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You're looking in different places, which makes you nonlocal. That alone makes it tougher. You make a good income, and someone in say FL is unlikely to match your current CT salary. You're also very picky about where you live.
Just looking at the facts, I'd say there is no problem as long as you show some sort of competent progression.
^^^I agree with this...
Hopping around from company to company doing the same job for the same pay is one thing.
However, getting sizable increases in income and responsibilities when hopping around is another thing...
I haven't researched Cleveland and Buffalo in depth, but I have a hard time believing they'd be hot for anything. Detroit is its own story. I passed through GR a month ago, and it's a fairly small metro. The rest seem decent enough, but none would be on my short list, save maybe Pittsburgh.
You aren't desperate in the sense you have no job and must take whatever is offered. While the response rate is low, you've been applying to an average of a job about every two days. That's not much, and who knows what percentage of those jobs may have actually expired, been filled but not taken down, basically for internal candidates only (but required to post outside), etc.
I would get more volume going before giving up.
There's only so many jobs available for me though. I have to be interested and qualified for the job, before applying. And my field is rather specialized. Getting more volume will require me to start applying in other cities above and beyond of where I currently applied to. And that means starting to look in cities that aren't in my top tier of desirability, unfortunately. As you can tell, virtually all of the jobs I applied to so far are located in the Great Lakes / Upper Midwest region. I don't like the culture and politics of the South, and the West coast is brutally expensive. I don't like big expensive, busy cities either.
Back in 2006 when I was 22 years old, I graduated from college with a BS in Accounting and started my first job in late 2006. Now, here I am at the age of 30 and already on my fourth job. I am currently job searching as we speak, but it's been a sh** show. I have a master's degree now and I'm over 2 months into my job search and only got 1 interview so far, and I withdrew my candidacy because I didn't want the job. Currently, I'm employed, but one of my recruiters told me that my career history is quite choppy and that many employers are going to pass on me because of that. Here is a timeline of my career history:
Job 1 - 1 year, 5 months - quit with no job lined up and relocated Unemployed for 2 months Job 2 - 1 year, 7 months - laid off Unemployed for 4 months Job 3 - 2 years, 7 months - quit with no job lined up Unemployed for 7 months and relocated Job 4 - 1 year, 4 months so far, and currently looking for a new job
Is that bad? Some of my recruiters say it's common, but at the same time warn me that potential employers might not think positively of it, and that I need to build stability and stay at my current job for up to 4 more years.
I now have a total of 6 years and 11 months of experience in my career and have always received average or above average evaluations.
Opinions please.
This is the epitome of unreliability in the eyes of a hiring manager. The only way this will equate to experience is if there is career progression. Quitting a job only to start back over at a new company doesn't buy you much experience since you are likely working the same types of tasks the entire time instead of progressing in your career. There's a learning curve at every new job, regardless if the position says it's the same on paper.
It sounds as if you are unsure of what you want to do. Instead of quitting jobs, you need to stick with it and work on progressing within the company. Once you do that you will see more money (if that is what you are looking for) and feel some stability. Only then should you look to change jobs, and you should be selective of what you take so as not to start the job hopping cycle over again. Hope this helps.
I haven't researched Cleveland and Buffalo in depth, but I have a hard time believing they'd be hot for anything. Detroit is its own story. I passed through GR a month ago, and it's a fairly small metro. The rest seem decent enough, but none would be on my short list, save maybe Pittsburgh.
You aren't desperate in the sense you have no job and must take whatever is offered. While the response rate is low, you've been applying to an average of a job about every two days. That's not much, and who knows what percentage of those jobs may have actually expired, been filled but not taken down, basically for internal candidates only (but required to post outside), etc.
I would get more volume going before giving up.
Detroit's not bad if you graduate from a top 10 school with a high GPA in an Engineering or IT-type discipline. IMO, it is also a good time to start a career in the Auto Industry (and get brand name recognition on your resume working for Ford and GM), as it's cycling upward.
But again, the Auto Industry is extremely cyclical. It'll be cycling downward again during the next recession.
Hopping around from company to company doing the same job for the same pay is one thing.
However, getting sizable increases in income and responsibilities when hopping around is another thing...
I've been getting significant pay increases from job to job, yes. But no real promotions or advancement with responsibility. Here I am nearly 7 years into my career, still at staff level. I currently make about $90K ($75K salary + $15K bonus) and work 40 hours a week with 5 weeks of PTO. When I first started my career, I was earning a salary of $52K with virtually no bonus and working up to 70 hours a week.
I think this kind of resume is common if you are striving to get paid more and the salary progression is too slow at the firm you are in.
However, I know in the other thread, you were looking to move to Minnesota. Well most Minnesotans are people who are content working at the same $50K job for twenty years. Especially in fields like accounting. I do think the job hopping will be an issue there.
Sure it is hurting you compared to someone with only 2 jobs, 3 years at each, and no 6 month "vacations" in between. I don't know enough about your industry to know whether it is a major or minor obstacle, but as a hiring manager I'd likely pass.
Can you stop hunting till you hit the 2 year mark at the current job? 2 is a lot better than 1.
Sure it is hurting you compared to someone with only 2 jobs, 3 years at each, and no 6 month "vacations" in between. I don't know enough about your industry to know whether it is a major or minor obstacle, but as a hiring manager I'd likely pass.
Can you stop hunting till you hit the 2 year mark at the current job? 2 is a lot better than 1.
I have a feeling I will probably have to do that and just rent for one more year, and then make another attempted job search at the end of 2015. Sigh.......we Americans really don't have as much freedom as they say we do. I have to plan my whole life around lease contracts and the decisions of hiring managers. All of these people are in control of our lives.
I think it's more common today for people in the labor force to job hop. The job market is not the most stable, so a lot of times it's out of someone's control. Our company was just purchased by another, and I've only been here 10 months. If I am let go after a year, there's not much I can do about it. However, in the OP's case, he seems to have a pattern of sticking it out for a little over a year before he moves on. I could certainly see why that may be called into question at an interview. I don't think it automatically disqualifies you for a job, but you should have a good answer available. Employers will naturally be interested in knowing why you would be a good, long-term investment.
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