Job Hopper Needs a Job with Benefits - How do I market myself?

Published Apr 29, 2016

Career Columnist / Author

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Specializes in Tele, ICU, Staff Development.

Hi Nurse Beth,

I have been an RN for almost 26 years. During the earlier years of my career I had some longevity, in one case 11 years at the same hospital. However, in recent years I have job hopped a bit and my resume shows four jobs where I stayed two years or less.

I am currently employed as a telephone triage nurse working from home, which I am fairly content with and planned to stick with for at least 3-5 years for some longevity on my resume. However, we are in a position where my husband lost his job and I need to find something with benefits, which my current job does not offer.

How in the world do I market myself when my resume shows that I have only been at my current job for about 14 months and I am looking again? I have applied for a few hospital positions and gotten nothing. I get frequent offers from travel companies but I cannot travel at this point in my life.

Any suggestions on getting a full-time job with benefits when the longest I've been at a job since 2010 is 16 months? Not proud, just telling it like it is. I am DEFINITELY ready to settle down, though, no more job hopping and I wouldn't be looking now if it weren't for needing benefits.

Help!

Dear Job Hopping,

I'm sorry your husband lost his job. It's a reminder to all of us that anything can change in a heartbeat, and we have to be as prepared as possible.

I'm not sure if all, or even most, of your problem is job hopping. Being job mobile is common, and no one is expected to stay at the same job anymore for 25 years, like in previous generations. You may be asked about it, in which case you would acknowledge that you were fortunate in that your financial situation for many years afforded you a great deal of work flexibility, and you used that time to pursue several different interests and opportunities.â€ You would then segue into the future by saying you are now looking to settle down in a stable company such as yoursâ€ where you could stay for many years and grow.

If you have been out of acute care for more than 5 years, though, that is a bigger problem when you are applying to hospitals, and will take persistence. You say you cannot travel, but you may want to consider one assignment as close as possible to home, because that gets you back into the acute care setting. Then you would have recent acute care experience and skills as well as new contacts. Likewise, check to see if there are any day agencies in your area.

What are you doing as far as networking? Have you contacted all friends and colleagues to put the word out that you are looking for a job? Are you on LinkedIn? A profile such as yours would get some attention.

You ask How do I market myself?â€ And go on to say (basically) that you are unmarketable. Stop focusing on (what you perceive is) the negative, and start focusing on the positive (your strengths). You may be feeling panicked and unsure of yourself right now, but the energy you project must not be one of desperation.

You market yourself by your skills on your resume and your compelling cover letter, illustrated by a short example or two. You must make yourself memorable in some way in order to stand out. Check your resume to make sure it's error-free. Avoid the usual and suspect buzzwords, they are a turn-off. Keep it short and succinct.