TRAPS: Your interviewer fears you may leave this position
quickly, as you have others. He's
concerned you may be unstable, or a "problem person" who can't get
along with others.
BEST ANSWER: First, before you even get to the interview
stage, you should try to minimize your image as a job hopper. If there are several entries on your resume
of less than one year, consider eliminating the less important ones. Perhaps you can specify the time you spent at
previous positions in rounded years, not in months and years. Example: Instead of showing three positions this
way:
6/1982 - 3/1983, Position A;
4/1983 - 12/1983, Position B;
1/1984 - 8/1987, Position C;
It would be better to show simply:
1982 - 1983, Position A;
1984 - 1987, Position C.
In other words, you would drop Position B altogether. Notice what a difference this makes in
reducing your image as a job hopper. Once in front of the interviewer and this
question comes up, you must try to reassure him. Describe each position as part of an overall
pattern of growth and career destination. Be careful not to blame other people
for your frequent changes. But you can
and should attribute certain changes to conditions beyond your control. Example: Thanks to an upcoming merger, you
wanted to avoid an ensuing bloodbath, so you made a good, upward career move
before your department came under the axe of the new owners.
