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wholesumdimsum

Account Executive

Opinionated
Good Citizen
Contributor
+1

How to justify short stints during interviews?

I've been in my role now for the past 3 months and can definitely say that it's not something I see myself in. TLDR - I prefer a slightly more mature startup, but the one I'm in is a newly founded startup, building a product and trying to see how to go to market with it. After being here for 3 months, I'm only now aware that I thrive better in a more structured environment whilst still experiencing the flexibility and rigour of a startup. Secondly, the product isn't something I'm that interested in as well. Thirdly, culture is pretty... erm, meh.


So far, I've had no issues getting shortlisted for interviews by recruiters, but when it comes to the hiring manager/director stage, they question my ability to stay in a role for long. Questions like "if you've not been in your role for long, how do I know if you can stay in our company? Agree?" come up often and this is my answer:


"Hey yea I understand where you're coming from, totally valid concerns for you to have btw. But here's what I've learnt from my experiences and why I have no regrets making my decisions -- It is true that I have failed to assess certain things in my past roles which has resulted in my departure after a short while, but those so-called failures or missteps in the roles I've had have taught me a whole lot about myself and I count these experiences as necessary experiences in life in order to know what I truly want so I can go after it wholeheartedly, which is what I'm doing right now. Right now, I look at things long-term in a strategic manner like understanding the stage that the company is at and where it can be, the kind of challenges I'll be in and being able to assess whether these are challenges I wanna take on, making sure there are resources for me to tap on, visualising my career here based on the team dynamics here etc etc. I'm considering these things way more thoroughly and I want to assure you that having had these kinds of experiences, I'm very committed in finding an organisation that I can see myself in long-term, and I'm also looking for an organisation that sees past my current situation and believes in my potential and what I could be"


I've still gotten rejected because they think I'm not dedicated enough to stay in a role and are too afraid to take a chance on me. How can I better my answers? Thanks everyone!

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11 comments

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CuriousFox
WR Officer
3
🦊
Can you stick it out a few more months?
RandyMoss
Politicker
3
Account Executive
This is tricky...I would emphasize that you need to make a career move based on your last two jobs. What you have said up there is great. I would also add something like this:

"I understand that I have had some short stints at companies lately, and I can see how that might raise some red flags as you are looking at candidates. What I can tell you about that is I have struggled quite a bit to find a company that is the right fit for me with a vibrant culture, a good product, and real opportunities for growth. I have done my due diligence to ensure that I have found a plant some roots and stay for a while. I understand that I need to make a career move, and I am very ready to do it."

You don't have to go word for word, but you get the idea. I have said that in interviews and it has worked nicely. If you continue to get rejected then you are probably going to have to stick it out a few more months. Putting myself in the shoes of someone that would want to hire a sales rep, 3 months is a VERY short time at a job, and I would probably have some of those concerns as well. That person is either completely miserable (which is understandable) or they don't know what they want. Given that you have only been in sales for a year, I would guess most people are going to believe the latter. All you can do is try to blow interviews out of the water.

Hope this helps - good luck with your search!
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
3
SaaS Eater
As a hiring manager I would have a lot of the same concerns that you are running into You have only been in sales for just over a year and are now working on your 3rd role, with only 3 months closing experience. In all honesty that is probably a bigger issue for the hiring manager than the job hopping (though still something that would throw red flags)

I would follow the advice that @RandyMoss outlined if you are dead set on leaving, but in reality you need more experience actually selling before I would hire you. 


Young startups can be a huge challenge but I am sure there are a million things you can learn while you are there before moving to a company/role you are more invested in. Start adding tools to your toolbelt. 
LocoSales
Politicker
1
Jr. Sales Manager
Great advice. Would like to add to this with the following thought. Ask yourself, is there something else that I can learn here to perform better in my next job or even differentiate myself from other candidates? If the answer is no => leave. However, I believe that in your situation there is still plenty to learn. Try to really make the best out of it during the next 2-3 months and then assess whether it is worth fighting for it or not. 
AIDA
Executive
1
Business Development Manager
That’s a tough one. Explaining your reason to move on so soon and being as transparent as possible is normally enough. 

Is this your first super short stint? If you’ve done this a few times I could understand the rejection. 
wholesumdimsum
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
The previous role I had was a SDR role where I was there for 10 months, before I hopped into this AE role. 3 months in here and it's definitely not it for me
AIDA
Executive
0
Business Development Manager
Are you dealing with internal or external recruiters? The fee that external recruiters charge might be whats putting off hiring managers. They won’t wait to pay $15k for the risk you might leave. I would also approach the interview with some solid research and explain what it is about that company you like. Be specific, look through the things they’ve worked on, look up the line managers see where they’ve come from. Companies love it when you know the small details about their business. Not sure if any of that helps. Best of luck on your search! 🍺
wholesumdimsum
Opinionated
0
Account Executive
Some interviews have been thru internal, some have are thru external recruiter. 

Great tips!!! Thank you so much!
FamilyTruckster
Politicker
1
Exec Director, Major Accounts
Make sure you’re asking a TON of questions at these new places to ensure they’re the right fit for you. Tell the interviewer that your intention is to be somewhere long term 
SaaSam
Politicker
1
Account Executive
Initially I would tell you to stick around your current company for at least 3 more months if you want to be able to overcome that objection. I would say 6 months is a fair amount of time to assess a current role. That's probably where the red flag is coming from. If I was the hiring manager I would be wondering how you could be certain you weren't a good fit at just 3 months and not just dipping out the second you got uncomfortable.

Also, don't let them bring it up. Address it before they have a chance to do so. That way you can control the situation. Also a smart thing to do when selling, address any objections you expect to come up before they do.
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
sorry to hear about that but excited for the new opportunities you have on your way.

I don't have such a small stint but I always to try justify my move with cultural fit point of view and how I can learn and deliver more in their matured surrounding. 

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