Ask HN: How short is too short for brief job stints on a resume to you?
I've been involved in hiring decisions at my current role and have interacted with quite a few engineers who've been at startups for short stints like 3-6 months. I'm a little worried we might onboard someone who won't stick around. We grant a competitive amount of stock, though I think the best way to get people to stay is a good environment for work, and meaningful work to do that feels rewarding.
How much would you weigh brief time at a company on a resume, would it differ if the brief stints were with larger companies?
6 comments
[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 25.8 ms ] threadSomebody might have worked on a stream of small projects, succeed at them, kept moving on. There's nothing wrong with that.
Other people might chronically run into interpersonal problems and that is a concern.
It's a question to approach head-on in the interview.
I like that advice, transparency goes a long way both ways in the interview!
I work for a startup that is vastly different than the one I joined a year ago and it shows in the turnover and I don't blame people for leaving over it. There are just two people left on my team from a year ago. I doubt that much has changed in my prior job in the government.
In every culture it's different. In Switzerland, three stints of less than two years at companies is already a "Nogo".
In your situation, I would throughly ask why the stints were so short; maybe there are good reasons like the companies went bankrupt without any fault of the applicant, or maybe there is another specific reason that makes it more likely that they stick around with you, e.g., if you use a tech stack they love.