Should I keep a job on my LinkedIn profile if I left on good terms after three months?

Question

3 months ago, I quit my job as a BA in my previous company, because the salary was not so good and there was some lack of leadership and opportunity for personal growth.

I started working as a PO in the current company, but the timing of my employment was off. I wasn't doing much for two and a half months. They saw great potential in me, but due to holiday seasons and some paperwork, the project they had planned for me couldn't start.

2 months into this job, I received a call from my previous company. My manager wants me to come back and share his workload. They are offering a huge salary and a Product Manager position for a huge team and product. I accepted the offer.

In my current company, they were understanding of the situation and took it very professionally. They told me they will always have an offer on the table for me if I ever change my mind. I have to admit, that was really cool.

My question is: I was here for about 3 months, should I keep this job on my LinkedIn profile?

Answer 1

Yes. If there is nothing about the job that you don't want the world to find out, then you should put it on your profile.

Your other option is to show a 3-month gap in your career, which is usually perceived a lot more negatively than a short 3-month job and also raises more questions in interviews. If you then explain that you had hidden the short job, it will raise even more questions. Why would you go through that trouble when you were employed and you left the job on good terms?

Moreover, you might burn a bridge with the current company if you hide the job. When they later see that you have hidden your stint with them, they might wonder if you were unhappy with the job and just pretended to leave on good terms. If you apply for a job with them in future, you may have some explanation to do.

Answer 2

Yes - It's not uncommon to have short stints in companies. Consultant's have lots of short term contracts for months. It's all experience which will benefit your profile.

I have been a consultant for over a decade, though I spent the majority of that time in a single client site. Over the past few years I have been doing several smaller pieces of work for different clients so each are on my linked in.

Answer 3

Should I keep that on my LinkedIn profile, given the circumstances?

No. Such short stays are red flags to any hiring manager and are often used to filter out the first batch of applications meaning that you'll be rejected before you even get a chance to explain.

But even if we ignore the negatives of including a three month stay on your resume (or LinkedIn), there are absolutely no positives anyway. You will not have any useful accomplishments in such short stays that merit including such a job on your resume. In your case it's even worse because it sounds like you didn't even really do anything in that time but wait for work. That means that even if you explain that you left on good terms, a good hiring manager will then wonder why you bothered to include it at all considering it doesn't help you.

So don't list it. LinkedIn is an extension of your resume which should be a document that markets your skills and experience. Don't list stuff that doesn't help build your profile. Never list stuff that harms your profile.