Feeling like a job hopper!

MrChicagoRN, RN · May 6, 2013

Sometimes we have to make sure that things work out until we get get enough mileage under our belts.

Nurseamanda00 · May 6, 2013

Recently I had to leave my full time job due to a company wide pay cut. While updating my résumé I felt the same way because I've had several prn jobs and temporary jobs. My feeling on job hopping is this: employers are no longer loyal to their employees (where I am from anyway) and therefore I do not feel bad about not staying at a job that I dislike or that simply is not a good fit. I consider it experience that is valuable and I've never had a potential employer look negatively on it. They only care that I have a pulse and a license for the most part.

I have always been sure to give adequate notice when leaving though and always get a solid reference.

I have a friend that works in HR for a major airport and she says that "job hopping" is not something that is looked down upon necessarily anymore due to the crummy economy. Just food for thought

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · May 6, 2013

I'm glad to hear that, now that I'm back in the job market myself at age 54. I really thought that last one was my 'forever' job---I didn't even have an escape plan for if it ever got to be unbearable. I never thought it would. But I was wrong.

I've held something like a dozen jobs in the 16 years I've been an RN, and this was the second-longest time I ever held the same job (2 1/2 years). Sometimes I've worked two PT jobs at the same time, but I've always looked for that elusive job that I would retire from in so many years. Now I'm reasonably certain that it doesn't exist.

There really IS no employer loyalty out there; just last week I was thrown away like so much garbage when I returned to work after a leave of absence for a medical condition, and was unable to continue without the accommodations my doctor had requested under the Americans with Disabilities Act. They decided that it would be an "undue hardship" to give me some uninterrupted work time during the day, or have someone run interference for me in confrontations with certain volatile resident family members---not even for a short time.

And so I was dismissed....they didn't even have the decency to provide me with my final check, even though they'd known they were going to fire me since Monday night. No, I have to drive the 50-mile round trip once more to pick it up, which means I've got to walk in there knowing that everybody in that building knows I was fired.

So, I'm glad to know that there's still a slim ray of hope for me despite my own 'job-hopping' history. Of course, being a late-middle-aged nurse with medical issues might throw a bit of a monkey wrench into the works, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do, right?

NotMyProblem MSN, ASN, BSN, MSN, LPN, RN · May 6, 2013

I should have been named Peter Cottontail! On my last interview, I was told that with the different jobs that I've held in the various locations, they felt I should come with a lot of ideas and suggestions as opposed to those nurses who let the grass grow under their feet. I've been on the move for years! That's the only way I could remain in the profession! Lots were agency positions, 2 were fulltime positions, and the rest were and currently are PRN float positions. I'm NEVER complacent on a job.....saves me the stressful feeling when been thrown into something new.

As long as I can make enough money to pay my private insurance and retirement payments and have at least one good meal a day, I'm great! When I want to go to the beach, I sign up for extra shifts. Otherwise, I am a stranger to Walmart until the holidays roll around.

Plan A was to become a nurse. (My dad's plan for his only daughter years ago.) Plan B is to work the least amount of nursing hours as possible, (my plan). And Plan C is to stick to Plan B! So far, it's working for me. When it stops working, at my age, I won't be fit to work anywhere else anyway. So I'm good.

NJnewRN · May 6, 2013

It could go either way. You can use it to your advantage to show that you are flexible and a fast learner. The downside is that it shows instability. I had to justify over and over again to potential employers why they should take a chance on me when you finally decide to settle down. My life hasn't been the yellow brick road. I'm glad that in a profession that allows me to try new things. The downside, is that it gets pretty exhausting after while. I'm honestly tired of the orientations and would prefer to stay in one place. The funny thing is that I bring a unique flavor to any place where I work. I have so many skills and knowledge about many different things that it actually helps me. It can be a good or bad thing, but at some point it catches up to you when you want to settle in one area. I did a little traveling for a while. I liked it at first, but I feel that when the facility is having a hard time holding on to their staff, then I don't really want to go into that situation, but you are only there for a short period of time, but it's become more and more like that in most facilities. Just my two cents! Good luck.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · May 7, 2013

I've had more than one recruiter call me a job hopper. What I know is I hopped from making 78,000 a year to 120,000 a year in less than 10 years.

Did you have experience doing MDSs?

Eleven011 · May 7, 2013

Did you have experience doing MDSs?

A bit. I was trained by another MDS coordinator to help her get assesments done when she was behind. She only showed me how to do the parts she wanted help with, so I don't know how to do everything, but have a working knowledge of whats going on.

WandaWilliams · May 7, 2013

I am a RN and held many job titles at the hospital where I worked. I also left several times and came back to the same hospital. After feeling burned out working as a hands on nurse I took a job with an Insurance company. I had enough time left that I could retire from that job and be a traveling nurse when my husband retired from his job. That was how we were going to see the US and other countries. Best planned ideas do not always happen. I had a heart attack 2/28/99, and was not able to return to work in twelve weeks and was fired from my job. They forced me to apply for disability thru Social Security since I was placed on Long term disability. I have not been able to work since 2/28/99, due to my health. I suggest you always have a back up plan.

CapeCodMermaid, RN · May 7, 2013

A bit. I was trained by another MDS coordinator to help her get assesments done when she was behind. She only showed me how to do the parts she wanted help with, so I don't know how to do everything, but have a working knowledge of whats going on.

All I can say is good luck. Being the MDS Coordinator without either a lot of experience or a lot of training isn't going to be easy. MDS 3.0 is far more complex than 2.0.