Are Your Job Hopping Days Haunting You?
Share
5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Meandering Work History

Each individual is different of course, but those with a history of job hopping might find resistance by hiring managers looking for candidates that will remain loyal to their company as the economy works to recover.

I recently encountered such a client who was concerned with his resume and interview options because of the wide range of jobs he has had over the past 15 years. We discussed strategies and decided that it would be best if we identified the skills and requirements of his current job search and focused the resume on those criteria.

Passionate about the career and direction he has chosen, he wanted to do what ever he could to make sure this issue was addressed in the best way possible.

Five quick tips I offered include:

1. Determine the crucial transferable skills, experience, and requirements of the current career focus. Investigate what education, certification, skills, experience and other requirements are expected when pursuing the chosen position. Research targeted companies to uncover the culture, values and expectations of the company for further use in your resume. Check out the job descriptions on a few job boards to get the full understanding of what will be expected in that role.

2. Build your resume with the new career focus in mind. Determine which transferable skills and experiences to mine from each past position. Showcase these skills in the resume by knowing what the reader is looking for and boldly providing examples of the sought skills.

3. Show commonalities between jobs to increase the look of a strategically planned background. If you are seeking a position in an industry you have worked in before, make sure to show the total number of years in the industry to give your experience more credibility. Also, highlight the repeat use of transferable skills in your past positions such as customer service, IT, leadership, training, or management.

4. Prepare a few answers ahead of time for interview questions pertaining to your work history. First and foremost, always be honest. Be sure to communicate to the interviewer that the strength of the skills and achievements you developed has led you to your ability to succeed at the targeted position. Convey your passion, interest and excitement for a chance to work with their company or in the particular position.

5. Use those past positions to regain contacts, make new connections and build your network. A varied history can actually have an advantage over someone who has been in the same industry for 20+ years with like minded professionals. Use the diversity of your background to expand your networks and opportunities into areas that might have normally seemed too remote.

For my client and other job hoppers to succeed, use your vast experience to address the needs and expectations of the targeted position or company by building your resume to showcase your value toward those needs. What can you offer that will help them or fill a need? Promote that value and you will get noticed regardless of your job hopping past.