On Including “Reasons for Leaving” on Your CV

Wrote a CV yesterday for a General Manager/Financial Manager. Quite a senior person. And he wanted to know why I left out the reasons for leaving each company he was at – he had included them after detailing each position. Here they are:

• Most Recent Position: Business Owner/Branch Owner. Reason for leaving – business not performing well.
• Previous Position: Financial Manager. Reason for leaving – company closed down.
• Earlier Position: Accountant. Reason for leaving – promotion to Financial Manager.
• Earlier Position: Financial Accountant. Reason for leaving – better prospects/benefits offered.

So what was my reasoning on including/excluding the reasons for leaving? Here’s my reply to him:

It’s an important point. I usually don’t include them – to make the “rfl’s” meaningful one has to sometimes explain things [making it more complicated and the CV lose its focus and get attention for the wrong reasons] and it just becomes too much. So it’s better dealt with at interview level. Always. After all it’s not a point that’s going to be a deciding factor in calling you in for an interview.

With your reasons for leaving, like “Company closed down” – that rfl actually casts a negative shadow. Especially considering you were a key figure in the business. Now, there may have been very good/valid reasons for the closure of the business totally unrelated to your quality as an FM and your value. But we can’t get into trying to explain all that. If we include it then readers see that after 18 months with [your most recent company] things are again not working out – they may start to wonder about your abilities. Something we really don’t want.

Your other reasons, like “offered another position” really doesn’t say or contribute much. I liked the one that said “Promotion” but I thought it better to include that as an “achievement” instead. If I’d put it in as a “reason for leaving”, for the sake of consistency, I’d have to have included the others with a more negative connotation. Sorry for the essay! But they’re the reasons I’ve left your RFL’s out.

A key point is this: recruiters or HR people may say they always want the reason for leaving in. They may be quite insisting. And they may make you feel awkward for not including it. But just ignore them.

They like to have a full picture of the person before taking the person forward to interviews etc. That’s understandable. But really, let’s think practically about this: if you were fired from your previous job for, let’s say, taking 98 days off – “uh-uuum” – ‘sick’ in one year. Are you truly going to give that as your reason for leaving on your CV? I mean, why not just jump right off the tower of job hunting suicide?

No. Most people put the most inane, vague reasons for leaving out there – perhaps rightfully so. Then in interviews they explain the finer, more delicate aspects of their reasons for leaving – while at the same time having the advantage of being able to present themselves positively in a professional, smart fashion.

So any recruiter who takes reasons for leaving seriously can not be serious! So why include them in the first place? Rather deal with it at interview level. Quality recruiters know all this stuff – so it also helps you identify which ones are worth cultivating relationships with. If you’re a great candidate for a job: you’ll get a call whether you’ve included your reasons for leaving or not. No recruiter will leave their considerable commission on the table for such an insignificant reason.

Train Your Mind for Success

As usual Jack Canfield delivers a simple, clear unmistakable message: You can. It’s easy. Practice it, persist and you’ll get there. Really, really cool stuff.

What Exactly Should Your CV Do?

Got an enquiry from a potential CV writing client over the weekend – and I responded personally as always – and I thought the reponse captured better than usual what exactly a CV should do for its owner. Here it is:

Hi J

Sorry for the delay in reply. Have just launched my new member’s only community (http://www.careerandsuccess.info/) for job hunters to network, get great info etc. Long story. Check it out.

Regarding your CV. You have a good record. But here’s what I think needs to happen:

• We’ve got to make it more readable – a CV gets scanned – and in those few moments we’ve got to really “slam” your message home.
• What is your message? We’ve got to figure it out. You probably have a really good idea already. But typically in a CV the message gets diluted by details and never presented as a concise, unified unit, right up front. We’ve got to find a way so that it’s un-missable, easily understandable and so that it makes you instantly recognisable as RELEVANT to the needs of the employer.
• The message is really your advertising ‘punchline’ – ie what you want (in total tune with what the employer likely wants), what value you provide, what you do, why you’re good, why you should be taken seriously.

I’m looking forward to helping you with that.

This is not an ad for my services. Well let’s be honest, it is. But the points above are a genuinely good guide to assess your CV – how it’s working for you out there in the market – whether it’s having the impact you need it to. How does it measure up?

I’m not suggesting you ‘buy’ my services (at between R675.00 and R1300.00) to write your CV. Although you can. But for R30pm you can become a member of the http://www.CareerAndSuccess.info/ community (the pre-launch price is fixed pending some late press releases that didn’t go out on time.) There you can get some great info on how to make your CV this kind of powerhouse for you. And you can get other members to assess it and offer their suggestions. I’ll also be offering my comments on what needs to improve and how to do it.