TORC

In the course of a recent interview for a senior sales role I asked the candidate what were his outstanding achievements over the last 5 to 8 years – he responded the key achievement was managing to stay fully employed!

As he was involved in selling exclusively to the construction sector I could not but agree with him.

During the period 2008 – 2013 we experienced extremely tough times in this economy and carnage in the construction and related sectors. It is indeed a credit to anybody in the sector who did stay employed throughout.

Many employers automatically reject candidates who have moved jobs after short intervals. However there may be good reason eg company closure, redundancy, fraudulent trading etc – all circumstances outside the employee’s control.

Key questions to ask are: why did you leave the position & why did you join the next company – you can learn alot about the candidate from the answers.

Job hopping candidates deserve a chance to explain recent job moves and how they are managing to rebuild and refocus their careers – you might find some real gems!