So, my job history looked like 2 yrs in one company followed by 3 months in another, in an entirely different role. Not only a job-hopper but also a role-hopper (I could already imagine the rejections from the recruiter – my management skills ‘weren’t current enough’…).

In my resume I rolled the 2 companies together and listed all the positions I had held (after about 2.5 years I got to 4). ie:
-Company A/Company B 2006-2008
–Position 1
–Position 2

….and explained the detail in the interview.

**I’d wonder how many places that are looking to hire people would be prepared for someone to start in the following timeframes: The next hour, the next day, the next week, the next month, the next quarter, the next year, the next decade.**

How many employers really think about this when they hire? How many consider that their hiring method should be adjusted depending on their objective. And take this a step farther – how quickly do they need a new employee to come up to speed? The tradeoff could be worth a lot of money: Do you pay high to get someone who can hit the ground running, or can you afford to let the person ramp up and thus hire someone not so expensive (but a fast learner)?

Do managers think about this so finely?

Most, not all but most, employers understand that contracts tend to be short-term by nature. By collating sequential contracts you address that issue.

At least, this seems to have worked for me.

On my resume, I list 4 years with the client. At the interview, when we discuss my work history, I explain that technically, I worked 4 jobs in 4 year, but the client wanted me to stay each time the contact changed hands.

I also have a list of each employer, contact info, etc. to make it easy to verify the work history.

My now boss was impressed that the client wanted to keep me, change in contract owner is always a good time to dump the dead weight.

So, are there some clients you have had a long history with? List them as employers on your resume (remember, the resume gets you an interview, not a job). During the interview, clarify that you were not employed, you had working relationship with someone who could have terminated it at any time with no negative repercussions (unemployment, etc.). That says a lot about the loyalty you build.

I’d wonder how many places that are looking to hire people would be prepared for someone to start in the following timeframes: The next hour, the next day, the next week, the next month, the next quarter, the next year, the next decade. It may be surprising that some places may want a little break to get everything ready for someone to jump into the saddle, to use a western metaphor.

As for explaining about the underemployed and jumping ship, I’d be tempted to be defensive about how money isn’t everything and that it isn’t like I’d be starting in the next 5 minutes, right? There are some manners and proper ways to do things and each of us has to live, right? I have bodily needs that have to be met and not all of us have a family that could support us until we find that dream job, as nice as that would be.