When employers look at a resume, they notice patterns, and several moves over a relatively short period will almost always raise questions. Fair or not, this is where the “job hopper” label can creep in.
When a client sees a resume with a number of relatively short stops, one of the first questions is usually: Why has this person moved so much? Sometimes, they don’t ask the question. They simply move on to the next resume.
If you’ve moved frequently, one of the best things you can do is answer the obvious questions before the reader makes assumptions. And often, it is best to do it on the resume itself. Don’t save an important explanation for a cover letter that may or may not be read.
If you moved to another city because of your spouse’s job or for family reasons, say so.
If you moved from one firm to another with the same partner or group, say so. What looks like two separate jobs may really have been one continuous professional relationship.
If your company was acquired, merged, restructured, or went out of business, say so.
A short parenthetical or one-line explanation can completely change the way someone reads your resume. Instead of thinking, “This person has moved a lot,” the reader may think, “Okay, that makes sense,” and keep reading.
Sometimes a short stint has a perfectly reasonable explanation. You took a job and quickly realized it wasn’t what you expected. The culture wasn’t right. The work changed. A better opportunity came along. It happens. One short stint followed by several successful years elsewhere generally isn’t going to concern most employers, but two or three one-year stints in a row are different. At that point, it can start to look like a pattern. Employers may wonder whether you’re someone who is never quite happy, makes decisions too quickly, or, perhaps more concerning, isn’t succeeding in the positions you take.
That doesn’t mean you can never move again. It means the next move matters more.
If you’ve already had a couple of short stops, you may not have the same margin for error that you once did. The next opportunity needs to be one you evaluate very carefully, because at some point you need to establish a track record of staying somewhere and succeeding. Ask more questions before accepting. Understand why the position is open. Dig into the culture, expectations, leadership, work, compensation, and anything else that caused you to leave previous positions. Don’t assume the things that bother you now will automatically be different in the next job.
There are many legitimate reasons for changing jobs. But resumes tell a story, whether we intend them to or not. If yours raises an obvious question, don’t make the reader guess at the answer.
And if your recent history already shows a series of short stays, make your next move carefully. At some point, employers need to see not just that you were hired, but that you stayed and succeeded.
Amy McCormack
Founder and Co-President