How to explain why you’ve stayed in the same job for a long time!
By Cham Posted Date: October 03, 2016
Job markets can sometimes be very competitive and as a result you may be a perfect fit for a certain role, but you’ve never had the opportunity to prove that you are. This is because hiring managers and recruitment agencies are flush with several applications for each role they advertise, meaning they have to ruthlessly weed out applications to prepare a quality short-list of candidates. – Yes, this results in some casualties and potentially good candidates being weeded out.
Sometimes you may have been hearing things from people like “you’ve stayed in one job for too long!” – don’t get disheartened by this, there is no such thing as a perfect candidate for a role, everyone has imperfections which eventually show, it’s only human. When you are one of a several hundred applicants, small things like your length of time spent at a job can impact your application, similarly people who switch jobs too often will also have to explain themselves.
Back in the day, staying in one company for most of your working life was considered a good thing, but those days are long gone. Now there are many different opinions on what is considered too long a time to spend at one job. Some people would suggest that more than 5 years is dangerous territory while others would say anything over 3 years is too long. These days if you’ve been at the same job for too long, the hiring managers don’t always think of commitment and loyalty, but instead they start to question what the reasons are for your extended stay:
- Could it be your salary and pricing? – Staying in one role for too long may imply that you’ve been taken care of pretty well by the employer, this could bring to question whether your new employer can afford you? – this is only if you have been good at what you do and receiving pay rises and such. However if you have been at the same role and not received promotions or pay rises then it could mean you aren’t that great at what you do and why you haven’t secured a better role within the company that pays more.
- Not ready for change – Moving jobs could mean getting accustomed to new roles and coping with new challengers while taking on new responsibilities. If your career has been relatively stagnant in your current role it could bring to question your drive and motivation.
Although the above points could be untrue, the recruiters and hiring managers looking at your application will want you to explain why you’ve been in your current role for so long. Below we list a few things to show them:
- You’ve been constantly challenged
- You’ve added value to the business
- You are loyal to your employer
- You are good at building long lasting business relationships and have a great network
- Your salary has been under negotiation
- Discuss your career aspirations