Frequently changing jobs - a bad thing?
Discussion
Im thinking of applying for a new job, but my worry is that potential new employers may not like my career history.
Let me explain...
I have been in my current job for just over 6 months (started in may) and a vacancy has caught my eye. I was in my previous job for 8 months before leaving for the job Im doing now. Before that, I was in the same job for 4 years.
So my career history on my CV is currently:
1st job - 4 years
2nd job - 8 months
3rd job - 6 months
(im only 22, hence the reason for short amount of time I've worked!!)
Does this look bad to potential employers? Would they think that Im maybe unstable workwise or I cant stick at a job for long??
My reasons for changing jobs has been for seeking a bigger challenge, progressing my career and the obvious more pay reason. Have left my 2 previous jobs on good terms and have been told that they would gladly have me back, so I havent be "forced" to leave or sacked etc.
If you saw this on a potential candidates cv, would it be an issue for you?
Let me explain...
I have been in my current job for just over 6 months (started in may) and a vacancy has caught my eye. I was in my previous job for 8 months before leaving for the job Im doing now. Before that, I was in the same job for 4 years.
So my career history on my CV is currently:
1st job - 4 years
2nd job - 8 months
3rd job - 6 months
(im only 22, hence the reason for short amount of time I've worked!!)
Does this look bad to potential employers? Would they think that Im maybe unstable workwise or I cant stick at a job for long??
My reasons for changing jobs has been for seeking a bigger challenge, progressing my career and the obvious more pay reason. Have left my 2 previous jobs on good terms and have been told that they would gladly have me back, so I havent be "forced" to leave or sacked etc.
If you saw this on a potential candidates cv, would it be an issue for you?
Hi,
A possible employer will look at this and ask the questions, I would recommend you prepare your answers with comments that show your considerations. If you were to respond with a better challenge and career advancement it means nothing to the interviewer, he/she will hear this all day long. You will need to be specific about what the challenges were and how it may have advanced your career and why this didn't happen. More importantly what these challenges will have to be going forward, to ensure you will offer loyalty. These sort of answers put you ahead of the competition when examples are given or its specific / quantifiable..
You already know its vital that the next position lasts two years !
Good luck with it, its tough out there so imperative you convince the interviewer of why you will stay loyal and ensure that they can offer this to you.
A possible employer will look at this and ask the questions, I would recommend you prepare your answers with comments that show your considerations. If you were to respond with a better challenge and career advancement it means nothing to the interviewer, he/she will hear this all day long. You will need to be specific about what the challenges were and how it may have advanced your career and why this didn't happen. More importantly what these challenges will have to be going forward, to ensure you will offer loyalty. These sort of answers put you ahead of the competition when examples are given or its specific / quantifiable..
You already know its vital that the next position lasts two years !
Good luck with it, its tough out there so imperative you convince the interviewer of why you will stay loyal and ensure that they can offer this to you.
I'm in a similar boat since graduation due to a combination of going travelling, temporary jobs and the dreaded redundancy twice. I have always been completely honest about why I've left/had to leave jobs and always found that if you come across well and have what the interviewer is looking for then they will consider your application fairly.
To be honest I would say it may well cause problems and you may not even know about it for the below reasons -
If you put your CV on a job board or apply for a job there will no doubt be recruiters/employers that look at your CV, assume you cannot hold a job down (dispute being in your first for 4 years) and instantly dismiss you without giving you the chance to interview.
Look at it this way, an employer has 3 interview slots for a role, they have 5 CV's to pick from, 3 have held down jobs for 18 months + and 2 have jumped around, who would you pick?
You will definitely get employed again, you may just find it a bit harder!
Good luck!
If you put your CV on a job board or apply for a job there will no doubt be recruiters/employers that look at your CV, assume you cannot hold a job down (dispute being in your first for 4 years) and instantly dismiss you without giving you the chance to interview.
Look at it this way, an employer has 3 interview slots for a role, they have 5 CV's to pick from, 3 have held down jobs for 18 months + and 2 have jumped around, who would you pick?
You will definitely get employed again, you may just find it a bit harder!
Good luck!
It honestly does not look good. I see a lot of CV's day to day. Any with a clear trend of job hopping I tend to discard without a 2nd look. It indicates 1 of 2 things, either ther person constantly chases the money, so will be off within a few months of joining or they are no good so get blown out.
However with somebody who is younger & provided it only lasts a short time, then it may get looked at in a better light.
However with somebody who is younger & provided it only lasts a short time, then it may get looked at in a better light.
Cheers for all of the responses, much appreciated!! 
The only reason I leave is that I find the job isnt as great as it was made out to be. I hate leaving places after a 6/8 months, makes me feel bad as they have been good enough to take me on in the first place.
My only reason for leaving my present job is due to the lack of social and family time I have, due to the working pattern. The work pattern wasnt made clear at the interview.
I fully understand that a potential employer will think that im not loyal or cant settle etc. Really doesnt paint a good picture of me.
On maybe a plus side (I think???), I work in IT Support and I have had 3 jobs in an attempt to move up the ladder and work in different area's of IT Support. I just havent found a role that seems to suit me.
I will prob apply anyway as it wont do any harm, and Im not in a rush to leave. Should I get an interview, I'll need to prepare some good answers to the inevitable questions on frequent job changes.
However, I going to have to find a job and actually stay in it for a number of years. Dont want to end up with a 2 page career history!!
The only reason I leave is that I find the job isnt as great as it was made out to be. I hate leaving places after a 6/8 months, makes me feel bad as they have been good enough to take me on in the first place.
My only reason for leaving my present job is due to the lack of social and family time I have, due to the working pattern. The work pattern wasnt made clear at the interview.
I fully understand that a potential employer will think that im not loyal or cant settle etc. Really doesnt paint a good picture of me.
On maybe a plus side (I think???), I work in IT Support and I have had 3 jobs in an attempt to move up the ladder and work in different area's of IT Support. I just havent found a role that seems to suit me.
I will prob apply anyway as it wont do any harm, and Im not in a rush to leave. Should I get an interview, I'll need to prepare some good answers to the inevitable questions on frequent job changes.
However, I going to have to find a job and actually stay in it for a number of years. Dont want to end up with a 2 page career history!!
As you’re working it I.T. support I wouldn’t think it would be an issue, a lot of companies employ I.T. staff on short term contracts, so any potential employers will probably assume that’s whys you’ve moved around, plus they are only usually interested in your last move anyway. It took me three moves to settle so I understand how you feel.
I don't think it's particularly bad for someone at your age - you're still learning what you want to do and where you fit. The fact you lasted 4 years in your first position shows commitment.
As an example, my potted history;
1st job, research - 3 years - I quit as wanted to move into sales
2nd, sales co-ordinator - 12 months - I quit to pursue field sales role
3rd, sales - 12 months - headhunted
4th, sales - 6 months - headhunted
5th, sales (competitor of above) - 6 months - I quit as realised sales not for me!
6th, marketing, 18 months - I quit and moved across the country
7th, office manager, 6 months - redundant
8th, relocation consultant, 3.5 years and still going
So, a mix of my own fault, career progression and finding out what you're good at and interested in. Not everyone has a career for life anymore.
As an example, my potted history;
1st job, research - 3 years - I quit as wanted to move into sales
2nd, sales co-ordinator - 12 months - I quit to pursue field sales role
3rd, sales - 12 months - headhunted
4th, sales - 6 months - headhunted
5th, sales (competitor of above) - 6 months - I quit as realised sales not for me!
6th, marketing, 18 months - I quit and moved across the country
7th, office manager, 6 months - redundant
8th, relocation consultant, 3.5 years and still going
So, a mix of my own fault, career progression and finding out what you're good at and interested in. Not everyone has a career for life anymore.
The really important thing is to get to the interview stage and be prepared for any questions on the subject.
The problem jobs will be those where you don't get past sending in your cv for consideration of an interview, unless you send a covering letter of application and make specific mention of your work history and say that you wish to make a career with this new company.
Anyway - good luck!
The problem jobs will be those where you don't get past sending in your cv for consideration of an interview, unless you send a covering letter of application and make specific mention of your work history and say that you wish to make a career with this new company.
Anyway - good luck!
Edited by Davel on Tuesday 1st December 22:13
Rooster said:
Recent statistics have shown that candidates under 35 only stay in a job for an average of 18 months.Its not like 30 years ago when people stayed in a job for life.
Does that include people moving jobs within the same employer, or only those moving on to new companies?Where I work, there's kind of a view that we've got jobs for life if we want them, but there's also a general expectation that people will change roles on a regular basis.
Kermit power said:
Does that include people moving jobs within the same employer, or only those moving on to new companies?
Where I work, there's kind of a view that we've got jobs for life if we want them, but there's also a general expectation that people will change roles on a regular basis.
I should have included this on my thread. This is very true of our company too. We have many people over 15 years service, some on 25, and they encourage you to participate in the many varied training programmes we have in order to develop sideways and upwards. We are frequently expanding and changing roles within the business, I guess that's how we have managed to escape bulk redundancies that so many other real estate / relocation companies have endured. 4 people out of 450 in the past 18 months is pretty good going IMHO.Where I work, there's kind of a view that we've got jobs for life if we want them, but there's also a general expectation that people will change roles on a regular basis.
Davel said:
The really important thing is to get to the interview stage and be prepared for anay questions on the subject.
The problem jobs will be those where you don't get past sending in your cv for consideration of an interview, unless you send a covering letter of application and make specific mention of your work history and say that you wish to make a career with this new company.
Anyway - good luck!
Listen to Davel. Exactly what I was going to write. Cover letter is crucial to explain and regardless what people say employers do read them. If you have to wade through 100's of C.V.'s all relatively the same seeing a nice cover letter takes the monotony out of it and you tend not to get thrown in the bin (initially anyway) Just make sure it's clear cut grammer and spelling mistake free (unlike this) and to the point. The problem jobs will be those where you don't get past sending in your cv for consideration of an interview, unless you send a covering letter of application and make specific mention of your work history and say that you wish to make a career with this new company.
Anyway - good luck!
Best of luck.
It depends.
I graduated in 2001 and changed jobs in late 01, 02, 04 and then 05.
Each job was an increase in responsibility, a slight change in discipline and a good chunk of extra pay. Since 05 I've worked for the same client (I've been a consultant since 2003) but each year has seen a decent rate increase.
I did worry before that I had too many jobs on my CV and looked a bit like a job hopper but every client who has asked about it has accepted my reasons. My CV makes it pretty obvious though that each job has been an improvement.
I graduated in 2001 and changed jobs in late 01, 02, 04 and then 05.
Each job was an increase in responsibility, a slight change in discipline and a good chunk of extra pay. Since 05 I've worked for the same client (I've been a consultant since 2003) but each year has seen a decent rate increase.
I did worry before that I had too many jobs on my CV and looked a bit like a job hopper but every client who has asked about it has accepted my reasons. My CV makes it pretty obvious though that each job has been an improvement.
That's all very well but some employers would be nervous of taking you on, if they just thought that they'd be the next stepping stone in your career.
They look to employ people to stay with them and be part of the team.
Employers don't normally want to lose staff and then have to recruit new staff to replace them.
They look to employ people to stay with them and be part of the team.
Employers don't normally want to lose staff and then have to recruit new staff to replace them.
One of the first things I look at when checking a CV, however would not stop me interviewing them if everything else appeared OK and they actually fitted the person spec, however I would give them a real grilling at interview to find out the real reason/s for changing jobs so often (still working in recruitment and have done for past 20+ years)
Moving too often would typically ring alarm bells in most employers, who would be reluctant to waste interview slots if they had any concerns at all.
Moving too often would typically ring alarm bells in most employers, who would be reluctant to waste interview slots if they had any concerns at all.
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