My Resume Makes Me Look Like a Job Hopper. How Do I Address This?

My Resume Makes Me Look Like a Job Hopper. How Do I Address This?

By Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter

Click here if the video does not play properly

My resume makes me look like a job hopper as I have had a lot of different positions over the past 4 years with no fault of my own (worked for start-ups, moved, had health issues, etc.) and I am wondering how to approach this appropriately in interviews so employers don’t see me that way.

Interview Self-Sabotage: 9 Ways You’re Hurting Your Chances

My resume makes me look like a job hopper. I’ve had a lot of different positions over the last four years—no fault of mine. I’ve worked for startups, moved, had health issues, and a bunch of other stuff, and I’m wondering how to approach this appropriately in interviews so employers don’t see me that way.

So, in dealing with it in interviews, I would volunteer things at certain points. I wouldn’t start off by saying, “You know, I know my resume makes me look like a job hopper, but there have been real reasons for it.” You can wait for them to ask that kind of a question before addressing it.

But I think you can do it more simply. As you talk about organizations you’ve worked for, you can say, “You know, COVID was rough for this firm. They closed up three months into lockdown. I was able to find a remote position and was able to work for them for about seven months before they, you know, they too experienced difficulties and laid me off and 14 other people.” And thus, what you’re able to do is to address it in the course of you talking about work for a particular firm.

It’s not just what you say that matters; it’s how you say it. And the degree to which you come across as being sincere is really important. So, remember: sincerity matters. It’s part of the acting job that you have to do on your interviews so that they feel connected to you and believe you.

Because more than your skills, a firm wants to trust you. No trust, no hire. That’s the fact of it. So you have to come across as being honest, earnest, sincere—whatever words you want to use. That’s how you have to communicate it so that they believe you. No belief, no hire, regardless of how good you are, because there’s always going to be someone else with comparable, identical, or similar skills who they’re not worried about.

So, one way you can do that is lower your voice. Slow your speech down a little bit as you talk. This helps them connect with you and feel as though you’re believable.

The Ultimate Job Interview Framework