Hiring Red Flags, or why Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank is a Likely Asshat

Beware the Omniscient

I saw this headline this morning.

"When Kevin O'Leary sees this resume red flag, 'I simply put it into the garbage'

What's the red flag for this bit of clickbait? 

When the applicant has held a number of jobs over the previous two years.

Ya see, ol' Kev is too smart to commit to People Like That. Companies that hire people are making Commitments, you see, and anyone who has a number of positions on their resume is simply a Job Hopper, devoid of personal loyalty, and just not A Good Person. Do Not Hire. Let 'em starve.

Leading to the following thought.

Hey, Kev, how long have you been omniscient?

Or, failing that, someone who practices in generalizations and avoids thought and due diligence?

If there is one thing that I've learned in 20+ years in marketing and advertising, at a number of start ups and for hundreds and hundreds of corporate and personal clients, it's this: 

There is (almost) never (just) one thing. In anything. 

Yes, I'm sure that many people with short stops on their resume were job hopping for reasons that a future employer might not love. Or an unwillingness to start a potential new position with a lack of integrity. 

Others had medical issues. Or family complications that required an exit. Or found themselves in a situation where their employer had a sudden downturn, or a particularly awful incident, that was in no way the responsibility of the applicant. 

There's going to be a lot of these people, what with the pandemic.

You know, the one you just summarily dismissed, rather than do any goddamned work. Or considered anything but the most negative possibility, because You're Too Busy or Smart or Picky or Whatever.

In my distant past, I took a job with an employer that I was super excited about. I did my due diligence to the best of my ability, won the role, and found myself in the CEO's office late on a Friday afternoon just a few weeks after I started.

Which is when he decided to close the door so that just the two of us could have a very serious and heartfelt conversation about Jesus. (Spoiler Alert! That role did not last long or end well.)

Leading to a situation where, in Kevin O'Leary's World Of Red Flags and Red Flags Only, I was a (sting music!) JOB HOPPER. Leper Outcast Unclean! 

(And yes, I should have done better research about this guy and that place, but show of hands -- who has ever had this happen to them as well?)

Oh, and it turns out that O'Leary has also bounced from gigs in his past life, and subscribes to political views that make him, shall we say, highly suspect in certain circles. 

So I can probably pull the Likely from the header of this post... but won't. 

Because, you see, I'm not omniscient. Or an asshat. (Hopefully.)

So if you have an applicant that you like with a number of positions on their resume, you *can* throw that in the garbage. It's a free country.

Or you could, I dunno, ASK THE APPLICANT ABOUT IT. See if they put your fears to rest. Consider the entirety of the candidate. 

Because in the new World of Work, where applicants have options and labor is tight?

You just might need to look past your Red Flag.

That might not even be a flag.