Recruiter Olena Alaimo told about her client who was denied a job due to her five-year career break, because she was taking care of her first child and helping her elderly parents. According to the recruiter, the candidate kept her skills relevant all the time. But the employer only saw this gap. What do IT professionals think about this?
Recruiter Olena Alaimo told about her client who was denied a job due to her five-year career break, because she was taking care of her first child and helping her elderly parents. According to the recruiter, the candidate kept her skills relevant all the time. But the employer only saw this gap. What do IT professionals think about this?
Olena Alaimo wrote on LinkedIn that the client replied to her: "The candidate has shown herself very well, has all the necessary skills, but 5 years of "break" is too long. We cannot take risks." Although the woman honestly indicated this in her resume: "Professional leave to care for the family."
And she explained everything in detail during the interview.
Once, during an interview, a recruiter from Lohika told me:
- You did well in the technical interview, but you had a 10-month break in work.
- "I was writing a book," I answer.
- Well, you didn't write the code.
- I've been writing code for 12 years. Do you think I've forgotten how to do it?
I didn't pass the interview. And I'm glad about that.
Unfortunately, I have a similar experience, and it may be caused by stereotypes or a misunderstanding of how much time and effort raising children takes. Especially when it comes to a mother who is not only invested in motherhood, but also seeks to return to professional development.
Instead of encouragement and support, for some reason I have to hide this break and it's easier to indicate in my resume that I just started from scratch only now...
I have not only 5 years of maternity leave, but also a couple of years without work and without maternity leave, because I wanted to and I had the opportunity. During this time, I developed completely different skills. I don't understand why anyone thinks that a person should work and work and work again.
It depends on the client. Someone will be happy to work with an old employee, someone will not. But a break of 5 years is a long time. It's like a certificate received in 2018. Today it is no longer relevant. Specifically in this case, it would be great for the girl to pass the TI and receive an assessment according to the competency matrix, and then show these results to the client and emphasize that the experience was not forgotten and everything is fine + she knows the project, if it is relevant. This is how we returned the employee after maternity leave to one of the projects.
I believe that employers should assess a candidate's skills and knowledge at this point in time. If they are relevant to the present and fit the position, it means that the person has been constantly maintaining knowledge and developing (even during a long vacation). So this should not be a red flag, in my opinion.
I read the post, I read the comments, it made me so sad… people, what is happening to you? I got rejected, but it was so beautifully said! The owner said no… why doesn’t he have the right to do that? They don’t want to teach, they don’t want toxic substances? Come on! In fact, you come to someone else’s house and try to set your own rules… and it’s normal to negotiate, right? Or give the owner the right to choose… do you honestly think that after such comments and posts, the owners will run and want to cooperate with you? Well, well, I’ll take the popcorn, and watch…
Employers: alarm, staff shortage, high salary expectations, outflow of professionals, vacancies not closed for months!
Also, employers: we do not consider candidates under 25, over 45, and all women.
I hope that the candidate will find a company that will appreciate her, because working in such companies is more expensive.
In real life, such a candidate will either not be hired or will be hired at a ridiculous salary.
I think that after such a break, a person has even more motivation and desire to renew themselves as a professional. And the fact that it can scare some people says more about their fears and insecurities than about the candidate's real capabilities.
More comments here.
Previously, dev.ua told about 5 examples of IT professionals trying to combine work and maternity leave.
Senior Golang Developer Yaroslav Podorvanov believes that "If you are asked about maternity leave at an interview, then the employer is an idiot."
