Should I still be looking for a new job?

November 14, 2013 1:20 PM

I am working full time and making okay money. But I'm not satisfied with my salary or my commute. Should I keep looking or stay where I am for awhile so my resume doesn't look flaky?

I moved, in June, to a new part of the country and quickly found a job that was pretty cool, but only part time. In August, I found another job that is part time, so I am now working 40 hours a week, if not a bit more.

Job 1 is a position that I like, but at an organization that drives me bonkers due to its lack of tech savvy. I have been working every Friday night and Saturday since I started, even though it was promised that I wouldn't have to after September. It pays $13/hr, skimpy benefits.

Job 2 is a pretty menial position at an organization that I really like. It requires me to work until 6 some nights, which is pretty late for my internal schedule. It pays $12/hr, decent benefits.

Both jobs are about a 30-minute drive away from home, which I hate, especially in combo with the late hours--I don't usually get home until 9 on a Friday. I am always zonked and my husband is having to pick up more than his fair share of the housework. But I do generally like both of my jobs: coworkers, duties, etc.

I have been continually searching for a better/full time job since before the move, because I have a constant, nagging anxiety about money (student loans) and my salary is very low. But would it be better to wait until I've worked at these organizations longer before I quit? I want to make more money, but I don't want huge gaps in my resume and I don't want to let down my employers, who are very nice.

In summation, do employers really look down on resumes with lots of short-term jobs on them?

posted by chaiminda to Work & Money (10 answers total)

Nope. Employers don't look down on temporary jobs on a resume. Especially if you've recently relocated and you can explain, "I really like my positions, but I'm looking for a full-time gig at a fair market salary."

So yes, DO continue to look for a good job that pays better and has benefits and is closer to your house. You quit AFTER you get that job.

Also, speak to your employers and explain that you would not like to work until late on Fridays.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 1:24 PM on November 14, 2013 [4 favorites]

But would it be better to wait until I've worked at these organizations longer before I quit?

It would be better to wait until you have another job before you quit. Look for a new job. Look for a new job (full time? good pay, good benefits? better commute?) all you want. Don't quit anything until you get one.

Would it look bad to quit your jobs and not have a job and then be unemployed and have a gap that you need to explain? Yes. So don't do that.

But definitely look for something that makes you happier!
posted by phunniemee at 1:25 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

What's the downside to continuing to look?

If someone decides to hire you, then presumably they won't have been concerned with the quality of your resume, because they would have hired you! Otherwise, you have a job that's ok that you can continue to work at.

Either you get to go to another job (yay!) or you don't, in which case your resume would show you working at these part-time jobs longer.

(But yeah, don't quit until you've got that other job lined up.)
posted by leahwrenn at 1:30 PM on November 14, 2013

As long as you have a good explanation as to why you're moving on rather quickly (and you do! Two part-time gigs too far from home with too late hours!), hiring managers should not see you as flaky at all.
posted by ldthomps at 1:34 PM on November 14, 2013 [1 favorite]

The biggest reason that employers look down on resumes with a lot of short-time jobs is because it makes you look like you can't hold down a job, which means that you are hard to get along with in some way. But that's not you - you have a valid reason for having these short-time jobs: you just moved. If your previous jobs before you moved were also very short time, you might want to worry about this. But otherwise, just keep looking.

If do the exercise of "best case/worst case":
- If you keep looking for a new job now - the worst that could happen is that you don't get one. The best case is that you get a good job.
- If you wait to start looking - the worst case is that you don't get one and there is no best case - because you would have no chance of getting a better job if you don't look.

So you really don't have anything to lose. Go ahead and start looking (and yeah, don't quit your present job(s) until you get a better one).
posted by CathyG at 1:38 PM on November 14, 2013

I think this entirely depends on a few things:

- How old are you? If you're 22 and don't have a ton of work experience, I don't think it looks all that weird to have a resume with some short stints on it. In my experience this stuff gets to be a bigger issue when you're heading toward your mid 30's and you have a LOT of very short jobs on your resume.

- What's the nature of the jobs? If either of these jobs are part time "mcjob" type positions (food service, retail sales, etc), it likely isn't a big deal if you quit after six months. Nobody expects you to wait tables for five years. Even a year at a part time job like that is considered a really long time. Even if you're looking to go into the restaurant industry or retail management as a career.

- What's the nature of these "organizations", and what do you see yourself doing careerwise? If you're just answering phones a couple days a week at WhateverCorp until something better comes along, well, when something better comes along, you go do that. If these are places that relate directly to what you want to do careerwise and which will look great on your resume going forward, yeah, I dunno, stick around for a while if you know for sure that it's worth doing.
posted by Sara C. at 1:46 PM on November 14, 2013

There's no reason not to keep looking. But you look and secure a new job first, then quit one or both of the old ones.
posted by radioamy at 3:14 PM on November 14, 2013

I am an HR professional that works in the nyc staffing industry.

I'm not sure how the market is where you live or what industry you are in, but in my office we generally throw away resumes where the person didn't stay long enough in certain jobs- HOWEVER, this applies to full time jobs. If you are doing part time jobs only then your resume would probably be thrown out anyway. There are exceptions- like if the companies they worked for are well-known.

It wasn't always like this. When the economy was good someone had a better chance. So I would say to just go ahead and look for a full-time gig and stay there for at least 3 years. That will look a lot better on your resume than staying at 2 part time jobs for a few years which will make some employers think that you just weren't good enough of an applicant to GET a full time job. But if you decide to look do not quit your jobs until you found a new one.
posted by manderin at 3:27 PM on November 14, 2013

Does Job 2 have a better position for you with a more normal schedule? If so, you could talk to your boss about how to get into that position.

Because switching between two different part-time jobs really eats up your life. So, I'd see if you can turn one of these jobs into a better job. And, while you're doing that, keep looking for another better job without the commute.

Don't quit until you have something else lined up and then having short jobs won't make a difference. Good luck!
posted by amanda at 5:47 PM on November 14, 2013

Keep looking for a good well-paying job with a short commute with a plan to stay at THAT job for a while after you get it.
posted by Jacqueline at 6:01 AM on November 16, 2013