I'm now getting told I job hop too much at 25. This was cited as the reason for rejection by multiple outside recruiters representing reputable firms I have been speaking to.

But:

1) big 4 I had a grad job with started heavily pushing offshoring
2) small CPA firm had me actually auditing, but they also put me on tax (after telling me I'd be auditing)
3) industry: was fine until CFO retired, controller quit over not being promoted. I took over tax w/o a pay hike, got tired

I’ll be direct: if I looked at your resume and selected you for an interview I would need a very good explanation for the quick moves. On the surface it looks like you leave when work is difficult. I can understand a bit of the second reason, but I would need a lot more on 1 and 3. What about offshoring was the issue? Did you see it as a threat? For 3: why were you not considered for a promotion when 2 leaders quit?

These job changes don’t seem like such a big deal to me. I’d be concerned about the 1st one because your reasoning doesn’t make sense.

2nd one seems fine as it was a bait and switch.

3rd one is a little concerning too. If you are just going to quit when things get hard, you might want to be selective about your next employer.

I’d probably not give these reasons in an interview though. At least not the 1st and 3rd - those can probably be polished up.

I’d be nervous to hire you too. You need to stick with a place 3-4 years and just power through whatever changes happen. Things like what you described are pretty typical in the workplace and you can’t just quit every time you encounter some adversity.

You are a huge risk. Three hops in three years. Couldn’t hang in big 4, small firm, and industry.

Don’t see anything wrong. That’s just a cheap HR manipulation tactic. If you don’t like it, move

Other comments here are out of touch. Job hopping is very common today and it sounds like you just haven’t found the right opportunity yet. There’s no sense in worrying about the past, you can’t change it at this point.

Aside from 3 jobs in such a short time the biggest red flag I see is the reasons you provided. If you provide those reasons to anyone hiring in B4, small firm, or industry it would be an immediate no because that’s how these organizations operate. For example if you tell any other B4 you left B4 bc you had to work with offshore why would they hire you when it’s the same expectations?


- Big 4 - left because you were mainly reviewing / coordinating offshore work. I tell staff to spend time reviewing so you learn and take the opportunity to learn some skills of supervising offshore staff.
- smaller firm were asked to do tax work when you were hired in audit. Most small firms expect you to wear multiple hats if your current practice can’t keep you busy. There not going to pay you do do nothing.
3. Industry- again most companies in the audit or accounting department is going to be as small as possible because they are a cost center and don’t generate revenue. Most of the time people wear multiple hats and help out as needed elsewhere.

I think it’s fine to hop, especially early in your career.

In interviews, package it as trying to find what you like and looking for the right environment to grow long term.

Internal Audit might be a better path if you don’t want to end up doing tax work. Sox work or operational audits can be a good fit for former external auditors, and can also lead to internal rotations into other departments after 2 or 3 years.

SA1 nailed it…you’ve had three jobs in three years over three different settings and couldn’t stay at any over a year. Red flag

I don’t think it’s as bad as others are saying but you should look to stay minimum ~2 years in your next role

Yawn 🥱

Yeah, I’m tossing your resume in the trash. Weak excuses just reinforcing that you’re not cut out for the job.

You are looking for all the bad things that happened explaining why you left 3 places. Have you ever evaluated what could have been good had you stayed? This is not a question that recruiters asking. This is a question you should be asking yourself. For example, in 3d case: the company was just bought out - so many opportunities would be opening for you. New people, new processes, company’s improvements (hopefully) in many respects, promotions (as some people are naturally leaving). These kinds of of changes in companies life cycle bring lots of opportunities for learning and promotions. You missed on it.

Look at it from the employers point of view. They don’t know you, and the facts are that it didn’t work out for you with 3 jobs in a short period.

What would you think if you were the interviewer?

None

I don’t think hopping is a bad thing so early in your career. If you are feeling this isn’t for you, make the change while you’re young.

Do you get past the screening process / recruiters to actual hiring managers? Perhaps have your resume reviewed by a professional for pointers. Your reasons are not invalid, but the bottom line is that in takes investment by the company to onboard a new hire - if they don’t think you’ll stay through change, regardless of the situation, then why take that risk? You need to address the elephant right off the bat and be proactive, but you have to get past the initial screening first.

You seem like a flight risk. Either (1) you can't stand to stay at a job longer than a couple of years or (2) you have bad decision-making ability. Those are 2 risks that companies flag when they see your resume.

While you have the right to job hop whenever you want, that had zero to no consequences in the past job market. That job market was crazy and nothing that I had ever seen in 20 years. Now you are competing against other people who aren’t job hopping. We have such little information that we can truly obtain prior to making an offer. So the risk reward just doesn’t favor you right now. Sorry that you are finding out about it this way.