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I have great skills, but have not worked in any one place longer than a year. This is causing me a lot of problems with my job searching. I have various reasons for why I haven't stayed, but the bottom line was that I was unchallenged or there was negative politics. How can I get around this very big obstacle in my job search? The longer I'm out of work, the less desirable I'm looking to prospective employers! Sincerely, Staying Trouble Dear Staying Trouble: Your first step was right: Figure out why you're not holding jobs for longer periods of time. Of your two reasons, you can rarely do anything about negative politics, but you can usually do something about lack of challenge. For example, did you take any initiative when you felt you weren't being challenged (e.g., asked for new duties or training, asked for a transfer, participated in committee) or did you just bail? The first thing to do is make sure you're applying for the right jobs. Have you been applying for jobs that are too junior for you? Are you bored with your career in general? Do you need to do some self-assessment exercises? Should you consider or talk to a career counselor about a career switch? Once you've made sure that you're applying for the right jobs, you have to address the job-hopping and being out of work in your cover letter and résumé, and in subsequent interviews. • Downplay (but don't
lie about) the job-hopping by using a functional
résumé rather than a chronological
résumé. Stress your accomplishments,
and your hard skills and soft
skills (e.g., flexibility, adaptability,
energy).
• Note any continuing
education or upgrading you've done, particularly
since you've been out of work.
• If you have good references
from your last job or a recent short-term job that
discuss skills that will be useful in the job you
want, include
one with your résumé and cover
letter.
• In an interview, don't
sound negative about the politics or lack of challenge.
Don't place blame. Instead, put things in a positive
light and talk about how you are seeking challenges,
how you want to learn, etc.
• In an interview, stress
that you're looking to settle down into a job for
the long-term. With a history of job-hopping, an
employer will see you as a risk, so you'll have
to convince them that you're not only qualified
for the job, but interested in the job and the
hospital/facility, and that you plan to stick around
for the long-term. Good luck! Discuss This ArticleHave something you'd like to say? Tell us what you think! Read and post comments for this article. Like this answer? Read more questions! Browse our archive of 1,294 career questions. Also, see our master index of all MedHunters articles! Find a JobChoose your career: MedHunters is the world's biggest healthcare job board. Our job directory has 18,005 jobs with 2,490 hospitals and other direct employers. We want you to find your next job on MedHunters. Need Help? Call us at 1-888-884-8242, email us at info@medhunters.com or sign up now. Do you have a career-related question? Email us at: DearCindy@medhunters.com. |
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