It's that time again! Time for the Interview Question of the Week.
As you know, when you are looking for a job, being prepared for an interview is key to standing out from the crowd and landing the job. Each week, we pick another interview question, examine it and figure out the best way to answer it.
So, here it is, The Interview Question of The Week:
Question:
Why have you had so many jobs?
Why it's a trap: This question is expressing a concern that you might be a “job hopper” and that you might not stay with the company if they were to hire you. They may also think that you are unstable or someone who can't get along well with others.
The Best Answer: Before you even get to this point, you can try to lessen the impression that you are a job hopper by eliminating jobs on your resume that lasted less than a year and use rounded years in your work history listing. Especially if the job was just to pay the bills and not something that had a direct impact on your career progress; this may be the way to go.
If an interviewer asks you why you have changed jobs so frequently, reassure them that each position has been a part of your career progress. Be careful here though; you don't want to blame other people for the seemingly high degree of job changes. If you even hint that it was because of “personality conflicts” or “bad management” the interviewer will just assume that you are a difficult employee and figure that if other companies couldn't make you happy, that they wouldn't either. So, never, ever be negative. That being said, you can feel free to place the blame for situations beyond your control.
For example, if the company you were working for was bought out by another company, and you decided to make a thoughtful lateral move to another company in order to avoid the risks of being let go during the takeover, feel free to share that with the interviewer. It makes sense and paints you as someone who is forward thinking.
The main thing here is to show that you are interested in a long-term opportunity with their company and that any job changes you have had, have rounded out your skills and experience to make you better qualified for the position.
What do you think about this question? What are some of the more difficult questions you have been asked during an interview?
By Melissa Kennedy- Melissa is a 9 year blog veteran and a freelance writer for LogisticsJobsiteBlog, along with helping others find the job of their dreams, she enjoys computer geekery, raising a teenager, supporting her local library, writing about herself in the third person and working on her next novel.
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