There is a recurring theme on candidate’s CVs at the moment, which would have sparked alarm bells before Covid, but now shows resilience. Confused? We’re talking about gaps in job history or a flurry of short term roles over a two year period post March 2020.
Founder of Zest4Talent, Michelle Crocker, recently interviewed a credible candidate, who has enviable educational qualifications, a solid career history in engineering sales and product management, worked internationally for well known brands until 2020 and then came along COVID! At that point, he decided to take some time out to concentrate on his other creative passions, painting and poetry, which allowed him the time to volunteer for the NHS and administer Covid vaccines. Having had the opportunity to nurture his personal passions AND give something back to the community he is ready to restart his career.
As recruiters we can take a lot from his CV. Prior to Covid, we would have called it “jumpy”. Any career break or multiple 3 month job stints would have caused alarm but now we cherish and champion these candidates. Recruiters now, more than ever before, need to be open minded, appreciate the diversity of and in people’s lives and the twists and turns that they have had to take, especially over the Covid period. We listen to stories of empowerment and growth and sometimes stories of hardship and struggle. Every story is different and this unplanned Covid curve ball has added to skill sets, enhanced empathy, lateral thinking, resilience and appreciation.
Post-Covid advice
Zest4Talent is a specialist sales and marketing recruitment agency providing bespoke recruitment solutions across all business sectors.