Series of short term jobs - Help! I'm throwing myself on the mercy of the HR people here for some advice. I've had a series of year long jobs - only one was my fault in that I got sick, didn't have health insurance (they didn't offer it) and I got let go for being out too much. Next one kept bouncing paychecks so I moved on. Next had a revolving door anyway (sales job). Next closed because of the "No Call List" and ill-advised expansion. Next one my job was replaced bcz of a merger. And the last one was a store where the douchebag owner kept everything (Quickbooks, processing CC refunds) under his password which would be fine when he was there. He suddenly decides he wanted to be a private pilot and we could never reach him. It was a specialty hobby shop so word got around and things went quickly south. I tried to find another job before the end but couldn't. Wrote my resume to show my strengths rather than chronologiy (I've had jobs previously where I've stayed up to 3 1/2 years) and get very few backs. And when I do, you're not supposed to bad-mouth your former employers, right? Which leaves me looking like the "problem employee" or I'm hiding some addiction. Any advice would be welcome.

Two things: 1.) Go with the functional resume, there are many examples out on the internet. 2.) Find a way to put a positive spin on each position. There's a nice way to say anything, try to think like a politician in the diplomatic corps. You CAN convince an employer that you have the skills they're looking for, but it's going to take some work.

I have the functional resume... Only thing is I added my job history at the bottom. Bad idea, you think? Put that on there to show not only my longer term jobs but that one place rehired me (both were lay-offs)

No, that's good But you can fudge with the dates a little. Don't give the exact dates, but stick to the months and year, you might be able to make it look like you were there a little longer than if you used the exact dates. This is not uncommon. But in the job history, add items into their descriptions that they might ask in an interview such as: What type of industry it was in, privately or publicly owned, number of employees, yearly sales, things like that. Prospective employers often ask questions about how the businesses were run, if you put them into the resume, the you've already answered their questions ahead of time.

I've always read... That fudging with dates can get you into trouble. That all of this "background check" and "credit history" stuff is what they go by - not ing your former employers. And that will rat you out. Or is all of that just there to scare away the real scumbags? (BTW - a little rant - I've had more than one employer bounce paychecks. When do we get to ask for their SSN and run credit checks on them? We're giving them "product" before they have to pay for it, after all)

It depends When I said "fudging" I didn't mean LIE. If you started on July 25 and stopped working Sept 2, you could say that you started in July and stopped working in Sept. You'll squeeze almost a month out of that without actually using lying on the resume. If they want exact dates, then you can provide them. It's actually a good sign if they want to run a credit check or a background check on you, it means they really want to give you the job. Those items cost money, and they're interested enough to spend some cash on you. However, it's a BAD sign if they want YOU to pay for them. For those jobs, just walk away, it's a scam.

Don't worry.... "However, it's a BAD sign if they want YOU to pay for them. For those jobs, just walk away, it's a scam." I know you don't pay for that. I even stay away from temp agencies with fees (not that I like temp agencies anyway - "Oh, that good job you came down here for? It was filled/canceled/fill-in-the-blank...but we have a minimum wage telemarketing job we can offer you..."). You know, of course that these days when you fill out an application - especially on a companies website - they're already asking for all the info to do the background check (SSN, Driver's Lic, date of birth which I thought Federal law was you couldn't ask a person's age) and wanting you to electroniy sign your agreement to have it done. All without you even being seen. And if you don't the application won't submit.

never, ever badmouth former employers It will make you look bitter and possibly paint you as a potential malcontent. The old adage: "Accentuate the positives, eliminate the negatives, latch on to the affirmatives, don't mess with mr. in-between"

Thanks = I keep trying. But it's hard to keep saying "They closed". Starting to think they think I'm a jinx or partly responsible. And I've worked damn hard for these people (although I'll admit I worked hard at the last job more for his customer's sake than for his - he screwed up a lot of people's Christmas/Hanukkah/Festivus year before last, swearing he'd ordered special items when he hadn't).

Suggestion What about stating a job objective to find a position with a solid, progressive business with a strong future? That doesn't criticize your former employers, and lets recruiters draw their own conclusions if you list them, speaks for itself. The second section is your skills inventory, then list all the fly-by-night employers last. You do have to account for your time.

Suggestion 2 It's probably more effective in your resume than in the cover, because the cover often doesn't get read, but the resume does. This is one case where a job objective would help, but you need to add another sentence being more specific about the objective.

Quick question Rich... Isn't the inclusion of an objective line in a resume out dated? I've seen many posts covering this topic and they've all stated to not use an objective line. Also in general, isn't what you're suggesting already assumed? Reading a statement such as finding "a position with a solid, progressive business with a strong future" on a resume sounds like basic "fluff" to me...

Up to you Objectives come into and go out of fashion. Usually they are generic and just fill up space, but I was just trying to think of a way to highlight the unreliability of the companies instead of your unreliablility. If somebody looked down to the list and saw all the crappy companies, they would probably relate to an objective.

I follow the intended logic now... I just thought that having the objective line in a resume would send out a potentially bad impression or raise a flag to the parties that review resumes. I recognize that the decision practices of these people vary from organization to organization and is at the discretion of the individual who makes the decision to have someone interview or have them hired. I'd imagine that anyone who evaluates a resume or application would recognize/realize that a person's employment history was based upon that person's given opportunity at the time, regardless if the company that they were employed at was "crappy" or not. This now being proven more true in our current job market with people taking jobs of lesser caliber in reference to a person's experience or credentials...

Amazing... Cover letters, like objective lines - two things that change with the breeze. One time they're absolutely vital and like "your first and only change to make an impression" and then they're a waste of printer ink. Nothing personal. Just wish there was SOMETHING one could depend on in all of this.