Confessions of a Serial Job Hopper
By: Elizabeth Dawber
Tags: Business, Self, Advice, Life Lessons, Work

I rewrite my resume to suit my next job

I get that there is a huge divide between the people who think it’s right to ‘amend’ a resume and the ones that think it’s akin to sacrilege. There is a big difference between outright lying and just rearranging or omitting information to place yourself in the best position for the job you are applying for.

I won’t put every job I’ve had on my CV because not only would it take up 30 pages, what job I had 10 years ago isn’t relevant. In England (where I live), employment checks don’t go back any further than 5 years unless you work for the government. In most cases, employers will only check the last 1 or 2 jobs.

I’ve never lied about a skill or job I’ve had because I think you end up being caught out in the job itself when you can’t do the work. I do make sure I highlight the most important skills I have though and make sure they are the first thing the hiring manager sees, whether those skills were gained 1, 3, or 5 years ago.

Tailoring your resume to your next job is one of the best things you can do to make sure you stand out from the competition.

My highest salary

£52,000 ($69,000), and you’ll probably be surprised to know that it was as a club promoter, a job that required no qualifications or skills, and I only worked 4 nights per week.

Earning that kind of money isn’t that easy. Many club promoters won’t make more than £100 ($130) per night, which isn’t anything to be sniffed at but far less than what I managed to earn.

The sexy club promoter image was the main way to get people into clubs, but I realized at the end of my first week when I’d only managed to earn £200 ($260) from 4 nights’ work that I couldn’t stand out in a crowd of modelesque females all vying for the same thing.

I worked in an area of London which attracted bankers and stock-market types, so I figured if I wanted to get their attention, I’d need to learn their game. I spent days looking at what was going on in the financial world and what was hot and not on the stock market and then nights peppering the conversations with what I’d learned. It worked. The bankers and the brokers all bought my game, and because of it, I got more of them into the clubs I was promoting because they saw me as one of their own.

In my second week as a club promoter, I earned £1,400 ($1,800).

When trying to be the best at the game, don’t follow the rules, create the rules.

I’ve turned down several job offers

It may seem strange to say no to a job that you’ve taken the time to research, apply to, and interview for, but when it doesn’t feel right, it doesn’t feel right.

The interview process tells you a lot about the company’s culture, and if you already have doubts that you’d fit in, then chances are it will play out exactly as you expected.

It’s not just about culture, though. Money is important too. I’ve said no to 2 jobs that wouldn’t give me the wages I deserved.

I’ve never regretted saying no; gut instinct and knowing your worth are essential traits as a job hopper.

I never interview at a job unless I know the salary

After the first 2 times that I said no to a job because of a low salary, I decided that I wouldn’t waste any more time applying to jobs that weren’t upfront about what wages they offered.

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve read ‘advice’ about not asking about salary in a 1st interview, which is true but for the wrong reasons. Advice tells us to discuss salary in the 2nd interview or when you’ve been offered the job. No, no, no. I’m sick of this secretive attitude around wages.

Why would I waste my time applying for a job that will not pay me what I deserve? Yes, there’s an argument for negotiation, but the truth is most companies will have a cap on what they can pay employees to do specific jobs. If companies were more open about that, they would save themselves and potential applicants a lot of time.

While some jobs will have an average salary expectation that won’t go higher or lower than a certain figure, other jobs can vary widely depending on the sector or job location. It’s not fair to say you’ll always know what to expect if the company doesn’t say it themselves.

I’ve used glassdoor in the past as they hold information on wages from former and current employees, but if the company I’m interested in applying to isn’t listed, and the company themselves aren’t forthcoming, I don’t apply for the job.

The most underpaid job ever is

Waitressing or anything to do with customer service. The absolute abuse you have to put up with from customers is crazy. Despite having worked at many places that have signs up saying ‘staff will not tolerate abusive behavior,’ it’s rare that customers ever listen to it or that managers ever take your side if you fall victim to it.

I would never work in a customer-facing role again — having to scrape my self-esteem off the floor at the end of every shift is not something I’d welcome back into my life.

What I’ve learned from over 50 managers

The Dunning-Kruger effect is probably more noticeable in managers than anyone else. The idea that we overestimate how good we are at something can have dire consequences on not only those we manage but those we report to.

Having been a manager myself, I’ve seen how hard it can be, but the difference between good and bad managers is just one simple thing: The good managers see where they can improve and act on that, but bad managers don’t see that there is anything wrong.

A lousy manager costs a company money, whereas a good manager makes a company money. This doesn’t have to relate to income, but simply managing your people better will increase staff retention, saving the company money in re-hiring.

My number one reason for leaving a job: Bad management.

I hated my dream job

When I was 20 years old, I worked as a journalist, and it was horrible.

I hated interviewing people. I hated writing about stuff I had no interest in. I hated the editor who never had a good word to say about anyone or anything. My expectations of what the job would be like were completely different from reality.

After a few months, I quit. My colleagues seemed surprised as I’d had a lot of stuff printed, including a full-page spread, which was unheard of for a rookie. My family and friends were surprised because, for years, all I’d talked about was being a journalist. But I knew it wasn’t for me. I loved writing, but not if it wasn’t what I wanted to write.

I am my own USP (unique selling point)

Job hopping has allowed me to keep up with changing markets, changing technology, and changing customer needs. I’m a more valuable hire because I have such a broad range of skills.

Working across different industries gives you a broader perspective of how one business or sector affects another. This really helps when trying to get ahead in business because you have more experience with the different parts of the economic chain.

When I talk to friends who have just been in one job their whole life, it seems like they live in a bubble, not understanding the bigger picture.

When you start a new job, you have the added benefit of seeing that business with fresh eyes, which means you can recommend or even implement improvements to help that company.

Companies can get really stuck in a mindset of ‘we’ll stick with what works’ rather than noticing that they could do better. A good company will encourage you to make changes because they’ll recognize the value you bring.

In my 20 years of working, I’ve had more pay rises and promotions than anyone else I know, which blows the theory out of the water that you need to have been at a company for a long time to benefit from these things.

I was offered an uncapped payrise and I still quit

Several years ago, I worked as a project manager. After 2 years, I decided to leave. I didn’t hate the job; it was probably one of my favorite jobs, but I felt that I needed a new challenge.

After 3 months of searching for my replacement, the company realized they couldn’t find someone with the right skills, so they offered me an uncapped payrise to stay.

If I’m honest, I was a little bit smug at the time. Knowing I could name my price was satisfaction that my skills were highly valued. In the end, though, I said no. It wasn’t about the money. I wasn’t getting what I wanted from the job, and a pay rise wouldn’t change that.

When you know that it’s time to move on, then it is.

The job that surprised me the most

Apart from journalism, the job that surprised me the most was being a scuba diving instructor.

I achieved my PADI Open Water qualification in the freezing cold waters of England and then did the rest of my training in Mexico.

The perception that it’s this fantastic job where you just swim around in the sea having fun all day is so far from the truth. Days are long, often starting at 5 am, and consist of filling dive tanks, loading equipment onto boats, ensuring everyone is kitted up properly, and then being responsible for dozens of people’s lives on the dive itself. Then repeat x3 every day.

Don’t get me wrong. There are benefits to the job; I’ve swum with sharks, dolphins, turtles, rare species of fish, and seen an abundance of diverse and beautiful coral, but at the end of the day, you are in charge of people’s lives, and that’s tough.

I was a lot happier when I became fully qualified as an instructor (after around 150 dives) because the sea dives are often left to Divemasters (one qualification down from instructor) while the instructors typically spend their time teaching in shallow water or swimming pools.

I loved teaching, and I found my forte helping nervous divers build up their confidence, but in the end, I found that the job just wasn’t for me.

I know my self-worth

Bad companies/managers will blame their employees for business failures. It’s like a parent blaming a child for their own shortcomings. It boggles my mind that managers think that shouting at or just giving employees a hard time generally makes for a good working environment.

If I’m poorly treated at a job, then I leave. I don’t moan about the company with my colleagues or complain to my friends about my awful job. No, I get a new job at a company that knows the worth of its employees.

I’m never scared to lose a job or quit a job

How many people can say this? Most people I know right now are running around like headless chickens worrying whether they’re going to lose their job or not. I’m not because I know I can walk straight into another one. Yes, even now. The last recession of 2008 didn’t affect my job prospects, and this one won’t either.

If jobs are being advertised (which there are), then I’ll get a job. It’s all about mindset. If you walk into an interview scared and desperate because it’s your only hope, then you won’t be hired. If you walk in with the confidence that you’ve already got the job, then you’ll get the job.

I’m better prepared for an uncertain future

Adaptability and resilience are the 2 best skills you learn as a job-hopper. The settling-in period in a new job becomes almost non-existent as you hit the ground running from day 1 because you’re so used to challenges and changes.

If things change in the workplace those, who have been there a long time grumble because employees generally like maintaining the status quo. I’m the opposite, and it’s a skill that will be of the biggest value in an uncertain future.

Research by Harvard Business School shows that adaptability is the competitive advantage in an era of risk and instability.

The 3 most important things in any job

A good manager; nice colleagues; the ability to always learn, improve, and progress.