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All your life in the same company?

This is no longer common nowadays.

A year here, a few months there and almost a year elsewhere - this is not how your CV should look like.

What some employees want to sell as versatile experience is not welcomed in HR departments.

Employees cannot always do something for a long list of employers on their résumé: “The world of work has changed drastically,” says career coach Ute Bölke.

"Fixed-term contracts, freelance work, internships, temporary work - all of this is reflected in the résumés." For those who involuntarily move from one employer to the next for such reasons, they should definitely explain this in their résumé under the point "Motivation to change", advises Bölke.

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Because if an applicant does what experts also call job hopping, the first impression is often rather mediocre.

"Anyone who changes frequently within their professional biography gives HR managers the interpretation that they lack persistence or loyalty or that there is a lack of performance or ability to work in a team", explains psychologist and coach Hans-Georg Willmann from Freiburg.

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How many job changes arouse this distrust cannot be said in general terms.

“Two changes in 20 years are of course not often.

Two in two years, ”says author and consultant Jochen Mai.

On average, it is common to change careers every five to seven years.

However, especially among young professionals, it is normal and legitimate to change more frequently.

“You look for yourself, your job and your calling, and of course the right employer,” says Mai, who runs the career bible portal.

Career entry: You should stay in your third job for three years

But even at the beginning, the list of employers shouldn't get too long.

“Of course there are exceptions, but the third job should be right,” says career coach Ute Bölke.

In this case, sitting means that you stay for at least three years.

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Psychologist Willmann also sees it this way: In the first year you arrive, get to know processes and people in the company.

In the second year you have a permanent place.

"In the third year you can show: Now I'm in, now the successes come."

Everything for a professional restart

But what if an employee has changed frequently and the current job is nothing again?

"One should ask the question: To what extent is health affected?" Advises Willmann.

"Life comes before work."

If the job does not cause any health problems, one should try to continue with it.

“You should use your current job, even if it is far from good, as a springboard to continue applying.” That is better than applying from unemployment.

Job interview: don't look for excuses to change jobs

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Mai advises anyone who is asked on his long list of employers in the job interview to be honest.

“The HR managers have already heard almost every explanation anyway.” If the frequent changes were due to a lack of assertiveness, for example, “you can certainly admit it in the conversation: I wasn't that assertive before, but that is now different, because I learned a lot from changing jobs several times, ”Mai gives an example.

“In fact, you have to work on yourself and not try to sell yourself as well as possible in the interview,” emphasizes Mai.

Because if you constantly change jobs because something doesn't suit you, you probably have a problem that will accompany and hinder you throughout your professional life.

In addition, frequent changes fall back on the employee anyway.

“It's always your own fault,” says Mai.

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He advises investigating the causes: Anyone who repeatedly feels excluded by their colleagues should analyze as precisely as possible why they are offending.

"If I notice that something is not being well received: be sure to speak to it and ask - you might get an honest answer." Then you can clear up misunderstandings immediately and learn for the future, explains Mai.

"For some it is, for example, the choice of words or the facial expression."

Sometimes you just haven't found the right job for you yet.

In this case, Ute Bölke advises the following procedure: Imagine you have ten million euros in your account.

Your heart's desires are fulfilled and you come back from vacation.

What would you work?

"One should pursue the answer to the question and see whether one can realize that."

Anyone who has changed often but is sure that they will find the right job with the next job should focus on the positive: Many employers can actually mean more diverse experiences, a larger network and a broader range of knowledge, as Willmann emphasizes.

In addition, according to him, frequent changes can testify to adaptability and flexibility - which is very important in many companies.

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This article was first published on October 23, 2019.