Dear Cindy – Short-Term Jobs on Résumé

I'm wondering how do you show short-term jobs less than a year on a résumé? If you show these, doesn't this look bad to employers? Also, how do you explain to employers the reason for leaving these short-term jobs?

Sincerely,

Dear A:

Most employers don't have a problem with a person having had several short-term jobs, unless the reasons for leaving the jobs are constantly negative (e.g. you were repeatedly fired or you repeatedly had personality conflicts). I've seen résumés in which an applicant has held a number of short-term jobs in a row: unit closed, relocated, not enough hours, and "not the right fit" – each reason was legit, and the applicant was hired. The main thing to keep in mind is that, from an employer's point of view, lying is a much bigger problem.

Depending on the situation, you have several options:

• If the jobs were basically the same, e.g. various admin assistant jobs for different employers, you could list the jobs in a way that's similar to how a travel nurse or travel tech could list their jobs, by listing the entire period as one job. For example: "January 2006 to October 2006, Administrative Assistant. Various Companies, Anytown, Anystate, USA." After this, you would give a general description of the common duties, and say that you will provide specific details if requested. Even if one of the reasons for leaving was negative, you can explain it. For example, if you were fired, you will need to show an understanding of what happened, take responsibility for it, and let the employer know what you've done to make sure it doesn't happen again.

• If the job you're applying for now is in a different field than your short-term jobs – e.g. you worked in clerical roles and are applying for a food services job – you could indicate the earlier period as: "Date to Date, Worked outside of the food services field. Details available on request." If there are transferable skills that you bring from the other field (e.g. customer service), indicate this. And if the potential employer asks for more information, you can give details about the jobs and reasons for leaving.

• The other option is to list all of the jobs individually. Since you have listed them, it suggests to the employer that you have nothing to hide, and if an employer asks, you can explain.

Also see our earlier queries: Dear Cindy – Omitting Jobs From a Résumé and Dear Cindy – When You "Didn't Fit the Job".

Good luck!

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Cynthia M Piccolo (Career Questions)

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