The bad job – we’ve all been there. It might have been our own fault for not finding out enough about the position before we accepted it, or the job may have been misrepresented. Sometimes, it just turns out that we aren’t “clicking” with the job we thought would be perfect. There are almost always a half dozen reasons to quit any given job you have.



However, if you’re the type of person who quits every job, all the time, you may need to take a closer look at what you’re doing, and why. This isn’t to say that you should find one job and stick with it forever. Today, it’s almost unheard of to spend your whole career in only one actual career, let alone at just one company.





The key is, that’s ok! Knowing that you won’t spend your whole career with one company can offer up a lot of possibilities. However, there is a difference between job hopping, and accepting changes in the job market. So the questions remain – are you a job hopper? Is it affecting your career?



Hoppin’ Around



I can’t tell you if you’re a job hopper; it’s something you will need to determine for yourself. Most of the time, you’ll know if you’ve been one. Take a look at your resume – do you have a number of months-long positions listed? In a nutshell, a job hopper is someone who has had multiple short-term positions that weren’t intended to be short-term. Thankfully, this means that the summer internship you had doesn’t qualify. The two months you worked at a fast food joint right out of college – that counts.



If you’re just starting your career, your requirements are a little looser than others. A year or so at one or two places during college looks fantastic. However, if you’re already somewhat established, a new job every year or two looks significantly less desirable to employers.



Is Your Job Hopping Good or Bad?



There are good reasons and bad reasons to leave a job. It isn’t an issue to have one or two jobs that were short-term, but if it begins to become a pattern, employers may think twice about hiring you. Leaving a so-so job for your dream opportunity or a significant pay increase is something that most employers will agree was a good idea. Leaving for a $0.25 raise, however, might be a little more difficult to explain.



The issue comes when it starts to look like you are the problem, and not the job. If you’ve held a wide array of jobs and left all of them without giving them a chance, or if you keep leaving the same kind of job you’re applying for now, it might raise some red flags.



Testing the Waters in a New Career



Say you had your first job in fast food, as many of us did. No one will blame you for quitting after a few months, restaurants always have a high turnover. If you then decided to become a salesperson, then a customer service representative, quit both in under 6 months and are now applying for a position as an administrative assistant, you might not get the position. All of these jobs are customer service, and it may be that this is simply not your strong suit. However, it’s your job to recognize that, not your interviewer’s.



It may be time that you consider a different sector of the job market. Get some additional training. Learn how to become a real estate coach or consider taking some online classes. That way, you can rearrange your resume to reflect that you are looking to start a new career path.



Overall, employers tend to be understanding of job hopping, especially given the financial upheaval from 2008. We’re still recovering, and some people just had to find something to keep their heads above water. Employers are aware of that, but they still don’t want to waste time and money training someone who will leave at the first issue. In the end, it still looks better to stick around when tough times hit, and it’s always better to find another position before you quit.