Your resume seems jumpy


I never wanted to be a job hopper, I just wanted the most money possible.


Had this brought up in my last interview, would love your take on it.


I'm an SDR who's excited about making it to a 4th round interview for an Smb AE role. I have 2.5 years of Sdr experience at 3 companies. I always chased and still chase that Dolla dolla bill yo. My carear so far is broken down by: 8 months at the first until they gave me an ultimatum to take a promotion(Smb AE) with a demotion in pay.


Moved to a higher paying Bdr gig with a more technical product, training and competitive heavy hitting team of 12. Grinded it out for a year and then promotion was halted "due to Covid." with others ahead of me in line and future looking glim, I bounced.


Currently I am a SDR team lead that also does a lot more than SDR work: I avoided AE jobs before I settled here. I figured no company worth it's salt is going not going to hire internally. So I chose to risk it on what the recruiter described as a "rocket ship" and while it had all the makings to be one - great venture backing, strong leadership, and a proven CRO - it also had a first-time founder and a product that wasn't as far along as it should have been. Fast forward a year and he 25 people turned to 6, I'm the last salesperson. I stayed partly because I was lazy but also because it was an incredible opportunity to learn and wear a ton of different hats and new responsibilities. I heard from leadership that we are black-listed in VC world and I think this company is going nowhere.


I know there's other job hoppers out here - can you spare some human kindness and be a big brother/sister here?


Thanks Fam!

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14
funcoupons
WR Officer
12
๐Ÿ‘‘
I wouldn't call three jobs in three years a job hopper considering you left for legitimate reasons and SDR is an entry level position. If you were leaving every 3-4 months because you couldn't get along with the team or weren't achieving quota that would be a red flag to me but saying no thanks to a demotion and having a promotion opportunity stalled are good reasons to change it up.ย 

I do question why you think (or maybe used to think) that no company worth it's salt would hire internally for AE...that's what a ton of companies do, it's completely normal. Unless you come from a very similar industry and have many years of experience under your belt, in more complex industries it's often necessary for someone to start as an SDR to learn about the product/industry before they can even begin to try and close deals.ย 

All that said, if you're concerned that some hiring managers will pass you over because you've left a few jobs - don't be. Some will, but that's fine. An experienced manager knows that most start ups fail and that SDR roles are a fucking grind and isn't going to cross you off the list because you stayed loyal to yourself.
goose
Politicker
1
Sales Executive
The issue here is perception. ย You can say you left because duty called and you felt you had to run for President because neither party had the right candidate and you could bring some spunk to the debate. ย Perception is reality.

poweredbycaffeine
WR Lieutenant
11
โ˜•๏ธ
First things first, can we all agree to stop calling anyone who doesn't play rock shows "rockstars"?

Moving on.

If you make a move every year to 18 months to gain experience, earning potential, and/or market exposure, then I don't have a problem with your chess-board moves. However, if you are moving because you are toxic and you run out of your welcome at those companies far too quickly, then we have a problem we must address and/or avoid.
UrAssIsSaaS
Arsonist
7
SaaS Eater
When I hire I dont love seeing a resume where someone averages less than a year in role. Its usually an indicator that someone just wants to jump to the next highest base unless they can speak effectively to why they made those changes.ย 

Your reasoning seems sound so I dont think its the end of the world and if you can speak to your process really effectively and know what makes you successful, that means more to mean as a hiring manager than your tenure in prior roles.ย 

I would be cautious about this though because its eventually going to become a pattern for you and when you're on role 5 in 6 years, I'm probably out as a hiring manager.ย 
InQ5WeTrust
Arsonist
5
No marketing, mayo isn't an MQL
Concur with this thinking, done a few hops in my time and haven't had an issue with any hiring manager so long as I could give solid reasons.ย 


SaaSam
Politicker
4
Account Executive
Most hiring managers are going to question your motives for leaving any company before the 2-year mark. That's to be expected, however, if they have a problem with someone leaving a shitty situation then you don't want to work there anyway.

I take issue with the notion that you should have to stick around and suffer in a position or company that makes you miserable just so your resume doesn't make you look like a job hopper.

Two things. A) I'm not sticking around if I'm miserable beyond my control. B) Bet your ass I'm taking a better opportunity if and when it comes along, I'm loyal to myself and my family. Recruiters and hiring managers that act like those two things are a sin are so out of touch that I don't want to work with them anyway.
Mjollnir
Politicker
3
Account Executive
honestly that's normal.ย ย 
CaneWolf
Politicker
2
Call me what you want, just sign the damn contract
You're in sales. You'll be fine.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
๐ŸฆŠ
Nothing seems off to me either.
GDO
Politicker
2
BDM
3 jobs in 3 years seems normal in sales. Even preferred at the start of your career.ย 
E_Money
Big Shot
2
๐Ÿ’ฐ
"Job hopping" Is super typical these days. I have spent 9 months at some companies and 3 years at other. Never been asked about tenure only reasons for leaving.

So even if you resume is "jumpy" as long as you have good answers for why you left each company it shouldn't be an issue.

I interview people all the time and no one on my team considers short job tenure a red flag.
TheIncarceration
Politicker
2
SDR Manager
Your reasons for leaving seem totally valid to me. As a hiring manager I would see those short stints as a yellow flag but would still be more than happy to have a conversation with you and hear your reasons for leaving those last 3 companies.

Side note: do you know why you guys are blacklisted?ย 
FormerStartupJobHopper
Tycoon
1
AE
If you can explain yourself, which it seems like you can, you'll be alright. You just need to be choosey about your next jump and frankly make it your last. I'd say your next gig your goal should be to stick around for at least 2-3 years, minimum.ย 

I had a very similar situation. SDR at a startup right out of school for about 8 months. Was killing it but nothing was closing so whole sales staff was let go

Then just took the first BDR job with the same base that was thrown at me as I was a bit trigger happy in unemployment. This next company was not a good fit as I'm good on the phone and the BDRs were more like marketers. So after about 5 months I jumped to an SMB AE role.

I was not ready to close and wasn't trained as someone who had never closed before. The company failed it's funding round and half my team was let go and I had no mentorship. I then just foolishly put my head down and tried to grind through but couldn't close shit. After 6 months I was fired for performance (like every other of 10 reps over the past 2 years)


So in my interview at my current company I literally just told the truth as diplomatically as possible. I was careful about where to work and went to work at not only a good SDR org but a good AE org. So come promotion time 10 months ago I wasn't fucked.

Just be choosy about your next gig. Don't jump ship unless it's a slam dunk
GCK1890
Opinionated
1
Solutions Engineer
People promote internally. I don't know what field you are in but in tech that is the norm.ย 
Justatitle
Big Shot
1
Account Executive
Entry level bump around is not a big deal IMO. If someone brings it up as a concern have a good brief story and hit on why you left if they canโ€™t get by that and focus on the shit that matters, then itโ€™s no longer on you.ย 
goose
Politicker
1
Sales Executive
It doesn't matter what we think. ย The opinion of the hiring company is the only thing that matters. ย While there are options here and different ways to approach a scenario like this the fact remains that it appears you can't hold a job for more than 12 months and that makes hiring managers nervous. ย 

My suggestion is to focus on the people. ย Rather than chase the dollar, focus on the leadership, product, value, benefits and find a company that you can stick with. ย Once you find that you'll be on your way.
7

Resume vs. LinkedIn Profile

Discussion
25
LI same as Resume?
60% My LinkedIn and Resume are the same
21% I've switched stuff up on my LI to look better
19% I been chillin for so long I don't even have an up to date resume
91 people voted