Spotty Employment History (Job-Hopping)

The best way to address "job hopping" in an interview, is to be honest. Look through your work history and find the more significant roles you left. Offer an explanation, “If you look at my resume, you’ll see a couple of quick transitions between companies…”

To help a hiring manager see past your spotty employment, steer the conversation toward your experience and the skills you’ve picked up along the way. Be prepared to describe one or two key experiences from each job, and how those experiences enhanced your talents. And how you now bring even more value to an employer.

For instance:

“At [tech startup X], I learned how to scale a business. At [large corporate company Y], I got a chance to manage several projects. And at [medium-sized, established firm Z], I finally got to lead my own team. I’d say, in sum, these experiences have prepared me very well for this job.”

Some good reasons to provide:

• Your boss left and the work environment changed
• Your role changed or shifted away from what they hired you to do
• You hit a “ceiling” and couldn’t grow and advance as fast as you wanted
• A better, more attractive opportunity came up and you had to pursue it (most employers will understand doing this at least once in your career)
• You had a personal/life issue come up – like caring for a sick family member, needing major surgery or medical care, etc.
• Staying home to raise a child
• Leaving a job to pursue further education/training to advance your career in the long-term

Examples:

“Candidly, when I got settled into my position, I realized the work I was doing wasn’t what was described in the job ad.”

Or...

“I wanted to develop my skills in a new area, and my company didn’t have an opportunity for me to do that.”

Avoid bad mouthing any previous employers. And try to sound like you changed positions to gain something positive whenever possible. Include how passionate and enthusiastic you are about the position your currently interviewing for. And conclude by showing them that you know what you want in your next role, and that "this opportunity" with "this company" fits this.

Typically, a prospective employer’s underlying concern when interviewing a job hopper is loyalty. It’s a valid apprehension, if you’ve left organizations after only a short period of employment — what’s going to stop you from doing that at your next job?

Your goal is to alleviate their fears.

We recommend addressing the topic head-on: “I understand why you’d be concerned, so I want to express to you that I’m interested in working at a company where I can stay and grow, and I see this as the perfect opportunity to do that.”

Additionally, it’s always beneficial to let other people sing your praises. Offering references from your job-hopping days — whether they be former bosses, old co-workers, or past clients, can show a hiring manager that you were a prized employee, regardless of how long (or, in this case, how briefly) you stayed at a company. Great results speak for themselves.