Job Count - What's Your Magic Number?

How many jobs is too many jobs?!

And what effect does your magic number have on how future employers and recruiters see your commitment to a role?     

Job longevity in Business Travel and Travel Tech is becoming more and more of a rare sight on a CV however, moving jobs too often can indeed be seen in a negative light by companies, whether it’s fair or not.  In fact, the average tenure of employment now  is somewhere between 2-3 years so it’s not surprising that jobs mount up quickly.

However, if you’re frequently changing employment every 6-12 months it sparks a whole host of questions such as:

Are you constantly not passing your probationary periods or meeting targets?

Are you worth the investment of training?

Are you going to leave if you are not promoted fast enough/get a pay rise immediately?

Are you an employee that is always on the lookout for the next best thing?

The reality is though, in todays fluid market, demonstrating a clear career path with only a couple of companies isn’t how things are happening for most people. 

Opportunities to move to different cities, take on short term projects or temporary work, go travelling or just to simply try something new are ever more present and shouldn’t be discounted as important learning curves in your career.  Not to mention changes in financial situations which simply mean you need more money.

And we’ve all been there when those carefully chosen jobs just don’t work out despite your best intentions. Perhaps you were sold the dream that never materialised.  That can (and does!) happen but should be the exception to the rule on your CV and not the norm.

So, if you’ve managed to accumulate an extensive array of jobs and are worrying how it looks, here are some helpful tips to show an employer that you’re still an A* employee!

De-clutter: Your CV doesn’t need to be an exhaustive list of every single thing you’ve ever done in your life. It’s your own personal sales tool, used to help you demonstrate immediately to an employer why you are the best person for the job. So think about grouping together periods of temporary employment and offering an explanation:

“Jun 2024- July 2026, London: Various temporary roles as a Business Travel Consultant whilst actively completing an Open University course”

No need to list all your responsibilities in jobs from 20 years ago – it will take up valuable room and is largely irrelevant. Just stick to the job title and dates if you feel it’s still important but if it’s nothing to do with the role you’re going for now, it’s perfectly fine to leave it off and advise “Further work history available on request”

Adding context: Sharing reasons for leaving jobs can be useful in allowing an employer to see why you’ve made certain decisions. Relocation, left to go travelling or raise a family, redundancy etc shouldn’t be left to the recruiters imagination or you can risk your genuine reasons sounding alarm bells.

Got a gap or two? There’s no need to try and hide it. You don’t have to go in to detail about why you were out of employment if it’s something you’d rather not share but “A personal break in employment” is enough to box off that gap.

Focus on what each job has taught you: If you’ve tried out several different industries and are worried you’re appearing to be flitting around on a whim, why not focus on the fact you’re clearly capable of learning new things? Highlight the transferrable skills learnt and how each venture has helped you clearly identify the direction you now want to go in.

Modern employers are becoming increasingly aware that longevity in a role isn’t an indicator of success or ability however, they do still want someone to add value to their organisation, regardless of the length of time they stay there.

Our advice? If you enjoy moving jobs every couple of years for personal and professional development then make sure you’re able to talk confidently about what you’ve achieved during your employment and how that can benefit a new employer.

** Urbanberry specialises in Business Travel and Travel Technology Recruitment in the UK. We’re a leading Travel Recruitment Company with a focus on educating, inspiring and empowering everyone who looks for a job through us. We work with some of the most innovative TMC’s  and Travel Tech companies in the world, helping them to build out their teams with talented travel professionals. **