Bias in Recruitment: Job-Hopper

,, And so they told me they wouldn't move forward with my application because I am a job-hopper. Well, ATS told them I am a job-hopper. Fair enough, technically I am, and if they have more suitable applicants, that's the way it is; that is life. However, it made me think. I have a few different qualifications across industries, and during the last decade, I've used my capabilities to try many different jobs. But what if that all was my plan, my contracts were short-term on purpose after a mutual agreement, and it all was just a part of my long-term plan leading to one specific result ?''

,, Does job-hopping necessarily have to be a bad thing? Or is it just another bias?''

I personally differentiate between two categories of job-hoppers: Category nr.1 are people who quit many jobs in the past, very often in their CV they don't state the name of the organization they worked for, and if you ask them for a reference contact, they don't have any - or don't want to give it out. Category nr.2 are people who tried many different positions, have proven achievements, and many happy former coworkers, clients, or employees who gladly spend time to give a reference.

,, Everybody needs a life change once in a while.''

I know this sounds like I am talking purely about myself, but in fact, I am not. Yes, I can relate a lot to this topic, but I've met many applicants like me as a recruiter. Category nr.2. And very often, I would find ambitious people, fast learners, result-oriented, travelers, freelancers, people who love challenges, people with high standards and expectations not only from themselves but also from their employers. People who have a deep understanding of many positions across many industries are great managers. While for ATS or somebody who doesn't have time, they remain just job-hoppers. But trust me or not, even people like that need a change once in a while. Even people like that may come to the point when they want to commit to one company and work towards mutual goals and vision. Why? Ask them? Million people, million reasons.

By no means do I want to criticize someone else's decision or way of thinking here. I don't even dare to criticize ATS because it can be a massive help ( even though I am personally not a big fan of it since I still see much room for improvement.) After all, hearing this from another recruiter made me deeply think about my self-presentation when applying for a job. More than anything else, it made me deeply think about this whole topic and the challenge of working on some improvement and development in the world of recruiting.