How to Explain Job Hopping in Your Resume and Interview
Have you ever “job hopped”?
Recruiters define “job hopping” as spending less than two years in one company.
Job hoppers change companies for a variety of reasons.
If you’ve “job-hopped,” you may have found a better-paying job elsewhere and moved strategically. Or, you may have decided to leave a bad company or role. Or, you may have gotten downsized.
In my personal opinion, when you move around so much, you’re able to learn more and grow more quickly. Furthermore, moving more quickly can help you make more money. At the end of the day; you’ll make 8-10% more on average if you change your job than you will waiting for a raise.
On that note, if you’d like a quick, two-page resume cheat sheet, which breaks down exactly how a marketing manager was able to double the initial offer they received, you can get your own copy by submitting your information right here:
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However, a big disadvantage of having multiple short-tenured jobs on your resume is that the employers start considering you inconsistent. According to Robert Half’s survey, forty-four percent of the executives are less likely to hire a job hopper. Even if you left your job on really good terms, loyalty is prized by recruiters; companies invest time and money when they hire an employee. That is why they prefer to hire people who will stay for longer.
In this article, I describe five ways you can talk about job hopping in your resume that makes you look skilled and accomplished, not disengaged.
Common advice to overcoming job hopping is to omit the months of tenure in the professional experience and only write the years. This can help hide gaps. However, this is not a good strategy because the recruiters are very aware of this technique and will bring it up during an interview.
Instead, you can use any of the following strategies to talk about frequent job changes in your resume:
Include Recommendations in the Resume
To prove that you did an excellent job at all the places you worked at and left each place on good terms, include recommendations from your immediate boss under each job.
You can use to the following template to ask for a recommendation on LinkedIn:
Dear ___,
How are you doing? I hope you are well. (Personalize this sentence based on your relationship with your previous boss.)
I had a quick favor to ask you. Can you please tell the story of how I ____ (achieved some awesome thing) at ____ (Company Name)? I’m looking for jobs in the ___ space and your recommendation would really help!
I just sent you a recommendation request on LinkedIn.
I’ve just written you one, also.
Thank you so much!
Here is an example of how a recommendation would look on your resume:
If your immediate boss is unwilling to write you a recommendation, one from a subordinate or colleague will also work – you want to show that you left the company on good terms.
Prove That You Achieved All the Goals You Were Hired to Meet
Another way to divert the attention from your multiple job changes is by proving that you achieved all of the goals you were assigned.
This is because the best way to draw attention away from your multiple career moves is to show that you’re first and foremost an exceptionally skilled candidate. Optimize your resume and highlight your achievements in each job experience.
Doing so will help recruiters see that the return on investment (ROI) for working with you is high no matter how long you decide to stay at a company. If you’re having a hard time drafting accomplishments for your resume, this article may also be of help.
Explain how you achieved each goal by writing a quantifiable accomplishment. For example:
If you’re having a hard time coming up with a strong narrative for your resume, schedule a call with me here. I can help you brainstorm ideas.
Along that vein, it’s critical to make this point – that the ROI for hiring you is high – in the first impression of your resume. In this article, I break down how you can create a powerful resume summary for the jobs you’re interested in.
Consolidate Experiences
You can consolidate short-term jobs in your resume instead of listing them together if they aren’t in line with the work you’re looking for now. Again, you want to prove that despite being a job hopper, you met all goals you were hired to achieve. Show that even you worked there for a short period, you shone like a star.
You can use headings like temporary employment, short-term work, consulting, or freelance experience. For example,
Freelance Employment:
- Mar – Jun 2019: WritingBeast, Content Editor: Built a powerful content development team, which helped double the total number of web visitors and email subscribers.
- Jan 2019: ContentMasters, Content Writer: Ranked company website on the first page of Google after overhauling all blogs.
Temporary Employment:
- March 2020: CareerTuners, Administrative Assistant: Some Achievement
- April 2020: TuneYourCareer, Sales Clerk: Some Achievement
Consider Using a Hybrid Resume:
A hybrid resume, also known as a combination resume, is a combination of the traditional reverse-chronological resume and the functional resume format. A functional resume organizes information around specific skills rather than your employment history.
A hybrid resume blends together both approaches. It highlights your skills and accomplishments first and then lists work experience in reverse chronological order. Take a look at the hybrid resume of a sales manager here.
Still stuck? Send me your resume for a critique at support@careertuners.com and I will help create a resume that will cover your job hopping in the most flattering possible manner.
Be Truthful About the Reason for Hopping in your Interviews
During interviews, if you are asked, “Why did you change jobs so frequently?” the best way forward is to be open about it. If you skipped jobs because you feel that your skills were not utilized to their fullest or you left the job because of a merger, explain the facts to the interviewers honestly, accurately, and without bias. This article shows how you can explain that you left on good terms and achieved all goals.
Looking for more?
If you’re having a hard time preparing for interviews, email me at contact@careertuners.com about your unique situation. I’d be happy to help you brainstorm.
If you prefer a longer session, invest in our one-on-one interview coaching session with our HR SME by filling out the form here. She has years of HR experience and can help you talk about your unique history in a way that clicks to interviewers.
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