How To Create My CV: Valuable Tips For Job-Hoppers
Are you a proactive personality who often changes jobs, juggling freelancing projects and temporary employment at the same time? Congratulations: the companies probably see you as a job-hopper. Changing jobs often requires you to take online professional CV creation more seriously than if you had a few stable, long-term jobs.
What is job hopping, why it’s negative from an employer’s perspective and how to create CV online if you are a job hopper – read below.
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Why companies hate job hoppers
Around 20 years ago, it was common to work for it for a lifetime (or change jobs just a few times during your professional career). As the times have changes and the labor market has intensified, people tend to change jobs every 2-3 years. If for whatever reasons you change jobs once a year or sooner, hiring managers see you as a job hopper. Local resume services share a few hints on why companies avoid hiring job-hoppers:
- They assume that you quit in a few months. If you’ve changed companies every few months, why will you act the opposite with them? (If you are considering quitting your current job, learn how to do it right: https://resumeperk.com/blog/how-to-quit-your-job-in-the-right-way)
- It shows lack of your career stability. Instead of making a contribution into the success of one company and enhancing your professional skills, looks like you’re changing companies one by one.
- It makes them doubt your professional competences. Maybe, you were fired multiple times because you couldn’t manage your responsibilities or didn’t get on well with coworkers?
Before you think “It’s time to create my CV”, you’ll need to rewrite your resume in a way that would hide the fact of job hopping – or make it an advantage in the eyes of employer.
Resume writing strategies for job-hoppers
It was the company’s fault
If you were fired because the company closed down, or moved, or any kind of structural changes occurred, include a brief note about it in your resume. For instance, it can look as follows
Office Manager
Company A (the company out of business) Month/Year-Month/Year
When the company merged with another company, CV creater recommends that you put the former name of the company in parenthesis. By putting the reason of quitting the job fast, you’ll avoid misconceptions with your future employers.
Consulting/Freelancing/Part-time jobs
Did you consult individuals or companies or worked in multiple freelancing projects while seeking for stable, long-term employment? Today’s availability of technology offers enormous opportunities to freelance or work part time. However, if you include short-term projects in your resume under the employment section, it will make you look like a job-hopper.
So, when writing a resume either by yourself or using a CV online creator, put all your temporary projects under the separate section. The name of the section can be “Projects”, “Freelancing” or “Consulting” depending on the industry and the nature of work you completed. Don’t forget to highlight your achievements to show that you’re a result-driven individual.
Downplaying job-hopping on your resume
- You don’t have to include all jobs you had
Let’s assume that you’ve worked for over a year in your first job, then were employed with the other company for a few months, and after that had the other job for 2 years. In this case, it’s recommended that you remove from your resume a job which didn’t last long. Thus, the hiring manager will see a career progression and no signs of job–hopping on your resume.
Moreover, you can remove the outdated, irrelevant jobs: check here for more tips on resume writing https://resumeperk.com/blog/34-resume-tips-and-brand-new-kind-of-resume-to-get-hired. - Create an attractive summary
The top third of the first page deserves special attention in a resume. You need to attract the reader’s attention to your professional competences and make them interested in you right before they actually see you used to change jobs frequently. - Write only years of employment
Put the reader’s attention away from the employment dates in your resume. If you had a few employment gaps lasting for several months, the best way to hide them is to only mention years of employment. Keep in mind that the recruiter might be interested in the exact dates of employment, and you’ll need to provide full information in this case.
Read the most common reasons why people quit jobs – it will help you strengthen your reasoning for quitting before the interview. - Be prepared to discussing why you left previous jobs
The question “Why did you leave your past job?” is quite tense and not everyone knows how to manage it – especially if you have changed jobs quite often. Avoid mentioning conflicts or discussing professional competencies of your ex-bosses in a negative light.
The best strategy is to explain how each of the previous jobs contributed to your professional development and how you overcame the challenges. Be honest and demonstrate enthusiasm and willingness to face the new challenges as a part of their team. - Consider changing resume format
There are three main resume formats: functional, reverse chronological and combined. For a stable employment history, reverse chronological one works best. However, if you changed job too often or had jobs in different industries, consider using a functional format. It draws attention to your set of strong and transferrable skills and downplays the company names and dates of employment. - Address the job hopping issue in your cover letter
Any ‘red flags’ in your resume, such as job gaps, job hopping or career change should be mentioned – and probably explained in detail – in a cover letter. Again, you need to be honest and focused on professional development and positive aspects of your past jobs. For instance, if you had a few short-term jobs in advertising on various positions, you can specify that you’ve tried a few roles and decided that brand marketing is the right career path for you. You can check free cover letter examples before your get started to ensure your own cover letter is written up to scratch. - Use the online networking tools
The job search period is an excellent time to expand your professional network. Take the advantage of field-specific networking platforms, social media and #1 online tool for all job-seekers – LinkedIn. Meet new people and source the job opportunities in your industry. The truth is, if you come across as a professional, motivated individual, and if you manage to talk to potential employers before they see your resume, they’ll be less suspicious about the job-hopping on your resume. - Edit it!
For some reason, many job seekers neglect the editing process and apply with documents containing grammar or punctuation errors. There can’t be too much editing. Use the tips of proofreader resume online to make sure your resume is error-free. - Take the advantage of online CV creator
The main argument in favor of using professional resume help is that the professionals have the ready solutions for all resume issues you may have. Be it a long employment gap or job hopping – professional resume writers of our company have already faced this issue and are aware of how to minimize the negative aspects of your resume or even turn them into advantage for a hiring managers.
If you are a job-hopper, your main goal is to send the message of your dependability and focus on building a long-term career. Draw more attention to your professional achievements and skills. Don’t focus on dates of employment (preferably focus on years). And show your adaptability and positive attitude – personal traits matter during the interview and influence whether you’ll be hired or not.
How to avoid the image of job-hopping?
Are you uneasy about your image of job-hopping and don’t know how to address it in your resume? In this case, consider hiring a reputable resume company with a track record in improving clients’ careers. We staff a number of proficient resume writers and will find you one to help you build a professional image and downplay the job-hopping issue.
Our fees are cheap, so don’t put your future career at stake. Check the list of services we offer and choose the package which is right for you. The writer will get back to you shortly and will work with you until the moment you’re happy with the document.
Have you ever had job-hopping issues? How did you address them in your resume?
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