How long do companies store the resume of a candidate?

[A Bhattacharya]

I'm looking for a job change but nobody is willing to hire me due to my past history of frequent job hopping. I'd like to reapply to some companies I applied to over a year ago, but with job experiences "combined" into a fewer number of companies. I'm worried if they would cross check against a stored resume in their database. Do they store them forever or delete them after a year? I think most big companies in India use some resume management software so I'm hoping this software would delete older resumes as time goes by.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Don't know. When I used to have to help appoint people, for data protection reasons, we only retained the successful candidate's CV. The unsuccessful candidates' CVs were shredded (at least as long as I remembered to hand in my copy )
The law will obviously be different in India from UK.

[Henry Wong]

I would be more worried about the "but with job experiences "combined" into a fewer number of companies" part. These days background checks are much more common -- even for small companies. And technically this is lying on the resume, and with many companies, is a fire-able offense.

Henry

[Deepak Bala]

And technically this is lying on the resume, and with many companies, is a fire-able offense.

Yep. No one here can verify whether resumes are retained or shredded. If you lie in your resume, a background check with the other companies can easily reveal what you have been up to.

[Kr Manish]

Instead of *repeating* the *very same* act of job hopping, why don't you try to offset the situation by sticking with current company for little more time ? You are trying to do the same thing all over again ?

[A Bhattacharya]

Rajeev Masand wrote:Instead of *repeating* the *very same* act of job hopping, why don't you try to offset the situation by sticking with current company for little more time ? You are trying to do the same thing all over again ?

You are making job hopping sound like a sin, as do the employers who keep questioning why I changed jobs. They don't realize I don't have to explain and it is not their business. I have even changed job once because I started to wear wig on my bald head and didn't want to be found out.

[fred rosenberger]

But that is where you are wrong...it IS there business. It costs a LOT of money to hire someone, get them all set up, and train them. If you have a history of job hopping, that indicates to them that you might not stick around very long, so it's not worth their time and money to train you.

Is it a SIN??? no. But it is an indicator of what kind of employee you might be, and the message is that you are one who doesn't stick around.

[Luke Kolin]

A Bhattacharya wrote:You are making job hopping sound like a sin, as do the employers who keep questioning why I changed jobs. They don't realize I don't have to explain and it is not their business.

You are not required to explain. However, you should not be surprised if people draw their own inferences as to the reason, and they are unlikely to be favorable.

I have even changed job once because I started to wear wig on my bald head and didn't want to be found out.

So you're vain and have issues with personal integrity. Any other qualities we should know about?

Luke

[Kr Manish]

A Bhattacharya wrote:

Rajeev Masand wrote:Instead of *repeating* the *very same* act of job hopping, why don't you try to offset the situation by sticking with current company for little more time ? You are trying to do the same thing all over again ?

You are making job hopping sound like a sin, as do the employers who keep questioning why I changed jobs. They don't realize I don't have to explain and it is not their business. I have even changed job once because I started to wear wig on my bald head and didn't want to be found out.

If it is not a *sin* in the software world, why are you being *punished* by these companies for * committing* it ? Anyways, its your life, I was just suggesting a way out. If you are bent on a particular path, it is fine. Good luck.

[Henry Wong]

IMO, I think it also depends on the amount of hopping. Due to the job market, having a couple of jobs where you only spend one or two years may not be that bad.

On the other hand, if it is more than a handful of jobs, for periods of only months -- then I probably won't bother taking the interview.

Henry

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

It also depends on your role. If you are working as a consultant, changing jobs often isn't a big deal. As an employee, I agree with Fred. Why should someone hire you knowing you are likely to leave in a short time?