How To Overcome Job Hopping On Your Resume
Publié le 16 August 2023
Avoid letting a gap in your employment history keep you from getting hired by knowing how to overcome job hopping on your resume.
Job hopping rose to an all-time high during the Covid-19 pandemic, with 27.8 million employees voluntarily switching to new jobs in 2020 alone.
A survey by Pew Research Center found that the majority of workers who quit a job in 2021 cited low pay, no opportunities for advancement, or feeling disrespected as their main reasons. Yet, job hoppers are among the happiest workers in the hybrid-remote era, enjoying more flexibility and autonomy.
Despite the benefits job hopping can bring to workers, such as increased pay and work-life balance, job hopping can also be seen as a red flag by some employers, who may question your commitment, performance, and reliability. However, it is possible to use this work experience to your advantage by recognizing it as a sign of personal and professional growth.
So how can you overcome job hopping on your resume and convince potential employers you’re a valuable candidate? Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling resume that focuses on your strengths and achievements, rather than how many jobs you’ve had.
Write a compelling resume objective
A resume objective is a brief statement that summarizes your career goals and qualifications for the position you’re applying for. It is usually placed at the top of your resume, under your contact information. A resume objective can help you catch the attention of the hiring manager and explain why you’re interested in working for their company.
A good resume objective should be tailored to the specific job and company you’re applying for. It should highlight your relevant skills, experience, and achievements that match the requirements of the role, as well as your enthusiasm and passion for the work you’re pursuing.
Pay attention to your resume format
The format of your resume can make a big difference in how your job-hopping history is perceived by employers. A poorly formatted resume can draw attention to your employment gaps and short stints, while a well-formatted resume can highlight your skills and accomplishments.
There are different types of resume formats that you can choose from, depending on your situation and preference, including:
- Chronological – The most traditional format, where you list your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent or current position.
- Functional – This format focuses on your skills and abilities rather than your work history. Group your skills into relevant categories and provide examples of how you used them in different contexts.
- Combination – This format combines elements of both chronological and functional formats. You start with a summary of your skills and qualifications, followed by a detailed list of your work experience in reverse chronological order.
While the chronological format is best suited for candidates who have a consistent and stable work history, functional and combination formats can help portray gaps and changes in your work experience in a way that is most beneficial to you.
When formatting your resume, avoid these common mistakes of a weak resume:
- Inconsistent fonts, colors, and styles
- Having too much or too little white space
To make sure your resume looks polished and professional, you should download a template with a design you like. Using pre-made templates makes it easy to create a visually appealing and well-formatted resume that follows best practices.
Leave months off your resume
One simple way to minimize the appearance of job hopping on your resume is to leave the months off your work history and only include the years. This can help hide small gaps or overlaps between your positions, as well as make your resume look more concise and consistent.
For example, instead of writing:
Sales Manager, ABC Company, Jan 2022 – Jun 2022,
You can write:
Sales Manager, ABC Company, 2022.
However, this technique may not work for larger gaps or more frequent changes, as it may raise questions or suspicions from the hiring manager. In that case, you may need to provide more context or explain your job hopping in your cover letter or during your job interview.
Highlight your skills
Another way to overcome job hopping on a resume is to highlight your skills and how they relate to the position you’re applying for. You can do this by creating a skills section on your resume, where you list your most relevant and impressive skills and provide examples of how you used them in different settings.
For example, if you’re applying for a project manager position, you can list skills such as:
- Project management
- Communication
- Leadership
Next, you can provide examples of how you applied these skills in your previous roles, such as:
- Managed multiple projects from inception to completion, ensuring quality, budget, and timeline requirements were met
- Communicated effectively with clients, stakeholders, and team members to ensure alignment and collaboration
- Led and motivated cross-functional teams to deliver high-quality results and exceed expectations
By highlighting your skills and providing evidence of your achievements, you can show the hiring manager that you have the ability and potential to perform well in the new job role, regardless of your work history.
Prioritize relevance
Another tip to overcome job hopping on your resume is to prioritize relevance over chronology. This means that you should only include the most relevant positions and information that match the job description and requirements. You should also group your previous job roles by experience rather than by employer or date.
Only include the most relevant positions
You don’t have to list every single job you’ve ever had on your resume. In fact, doing so can make your resume look cluttered and unfocused. Instead, you should only include the positions that are most relevant to the role you’re applying for.
For example, if you’re applying for a sales manager position at a software company, you don’t have to include a cashier job at a grocery store that you had for two months five years ago. However, you should include a sales representative job at a software company that you had for six months two years ago.
Group roles by experience
Another way to prioritize relevance over chronology on your resume is to group your roles by experience rather than by employer or date. This means that instead of listing each position separately under each company name and date range, you can group similar positions under one heading that describes your experience level or function.
For example, instead of writing:
Sales Manager, ABC Company, Jan 2022 – Jun 2022
Sales Manager, DEF Company, Jul 2021 – Dec 2021
You can write:
Sales Management Experience
- Managed sales teams of up to 10 members at ABC Company and DEF Company
- Increased sales revenue by 25% and customer retention by 15% in both companies.
Using this layout makes it easier to draw out your relevant experience and present it in a way that’s cohesive. It also allows you to make the most of seemingly disparate experiences, like freelancing or side hustles.
For example, if you want to show off your content marketing savvy, you can use a “Content Marketing Experience” heading and include your experience of starting a blog, volunteering as a social media manager, and developing business marketing strategies at your last company.
By grouping roles by experience on your resume, you can show the hiring manager that you have a consistent and progressive career path that makes you the right candidate for the role.
Provide context in your cover letter
A cover letter can also help you provide context for your job-hopping history and address any potential concerns that the hiring manager may have. Yet, how should you start a cover letter to best explain your job hopping? Let’s go over this below.
Know your narrative
Know your story, address your job changes directly in your cover letter, and offer an explanation for why you made the decision you did. Explain your reasons in a positive and honest way. There are plenty of perfectly valid reasons to have a space in your employment history. A hiring manager is likely to have a much more negative impression if you are trying to hide this fact, then they would for having a gap in your employment itself. Make sure to never complain or bad-mouth former employers or bosses, and frame your career changes positively.
Focus on what you’ve learned
Recruiters love candidates who strive to develop professionally, as it demonstrates hard work, drive, and loyalty. Emphasize how your job hopping experiences have helped you learn more about your career or industry, as well as how these experiences have helped you grow. Employers now recognize the positive benefits of encouraging employees to learn, upskill and grow in an organization, versus continuously looking to hire new people.
Emphasize your broad range of skills and experience
Emphasize the skills and experience you gained from each position, and demonstrate how your diverse and varied background makes you a valuable asset. 50% of employers say that candidates need to articulate their skills better, so make sure to keep these descriptions relevant and concise, and use impactful language that will grab their attention.
Highlight your career goals
Make sure to highlight your career goals to demonstrate your passion for your industry and its bright future. Additionally, show how your career goals align with the company’s vision and mission, making you the perfect fit for the role and for the organization in the long-term.
Conclusion
Job hopping in 2023 is not necessarily a bad thing, as it can show your ambition, curiosity, and adaptability. However, it can also raise some concerns for employers, who may wonder about your loyalty, stability, and performance.
By following the above tips and learning how to overcome job hopping on your resume, you can show employers that you’re a valuable candidate who has gained a lot of skills and experience from your diverse and varied work history. You can also demonstrate that you’re interested and enthusiastic about working for their company and that you have clear and consistent career goals.
