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Вікторія ГорбікWork
27 February 2025, 09:00
2025-02-27
“And… I found myself back on the job market.” Recruiters were figuring out why an experienced PM had been fired for the third time in 2.5 years, and what this threatened for the future offer
Getting fired is almost always unpleasant. What if you get fired again from a new job in a few months? What if there are several such cases in a year? This is exactly what happens to Senior Project Manager Mykola Kalakutsky, who has been looking for a job for the fourth time since June 2023.
We decided to find out from him the details of what happened during his work, as well as ask experienced recruiters how this could affect his future employment, whether such a candidate is interesting for a potential employer to consider for the PM position. As well as how recruiters generally treat candidates with similar experience and whether they remain relevant in the labor market.
Getting fired is almost always unpleasant. What if you get fired again from a new job in a few months? What if there are several such cases in a year? This is exactly what happens to Senior Project Manager Mykola Kalakutsky, who has been looking for a job for the fourth time since June 2023.
We decided to find out from him the details of what happened during his work, as well as ask experienced recruiters how this could affect his future employment, whether such a candidate is interesting for a potential employer to consider for the PM position. As well as how recruiters generally treat candidates with similar experience and whether they remain relevant in the labor market.
A quarter of a century in IT
Mykola Kalakutsky, 44, is a Ukrainian from Dnipro. He holds a bachelor’s degree in systems automation and already has 11 years of experience as a project manager in IT. In addition, he has developed several of his own small startups, as well as freelance work in the IT field. So, the specialist has over 25 years of experience in IT.
Mykola Kalakutsky, Senior Project Manager (Photo from personal archive)
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Timeline of layoffs
Since June 2023, Mykola Kalakutsky has been forced to look for work for the fourth time. What has happened during this time? Here is what the IT worker said:
The first time I came to a company where they wanted to launch an experimental project. During the interviews, we discussed that the approximate duration of this project until the launch of the MVP version was from 6 to 9 months. But 3 months after the start, the project was closed by the decision of the company owner, I was fired, because the company did not plan new projects.
The second time I successfully passed the interview for a position that was a bit «out of my league». I had experience in Delivery Management, but officially I did not have this position, and I performed only that part of the Delivery duties that was necessary within the framework of the needs of previous companies. I also overestimated my abilities for quick learning and onboarding, and did not take enough time to figure out everything necessary. I immediately rushed into battle, into work projects and performing direct duties, counting on the fact that in the process of work I would learn what was missing. But, unfortunately, the intensity of work and the density of tasks were such that even working 9-11 hours a day, I did not have time to complete even current tasks on time and qualitatively. And there was no talk of «learning» at all. A month before the end of the probationary period, my manager said that there would be no cooperation, and a decision was made to dismiss me.
In the third company, I took into account previous mistakes, devoted enough time to training and onboarding, approached things gradually, thoughtfully, judiciously, and made sure that there were no gaps in my understanding of my projects. But that didn’t save me. In the second month of the probationary period, I ended up in the hospital in such conditions that I couldn’t work. After being discharged, I had to take medication and be on an IV for some time. My general condition and medication reduced my concentration, and I was able to work effectively only after a month. During this time, the project assigned to me missed an important deadline, and the second attempt to fulfill the goal with a 1-month delay was carried out with terrible quality. The management suggested that I extend the probationary period for 1 month, emphasizing that I should «learn to manage my team.» But I don’t support the approaches I was supposed to learn, I consider them counterproductive, and, frankly, I sabotaged them. I presented my arguments to the management, offered alternatives, and asked them to trust my expertise, which is why they hired me, but in response I received a decision that there would be no further cooperation with me.
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Reflection of an IT worker
Mykola says that he is not used to giving up until he has tried everything he is capable of. Analyzing his experience over the past year and a half, he notes that he always tried to find a way out if he saw that he was barely meeting expectations and giving a poor performance:
set the bar higher for himself,
changed priorities,
asked colleagues for help,
even took psychotherapy sessions to deal with his own psychological aspects that could affect his efficiency and productivity.
Mykola Kalakutsky, Senior Project Manager (Photo from personal archive)
«But the statistics and facts are not in my favor,» he adds. Each time the change of place of work was not on his initiative. And in 3 cases out of 3, the employers decided that Mykola did not suit them as a specialist. And, analyzing the events and results retrospectively, he agrees with each decision.
«There is no point in continuing to work with a person if they don’t meet expectations in the first 4-5 months. If I were those employers, I would do the same — I would fire myself,» says the IT worker.
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How does this affect your job search now?
Currently, Mykola is in the process of searching for another job and of course, at every interview he is asked about the reason for changing previous jobs.
«Every time I have to talk about the conditions, about my participation, and about the result. And every time, by the expression in the person’s eyes, I see that „Red Flags“ still remains in my file, regardless of what the person heard,» he says.
Mykola has already realized that frequent job changes leave a certain imprint on him as a candidate.
«This is a lifelong yoke, a black mark on your resume, and a serious obstacle to passing the cultural fit test,» he adds.
And he noted that he felt this even if the job changes were for objective reasons, for example, because the project was closed.
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What do recruiters advise IT professionals?
Recruiters themselves also face a situation where specialists are laid off several times in a short period of time. In particular, Tamara Havilo, HRD and HR consultant, said that she has had a similar experience.
«The ups and downs happened precisely because my values and the employer’s values were very different. That was the main thing,» recalls the HR director.
That is why she suggests that Mykola create a list of his values and compare them with the company’s values. In addition, Tamara added that the first thing a candidate needs to do is: review the format of his resume, on which resources he posts it, and how.
How employers view candidates who are frequently fired
Inna Bogatyr, recruiter
To understand whether such a candidate will interest a potential employer, you first need to find out their previous experience to understand what projects they have worked on. If the experience includes projects that match the skills the company needs, then they may be interested. But frequent job changes can raise many questions.
Employers often look for stable candidates, especially for Project Manager positions. If a candidate changes jobs frequently, this may signal a number of risks, such as adaptation problems or conflict.
Such candidates always carry increased risks for the employer. Many employers do not want to invest their own resources in an unstable candidate.
Knowing the previous experience of such a candidate, it is quite difficult to predict:
Will he stay at his new job?
Will he lose interest halfway through the project?
Will he be able to adapt normally in the team?
Taras Popovych, Tech Recruiter
For a potential employer for a PM position, such a candidate is either interesting or not — it depends on the reasons for such frequent changes. There may be a suspicion that the reason for frequent changes is not the company, but the candidate himself (conflict, insufficient level of competence, etc.).
If it’s a short-term contract, downsizing, or project closure, there are far fewer issues. But if a person quits every few months, employers themselves may be wary, as PMs usually work on long-term assignments.
The main risk is the lack of stability. Companies don’t want to waste time and resources on someone who will leave again in a few months (and we’re not talking about short-term projects, but regular full-time). And here the question also arises whether such a person can even finish anything.
How do recruiters treat candidates with similar experience?
Inna Bogatyr, recruiter
Most recruiters treat such candidates with caution. When working with such candidates, they often additionally try to find out:
Why does the candidate change jobs so often?
Were there objective reasons for this?
Did the candidate undergo a probationary period at previous jobs?
If he didn’t come, then why…
Such a candidate can inspire trust if he is honest in his answers and does not try to hide the reasons for previous job changes.
Taras Popovych, Tech Recruiter
Quite a tricky question, if true. In my humble opinion, if there is a logical explanation for frequent changes, everything is fine, but if the candidate simply does not stay anywhere, this can be perceived as a red flag. Often such candidates are considered with caution, as they can quickly leave the new place, which is undesirable for companies (and for the recruiters who conducted the search).
Again, it all depends on the reason for the changes. If the resume simply lists companies with periods of 3-6 months, and the candidate does not provide any information when asked by employers about this, then the level of trust will not be high.
I noticed that some candidates indicate the reasons for moving to another company simply in their resume (even if these were long-term projects), but everyone decides for themselves whether to include this information or not (I personally am for such things, if you really see the value in it as a candidate).
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Ідіть на держслужбу. Там теж потрібні програмісти. Десятки років гарантованої роботи. Гарантована пенсія. Повага в колективі. Вибачте, але проекты 6-9 місяців, це не серйозно. Постійно в стресі шукати роботу, це не нормально. І це не мої вигадки. Маю великий стаж роботи на держслужбі. А всілякими там стартапами і іншею маячнею Ви завжди встигнете зайнятись.
Ідіть на держслужбу. Там теж потрібні програмісти. Десятки років гарантованої роботи. Гарантована пенсія. Повага в колективі. Вибачте, але проекты 6-9 місяців, це не серйозно. Постійно в стресі шукати роботу, це не нормально. І це не мої вигадки. Маю великий стаж роботи на держслужбі. А всілякими там стартапами і іншею маячнею Ви завжди встигнете зайнятись.