Recruiters, perspective please!

[User1978523]

Hi all,

Struggling to find a job within digital marketing/e-commerce.

Suffer with anxiety, low level depression and I'm sure there's more to it but that's another story.

History of job hops is killing me on my CV, I'm sick of feeling judged by recruitment agencies after they've seen my CV and called me about specific roles. I wish I had the answer, but I've not really settled until my last position - 1 year in e-commerce. Great job, but very low pay and horribly toxic colleagues which left me in tears most days.

Prior to this I was an estate agent for 4 years but went back to a previous hospitality job to cover bills and reconsider interests.

Various customer service before that - I've summarised in this way on CV.

I explain to recruiters I simply haven't found the industry I want until now, but I can understand from a business perspective the risk they too are taking in hiring me.

It's a nightmare! I'm working through savings, need a job soon but scared of another job hop on the CV. Also looking at WFH ideally due to the anxiety which makes the competition a lot harder..

Surely I can't be the only one who didn't walk out of school/university into a company for life?!

Feeling very lost, productive but lost🥺

I don't think there's anything wrong with having a variety of work experience - in many ways, it's a good thing!

You have a year of specific industry experience in your most recent role - that is good.

When you're doing your CV review with recruiters, focus on the skills and experiences you gained in your previous roles that are useful for whatever job you're applying for. For example as an estate agent, you probably had good attention to detail, good marketing skills, good people skills, very organised .... in hospitality, you probably had to work well under pressure, work well in a team, etc. etc. - you get the idea!

Don't think of your varied work experience as a bad thing; it's an asset.

In the meantime, have you looked at doing some freelance work in digital marketing/e-commerce? Gives you extra cash as well as more specific experience for your CV.

Recruiters are just sales people. They have no right to comment on your CV or give opinions. Would you trust a double glaze window salesman who said your fancy windows need replacing?

In the last 2 weeks I've been told I'm too old for digital marketing by a recruiter (35) and that having children wrecked my career.

I'd rather be me with my CV history, actual skillset and life choices than ever be a recruiter. 😂

Have a look on LinkedIn for jobs and Otta too. I bet you're awesome you just need to fluff up your CV with Keywords (just like SEO keywords...)

I work in recruitment and unfortunately job hoppers are tough, just because our clients will ask for thorough details of why or they will straight reject the CV's, even if the experience or qualifications are exceptional. Don't take it personally if you are questioned, a good recruiter is usually just trying to find ways to sell you and back you up. We're not all just "sales people" (some are, I've dealt with some bad ones too)

I’m really surprised you’re coming up against this as I wouldn’t consider 4 years as an estate agent then a year in digital marketing job hopping, both are pretty long duration jobs! Most people I know change jobs every year or two, isn’t that pretty standard these days as people go elsewhere for progression as it often isn’t possible to progress in the same company and stay there forever like it was 30+ years ago.

My longest job has been three years and the others range from anywhere from 3 months to one year and I’ve never had any issues