How to Answer “Why Have You Had So Many Jobs”

How to Answer â€Å"Why Have You Had So Many Jobs† You’re sitting in the interview, and things are going fine, when the hiring manager looks up from your resume, eyebrow raised, and asks the question you’ve been dreading: â€Å"You’ve had an awful lot of jobs, haven’t you? Can you walk me through that?† DO understand why this is a potential red flag.You probably had reasons for every job switch on your resume. The interviewer doesn’t know that- all he or she knows is what’s printed in black and white on that fancy cream-colored stock. He or she doesn’t know if you’ve been fired from every position you’ve ever held, or if you’re a serial quitter when a shinier new opportunity comes along. Before they can hire you, they need to get a solid sense of your employment history to help determine whether you’re a good bet for this company. If you look like a flight risk, the company might not be willing to make that investment in you.DON’T assume this m akes you look bad by default.The fact that the interviewer is calling attention to your, uh, varied history is not meant to make you feel ashamed, like some kind of job floozy. If you’re asked to clarify (or even just given an opening to do so), take a deep breath and make sure you have an elevator pitch-style explanation.DO make sure you have context for all of it.A shoulder shrug or a long, awkward pause is the least helpful response you can give here. Be prepared to talk about why you have a variety of jobs listed over a short(ish) amount of time.DON’T make stuff up.If you’re asked about the jobs you’ve listed on your resume, be honest. You don’t have to give every gory detail about why you left a particular job, but if you stick to the broad outlines you should be okay. For example: I was let go due to a company restructuring at XYZ Corp, and it wasn’t until I landed at the Elite Agency the following year that I felt like I was back on t rack, professionally.It’s okay to admit that you left jobs in the past because they weren’t a great fit for your professional goals, but be sure to reiterate that you see this current opportunity as having long-term potential.DO consider revising your resume to edit out some job change details.Do you really need every single one of your jobs on there? If you have entries on your resume that lasted less than a year, think about whether that job really adds relevance to your history. If you’re not using anyone from that job as a reference and it wasn’t a major cornerstone of your relevant experience, then consider dropping it.For example, this block of your resume†¦Edgy.com Marketing Coordinator, March 2010 – February 2012 Whirlwind Inc. Marketing Coordinator, February 2012 – November 2012 MakeAMatch.com Social Media Director, November 2012 – June 2014†¦could be narrowed down to this:Edgy.com Marketing Coordinator, 2010 â€⠀œ 2012 MakeAMatch.com Social Media Director, 2012 – 2014This way, you’ve smoothed over an interim job that looks like an odd blip, without leaving a gap. This can also avoid awkward explanations about why you left that middle job so soon.If this question comes up in your interview, take heart- it’s not necessarily a dealbreaker. It’s a conversational opening to give context and explain how those jobs turned you into the stellar candidate you are today.

Inning, Innings, and the Seventh-Inning Stretch

Inning, Innings, and the Seventh-Inning Stretch Inning, Innings, and the Seventh-Inning Stretch Inning, Innings, and the Seventh-Inning Stretch By Maeve Maddox In the games of baseball and cricket, opposing teams take turns batting a ball. A baseball game is divided into nine innings during which each team has a turn at bat. Each half of an inning ends with the third out. (An out occurs when a player strikes out or is tagged between bases.) I’ll let Merriam-Webster explain the cricket term innings: innings (noun): plural but singular or plural in construction :   a division of a cricket match in which one side continues batting until ten players are retired or the side declares; also :  the time a player stays as a batsman until he is out, until ten teammates are out, or until his side declares. Both terms have given rise to figurative expressions. In reference to cricket, the term â€Å"to have one’s innings† can mean simply, â€Å"to have one’s turn at something.† Spoken of someone who dies at an advanced age, â€Å"to have a good innings,† means, â€Å"to have a long and successful life.† Here are some examples of the figurative use of innings: The men had their innings in a revival of George Bernard Shaw’s Don Juan in Hell, performed as a staged reading in the style designed by Charles Laughton in 1952. Berry told the Radio Times: I have no desire to be a centenarian. I think 90 is a great time. Youve had a good innings.† From baseball comes the expression â€Å"the seventh-inning stretch.† The ritual of the seventh-inning stretch is described in a letter dated 1869: The spectators all arise between halves of the seventh inning, extend their legs and arms and sometimes walk about. In so doing they enjoy the relief afforded by relaxation from a long posture upon hard benches. Chicago Cubs fans have been singing â€Å"Take Me Out to the Ballgame† during the seventh-inning stretch since 1982. It’s often referred to as â€Å"the seventh-inning song.† In researching this post, I discovered that some baseball fans are a bit confused about what to call this traditional interlude: Incorrect: The  seventh ending stretch  came and to our surprise an announcement was being made over the loud speakers and a message appeared on the scoreboard. Correct : The  seventh-inning stretch  came and to our surprise an announcement was being made over the loud speakers and a message appeared on the scoreboard. Incorrect: In typical fashion, the third quarter seemed like a seventh ending stretch. Bear and I both took several catnaps due to the lackluster performance of both teams. Correct : In typical fashion, the third quarter seemed like a seventh-inning stretch. Bear and I both took several catnaps due to the lackluster performance of both teams. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Has vs. HadRound vs. Around75 Synonyms for â€Å"Hard†