Listing A Short-Term Job: Will It Help Or Hurt Your Career?

Consider The Background Check

The first thing you have to ask yourself is what a short period of time is to you. Is it a week, month, or year?

This is going to vary from person to person. But I will tell you that any company that does a reference check on you, or a background check, is going to see every employer that ever paid you.

You have to understand that when you leave employers off the list, and they do a reference check and suddenly see that you worked at this company or that company, it's going to look like you're lying.

Utilize An "Additional Experience" Section On Your Resume

I usually advise people to create a section in their resume called the "additional experience" section. This is where you're going to list unrelated work experience. Maybe you're working a retail job, or are in some kind of hobby career, or had some super-short assignments that you weren't at long enough for them to make an impact on your career.

This way, it's on paper. You can say, "No, I listed it. It's just that I was there for such a short period of time that I didn't put it in my main resume."

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I think that's the best way to handle these situations. More importantly, you need to know how to answer the question, "Why are there gaps in your resume?" or "Why were you at this company for such a short period of time?"

These days, it's hard enough to get an interview in the first place. You don't want to blow it by hiding anything.

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