Short-Term Jobs on Your Resume

Many job seekers have periods when they have worked at a company or a series of companies for a short time. On a resume, those short-term jobs can come across as job hopping or worse. Here are three approaches to handling those situations on your resume.

First, keep in mind that the standard for length of employment has changed. Employers now expect their employees to change jobs frequently over the course of a career, and some employers in some industries may be leery about hiring someone who has spent 20 or 30 years at the same company.

Second, if you have worked on multiple jobs that are in the same field and that naturally have a time limit (for example, as a freelancer, consultant or temporary hire), group all those jobs under one Freelance or Consultant title. The individual jobs become bullets under the main title, rather than separate positions. A long period of short-term freelance, contract or temporary work in one field (for example, construction, sales, software development, or substitute teaching) is very acceptable.

Third, if you alternated between employment in your field and employment outside your field, create a section called Career Highlights for your most relevant experience. Then list all your other experience briefly at the end of your resume under Other Experience. That way the gaps are filled but the jobs that matter are given the emphasis they deserve on your resume.

Finally, if none of those approaches seems appropriate, please contact me. The help of a professional resume writer can make all the difference.