Explaining three four month jobs within a year [duplicate]

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

Last year I left my first post-university job at which I did 2.5 years, to join a big 4 where I did 4 enjoyable months, then left as I was headhunted for a startup job with a 40% pay rise. As it turned out the manager didn't really understand what the role required, they didn't have the necessary data, so I left after 3 months, I then took an 11 month contract job, my current role, at another 50% pay rise.

I'm now in a position where I don't get on with my manager, and don't feel I'll have the room to complain given I'm contracting. I'm 4 months into this job and I'm anticipating leaving, am I right in thinking the above reasons will put me at a huge disadvantage when interviewing ?

Are there any ways I can put a more positive light on this past year's experiences from a HR perspective? I work in analytics.

manpreet 2 years ago

As @Kaz says in the comments all the previous moves are understandable and justifiable, sure that many moves close together isn't an ideal "look" but they aren't horrible by any means. Based on what you told us leaving your current contract now would be hard to justify to another organisation and would definitely look bad.

And even worse is that to someone who doesn't know you the other moves being acceptable relies on a certain amount of "benefit of the doubt" being applied - leaving a fixed term contract half way through as you propose could well remove that benefit of the doubt and actually paint the previous moves in a negative light as well exacerbating the problem, so my advice would be to tough it out in the current role and fulfill the contract term. Then you will have a completely reasonable set of circumstances to explain it ending.