To ask how many jobs is too many jobs!?

[soulasylum]

I'd like to get people's thoughts on this please...
Last year I had a turbulent time with jobs. I could not get settled in a place of work, and therefore job hopped about 4 or 5 times. Just for the record I wasn't sacked or made redundant any of these times. It was my own choice to keep moving.
Anyway I started a job in August and I'm still there now. However things seem to be nosediving due to various reasons and I'm finding myself really not enjoying it anymore and tempted to reopen my job hunt.
Obviously I'm concerned how this is gonna look on my CV - I'm aware many employers would not give a job-hopping CV a second glance.
Anyone got an advice or opinions on this please? WWYD?

Sorry, but yes it would stand out to me, and I do a lot of recruiting.

I would want to hear a really plausible explanation if I took you to interview. If it was the sort of job where we routinely get 70 applicants, I would filter you out on this basis.

I wouldnt bat an eyelid on one quick move as people make mistakes/roles don't suit, but that really is a lot.

Sorry, as I am sure that isn't what you wanted to hear. Do you want to tell us more?

What industry/level? If you work in a pub/factory/anywhere where workforce is generally transient it probably doesn’t matter.

If I were to look at your CV I’d probably pass it over unless there was a strong narrative as to why it happened and why it isn’t likely to happen again. Replacing talent is so expensive, it would put me off.

I work at a high level administration within the engineering industry. Can't get too specific for outing reasons.
@itsboiledeggsagain thank you for this advice - I was expecting an answer like this, I know my CV looks a little, erm, colourful! If I DID leave, would I need to list my precious jobs?

Precious! I meant previous, oops

Why do you feel the the need to keep changing jobs? You must realise that employers will not look kindly to this!

I would probably filter you out in all honesty. Training people costs money and time which I wouldn’t be willing to put into someone who doesn’t stick with a job.
The only time I would is if they had been at a temp agency but even then I would expect the temp agent to be listed and possibly a note to say additional references on request from companies during this time.

You would need to list all jobs as leaving it off with no explanation won’t look like you have relevant or up to date experience

I would think you were the problem not the employers ... sorry...

It costs a lot in both time and money to recruit and train someone new. That's why employers frown upon job hoppers.

I think you should explore why you keep needing to move jobs - the common denominator here is you by the way, so you need to look inside yourself for the answers.

Thank you all. I'll have a good think about everything. Appreciate the advice

Agree with the others - one short role in a mix where the others are all decent is fine but 4 -6 jobs in a year would put me off massively

If you only stayed a short time at some of the jobs would it be acceptable not to mention them on your CV and say you took a career break to look for the right job? Or would they find out it was a lie?

you could leave some off - particularly if they were less than a month etc, but I wouldnt suggest massaging dates to cover the gaps.

You could put on your CV - "temporary roles, including: XYZ which suggests they were deliberately temporary without actually lying.

But it wont help you if you get another good job which then isnt right for you.

How about if you decide to leave this job then actually signing up with a temping agency and sampling the market that way. Instead of just making poor decisions?

Is there a reason they are not suiting you, have you figured out the problem?

Have you got a longer job in the past?
If so I’d be inclined to lie and say you were travelling or doing something else not working. Helping partner set up business or something.

I think it does look bad honestly, I would probably assume (rightly or wrongly) that you were the problem, or that you were in the wrong type of job.

Recruiting and training staff is expensive and time consuming, employers quite sensibly don’t want to go through all that for someone they think will jump ship after a couple of months.

I think it would be best to stay put for a while, unless it’s really horrendous. If your most recent job has a decent amount of time it might start to negate the job hopping, showing you’ve settled down.

Definitely examine your career choice, your expectations, and reasons for leaving previous jobs so quickly. It might help you work out what you want from your next job so you can find one that works out

In your title then it depends on your job, in my industry 2/3 years wanting a new job isn't looked down on in my industry (IT) but yeah 4/5 jobs is a year does ring alarm bells and as a senior who sits on the employment board and screens cv's passed down from HR I would look negatively at it.

You are going to have to massage your cv and/or come up with some plausible story as why you chopped and changed so much.

It really does depend on your industry though.

I do a lot of recruitment in my role and I would either screen you out prior to interviewing (unless they were short-term contract roles) or if I did phone screen or interview you I’d be expecting a pretty good explanation as to why you left.

I think that you need to take this opportunity to work out why you haven’t settled into your previous roles, and what you are actually looking for in a job.

Yes I would probably not even give you an interview if you applied for a job at my business as it would look to me that you would leave the job not long after you where hired.