the days of tech people (especially low-level tech people) leaving and getting picked up immediately have paused for a while.
Secondly, HR departments are basically doing a key-word search on your resume. So you have to hit all the key-words you know, to get the HR Database hits.
Once the HR department likes you (and they will if your resume has the key-words that the department who really wants to hire you specified in their job request), then the hiring manager for the department wants to know what you know about those key-words. If it’s me interviewing you, I want to hear a bit about what you did with the key-words that interest me. No more than a sentence on the resume per key-word, or else you won’t have anything to tell me during the interview.
Note that many, many companies don’t take that step. They assume that when you say “HTML” that you KNOW “HTML”. I, on the other hand, determine if you’ve written a nice little home page with three whole picture links on it or if you designed the online order system for a multinational corporation. I have no idea why this is so.
Vor, have no plans to jump to a competitor (nearest one’s in Canada, really), I made a jump from warehouse work to being the tech/shipper/receiver guy at my current job. (Which if the boss and his wife weren’t such nutcases, I’d be happy to stay there for a year or two.) All I really need to do is find something that pays close to what I’m making now. I’m going to school to be a machinist, but my skills aren’t up to a high enough level yet to get me a job in the field.
You know what I HATE on resumes? It’s the insidious, creeping “strategic plan” bafflegab! “My job plan is …” “My career plan meshes with your corporate goals…” blech.
I’m with wring - up front, tell me what skills and expertise you have, and where you’ve worked or studied in the recent past. I’ll assess if you match our goals, thanks very much. (and if you put “I hate strategic planning” in microfont at the bottom of each page, I’ll do my best to hire you!)
This is absolutely true. I’m kind of was in a similar situation as you Tucker.
I left a job I had for 3 years to join another company, which we shall call “A”. While the new company treated me well, once I got started I realized they kind of mislead me about what kind of job it was a little bit, and I really felt “out of place” with the corporate culture there. Something about having to work 14 hours days with no lunch break is NOT what I went to college for!
Anyway, I stuck it out for 4 months, and really didn’t want to leave, since I didn’t want a spotty job history on my resume, but another company, “B” convinced me, to make the move.
In the job interview, I was point blank honest about 3 things: I put over company A, told them the difference between what the job was supposed to be and what it actually was. I talked about how even though I was disappointed I understood that sometimes companies make last minute “changes” to job descriptions, and you just have to roll with it.
I also admitted that it was me who ultimately is to blame, since I made the choice to accept their offer. I think I won them over by not trashing company A, sounding like a team player, and accepting responsibility for my own actions.
As long as your resume shows you are not a total job jumper, a good employer will know that everyone takes a bum hire once in their life!
As for the two weeks notice, after getting hired with company B, I gave my 2 weeks notice to A, boy was my boss pissed. I explained I really did enjoy working there, it’s just that I was offered more money, and had to work less hours, and if anyone asked me to recommend their type of product, I’d still recommend their company A. He groused that he thought I knew what the job requirements were. He didn’t seem to get or wanted to understand that the main reason I was leaving was because I just got a hell of an offer.
2 p.m. that same day I get this rather terse email saying since I was there less than 90 days, and that I understood the job requirements, that I was terminated, and to turn in my shit as of 5p.m… :mad:
Now, I could have argued since:
In the email itself, it admits I gave 2 weeks notice, in other words it was MY decision to quite, NOT theirs to fire me;
I worked there LONGER than 90 days, so technically they couldn’t fire me “at will”.
However, why not let sleeping dogs lie? This is actually common practice in sales anyway.
I’m happy with where I’m at, and have taken myself off the market. And God forbid should I ever need another job, and company A replies to a prospective employer that I was “terminated”, I have a copy of that email and my offer sheet (and a good lawyer)!!!
My advice to you is . . don’t burn bridges. Give 2 weeks notice. If they “terminate” you,
You get 2 weeks off; or
2.Let your prospective employer know this could happen . . . maybe they will start you earlier!
The best that can happen is your current company takes the two weeks, and you leave the door open for a return.
It didn’t matter anyway . . .I might have lost 2 weeks pay . . .but I already had a vacation scheduled, so who cares???
instead of :D, but I just like how 