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View Poll Results: Has job hopping finally come to haunt me?
No. It's common for people your age to change jobs frequently. 50 39.06%
Yes. Your history is quite unstable and you need to build stability. 78 60.94%
Voters: 128. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 10-07-2014, 08:22 PM
 
366 posts, read 436,129 times
Reputation: 817

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I too have had the same concerns. Here is a rundown of the past 10 years of my life....

2004-2012- worked for a major retailer in a very stable job.

2012-quit job in order to move out of state with my live in boyfriend for HIS job relocation

Aug 2012-Dec 2012- found a job at a small payday loan place but quit shortly after due to what I felt were their unethical practices

Feb 2013-Dec 2013-worked as a labor supervisor for my boyfriend' company. was a temporary project, so it ended.

Jan 2014-March 2014- unemployed after moving AGAIN for boyfriend's job assignment

March 2014 - May 2014- Took a community college course, earning a certificate.

July - Present- currently work as a cashier/administrative assistant for a major auto dealer.

Presently I am, looking for work again in my home state, due to my relationship ending with boyfriend. This is not something that I was planning on doing,, but am concerned about the sudden period of instability. I just plan on one hell of a cover letter, going over everything in the most professional way possible
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Old 10-07-2014, 08:53 PM
FBJ
 
Location: Tall Building down by the river
39,605 posts, read 59,242,021 times
Reputation: 9451
Quote:
Originally Posted by rekab23 View Post
I too have had the same concerns. Here is a rundown of the past 10 years of my life....

2004-2012- worked for a major retailer in a very stable job.

2012-quit job in order to move out of state with my live in boyfriend for HIS job relocation

Aug 2012-Dec 2012- found a job at a small payday loan place but quit shortly after due to what I felt were their unethical practices

Feb 2013-Dec 2013-worked as a labor supervisor for my boyfriend' company. was a temporary project, so it ended.

Jan 2014-March 2014- unemployed after moving AGAIN for boyfriend's job assignment

March 2014 - May 2014- Took a community college course, earning a certificate.

July - Present- currently work as a cashier/administrative assistant for a major auto dealer.

Presently I am, looking for work again in my home state, due to my relationship ending with boyfriend. This is not something that I was planning on doing,, but am concerned about the sudden period of instability. I just plan on one hell of a cover letter, going over everything in the most professional way possible
I see nothing wrong with your work history. You been employed every year since 2004 which means 10 straight years.
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Old 10-07-2014, 08:55 PM
 
Location: NJ
18,665 posts, read 20,041,021 times
Reputation: 7315
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321 View Post
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.
Stay at job 4, until you have 5 years tenure. That will stop the damage, and change the employer's viewpoint.
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Old 10-07-2014, 09:51 PM
 
Location: Florida
11,669 posts, read 18,050,052 times
Reputation: 8249
Quote:
Originally Posted by bobtn View Post
Stay at job 4, until you have 5 years tenure. That will stop the damage, and change the employer's viewpoint.
That would mean that I would have to continue living in Fairfield County, CT for 4 more years though.

On the other hand, I am able to save at least $20,000 a year. Right now I have $47K in a savings account (in addition to other cash, but I won't go there). If I stay here for four more years, I would have about $127K in the bank. Then, I could move to somewhere like the Buffalo or Rochester, NY areas and buy a house outright and not have to worry about career advancement, at the age of 35! Thoughts?
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Old 10-07-2014, 11:19 PM
 
Location: Lawless Wild West
659 posts, read 944,689 times
Reputation: 997
OP, I job-quit a lot more than you did... in fact, compared to me you have a stable work history. And yet, somehow, I end up getting hired eventually. My last non-temp stable job was 2.5 years ago. I just got hired last week and what seems to be an okay job. It's a very easy job that I have, but I'm only in it so I can move to their accounting department next year :3
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Old 10-07-2014, 11:31 PM
MJ7
 
6,221 posts, read 10,785,465 times
Reputation: 6611
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321 View Post
That would mean that I would have to continue living in Fairfield County, CT for 4 more years though.

On the other hand, I am able to save at least $20,000 a year. Right now I have $47K in a savings account (in addition to other cash, but I won't go there). If I stay here for four more years, I would have about $127K in the bank. Then, I could move to somewhere like the Buffalo or Rochester, NY areas and buy a house outright and not have to worry about career advancement, at the age of 35! Thoughts?
Does the company for whom you are employed have an office in western NY? Or, do you just mean that you would quit and move to western NY?
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Old 10-07-2014, 11:55 PM
 
1,135 posts, read 1,319,077 times
Reputation: 2190
I dont think OP wants to be in accounting at all though
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Old 10-08-2014, 06:34 AM
 
4,586 posts, read 5,640,492 times
Reputation: 4374
Quote:
Originally Posted by nep321 View Post
Yes, being a nonlocal candidate makes it even harder indeed. I mean, all I can do is try. I've been looking since Aug 1 and applied to 27 jobs and am working with 5 recruiters, which only yielded one interview. I had the interview, but was turned off by the company. But I mean, I've been applying to jobs in many cities in the U.S. such as Hartford, New Haven, Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Grand Rapids, Detroit, Minneapolis, Milwaukee and Phoenix. That's a pretty good breadth, if you ask me, and many of those places are quite strong on jobs in my field, even. I am also somewhat selective in the jobs I apply to, because I don't want to just apply to whatever company wherever. The job has to be a good fit, and the industry, field, etc. There's no sense in applying for a job that doesn't appeal to me, you know? Plus, my field is rather specialized.

I'm thinking if nothing materializes over the next few weeks, I'm gonna quit my search and start searching for a better apartment in my area or something and just try to build more career stability and save more money. Sigh.
Question from a long term unemployed who would just love to be employed again, but cannot, and stopped applying all together because it leads nowhere:

WHY In the world are you keep applying for other jobs instead of FOCUSING on your current job and giving it 100+%????? I don't get why you're keep applying to all these jobs?

You sound like you're BORED, so I think you should find a hobby and be GRATEFUL you HAVE a JOB! You sound awfully spoiled!
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Old 10-08-2014, 07:49 AM
 
Location: TN/NC
35,306 posts, read 31,695,045 times
Reputation: 47946
I don't get why people are absolutely ragging on the OP. I wouldn't quit with nothing lined up either, as this is very risky, but if he has the means, great.

OP makes decent money, but it would only be equivalent to $45k-$55k in most parts of flyover country. It's not life changing money, and it's probably below what he would make (adjusted for COL) if he had some more logical progression in flyover country. It would probably be worth about $50k here in Indy where I am. While that's a reasonably good living for a single person, it's not enough for a flashy lifestyle, and owning a home on a single $50k income can be tough if you have other debt or financial disruption in your life.

I certainly don't get the argument to "stay until you have tenure." It's not like the OP is making chickenscratch or may even find a better deal, but the same logic applies to low end jobs. I've had six jobs since I graduated in 2010, five of them doing the very same thing, and the last one paid the least - $11.68/hr. Should I have stayed there until I "built tenure" in order to avoid being labeled a "job hopper?" No, and if I did, I'd still be making $11.68/hr and not going anywhere. Instead of accepting that, I sought to better myself, and now make more than double my last wage. I doubt the same thing is going to happen to the OP, but one should always keep one's eyes open. Complacency and being out of touch with the labor market may kill your career.

We don't even know why he's not getting responses. Maybe there are simply people more qualified. Maybe it's the issue with him being nonlocal. There's no way to tell.
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Old 10-08-2014, 08:21 AM
 
Location: Florida
11,669 posts, read 18,050,052 times
Reputation: 8249
Quote:
Originally Posted by Emigrations View Post
I don't get why people are absolutely ragging on the OP. I wouldn't quit with nothing lined up either, as this is very risky, but if he has the means, great.

OP makes decent money, but it would only be equivalent to $45k-$55k in most parts of flyover country. It's not life changing money, and it's probably below what he would make (adjusted for COL) if he had some more logical progression in flyover country. It would probably be worth about $50k here in Indy where I am. While that's a reasonably good living for a single person, it's not enough for a flashy lifestyle, and owning a home on a single $50k income can be tough if you have other debt or financial disruption in your life.

I certainly don't get the argument to "stay until you have tenure." It's not like the OP is making chickenscratch or may even find a better deal, but the same logic applies to low end jobs. I've had six jobs since I graduated in 2010, five of them doing the very same thing, and the last one paid the least - $11.68/hr. Should I have stayed there until I "built tenure" in order to avoid being labeled a "job hopper?" No, and if I did, I'd still be making $11.68/hr and not going anywhere. Instead of accepting that, I sought to better myself, and now make more than double my last wage. I doubt the same thing is going to happen to the OP, but one should always keep one's eyes open. Complacency and being out of touch with the labor market may kill your career.

We don't even know why he's not getting responses. Maybe there are simply people more qualified. Maybe it's the issue with him being nonlocal. There's no way to tell.
In my opinion, job hopping is one of those things....if you can and want to do it, then why not? If you can get a job lined up before quitting your current job, then who cares about tenure? It either works out or it doesn't. My current job is too easy and isn't advancing my career at all. Isn't it incumbent upon me to attempt to steer my career back in the right direction, versus stagnating for 4 more years in the same job for the sake of gaining tenure?
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