It can make you feel like pulling the covers over your head. It reads like you have no direction. It’s a road block to interviews. What is it? Okay, you knew all along. A resume that brands you a “job hopper.” If you’ve changed jobs often, you need to understand why. If you don’t do this honestly, you won’t be credible explaining yourself. Job hopping is a symptom not a disease. If you treat it, you’ll be on your feet in no time. We all have aspirations for a good job with opportunity and reward. Then work realities show up: We get frustrated and leave, downsized or laid off. We move on and it happens again. Is it us? Is it circumstance? Whatever it is, our work history doesn’t read well. Let your resume show how your past jobs have broadened you. Each job teaches us something about how business works and what’s expected. That cumulative knowledge has value to showcase in your resume. Here’s how: • Include and highlight in bold the skills from the posting that you demonstrated in each prior job • Identify similarities between the companies you’ve worked for and the one you’re applying to now • Use the same number of content bullets for each job, showcasing their experiential value instead of your length of service • Consider including a “Profile” section at the start of your resume: a bulleted list of your business and technical skills/knowledge • Make sure your resume has a professional look and quality content (If you don’t know how to do this, hire an expert to help you. It’ll pay for itself.) Let your cover letter address your job pattern head on! If you’ve been asked about your “job hopping” or aren’t getting interviews, then it’s time to get in front of the issue. For starters, do not call yourself a “job hopper” or invite that label from the screener. Your cover letter is the tool you use to put your job experience—not work history—in perspective. Cover letters are difficult to craft, so here’s an excerpt from one I wrote for a sales candidate with many job changes over a six-year period: “My prior sales positions have been diverse and centered on the highly competitive device markets. I have learned a lot about the industry and myself from my experiences. I am passionate about products I believe in. I am gratified by the trust of my customers in those products and in the services I provide. Getting results for them and for the company are my bottom line. The creativity, autonomy, and mobility of sales, coupled with face-to-face interactions with customers, fit my personality. Once I understood this about myself, I realized that the sales process, regardless of the industry, is what motivates me.” Here’s the message the recruiter takes away from this cover letter. The candidate had: • held a number of prior positions • acquired broad personal and industry knowledge as a result • validated his passion for products and serving customers • underscored his commitment to making money for the company • connected with the traits that made “sales” the right fit for him • developed a clear focus for his career This letter increases the candidate’s odds for getting a second look and an interview. Don’t undermine yourself by apologizing for your job changes. Turn your experiences into value. Everyone makes career bloopers of some kind. It only matters if you keep doing it. Take a fresh look at what you’ve done in past jobs and share perspectives that show how business fit you are. Remember: A hiring organization is looking for talent. They don’t expect or want “lifers” anymore. Companies, however, want you to be dependable and reliable. If you’ve had legitimate reasons to move around, situations that are about life happening, then don’t feel the need to apologize. Just address them at the right time. But, if you’ve done “no-no” things that caused you to change jobs, that’s reason for a different post. I would never think that of you! What are your most pressing concerns about your job history?