short-term jobs | Robin's Resumes (r)

Resume Q&A: How Do I Handle Many Short-Term Jobs?

Mar 24 2019

Q. I have bounced around a lot from job to job during my career, and now I am looking again. Part of the problem is that I get bored easily, sometimes I got laid off, but also I am in a career where people just do not stay long at any one company. How do I write my resume so that I do not come off as a flake or someone who gets fired from one company after another?

A. Four ways are available to you to turn your short-term jobs into an asset rather than a drawback.

First, if short-term jobs are common in your field, then you truly do not have a problem. In fact, you might have a problem if you did not move from job to job. Being laid off is not an issue, especially if you were able to find another job in your field fairly quickly, demonstrating your value.

Second, your job changes may have given you experience in industries and positions that other job applicants might not have. You may also have developed contacts, learned software programs, or acquired other knowledge and skills that your next employer would appreciate. Review your resume from that perspective: what have you gained during your frequent job changes and how would that benefit the next company you work for?

Third, if your job changes are the result of a career in consulting, consider grouping them under a “Consulting” headline that spans a greater period of time. That way, each company represents a new client, not a change in career.

Finally, if you are so bored with every job that you cannot wait to leave it, consider career coaching. You may have a lot of transferable skills now that can carry you into a career path that you will truly enjoy.

For help in making an asset of your short-term jobs or transitioning your career, please contact Robin’s Resumes® today.

Contract, Consulting or Self-Employed Jobs on Your Resume

Nov 27 2011

These days many people work for at least part of their careers in contract, self-employed or consultant jobs. Though each job may be short in duration and there may be many of them, they don’t represent “job hopping” in the traditional sense. Consultant, self-employment and contract jobs are supposed to be short-term and are supposed to involve many different clients.

However, if you list each employer separately and your work for each only lasts a month or two, your resume will give the impression that you do jump from job to job. You do not want that to happen.

Instead, group all of your contract or consulting clients under a single category; for example, Contract Positions or Consulting. Each employer then becomes a separate bullet point under that category.

Another approach, particularly if you are self-employed, is to provide an overall company name for yourself; a freelance web designer might call himself “ABC Web Design.” Your company is treated like any other company on the resume and your position is (for example) founder and president.

Many people have job histories that don’t seem to fit the standard resume format. If you are concerned that your history is keeping you from the job you want, please send me an email or call today. I can help.