What's the minimum time you need to be at a job to put it on your resume?

[dave134]

As far as white collar jobs go and not retail or fast food where it is expected you don't stay long, how long would you need to be at a job before you'd be comfortable putting it on your resume?

[and1grad]

Maybe 6 months? You dont want to give the impression that you didnt pass a probationary period.

[dacrunkest]

I'd say minimum a year, but minimum 2-3 to really highlight and sell the experience/skills/knowledge you gained while on the job.

[yankeeyosh]

I say four to six months. If you have a gap of nine months or so, the hiring manager will likely wonder what happened, and be very wary about hiring you. A gap of a couple of months probably won't kill you, although it may come up once in a while (although it's easier to make an excuse for).

My resume has a couple of gaps...five months between 3/02 and 8/02 and four months between 7/05 and 11/05. In both instances, I had a job that lasted about 2.5 months and got fired from. Rarely does they come up, but when they do, I try to make some excuse.

[pisces2473]

I would hope it would be OK to put anything over a year...since some people only last a year or two per job.

Myself included--I was at my first job just over 2.5 years, my next almost 1.5 and I'm coming on the 1.5 mark at my current job. I'm also getting itchy there, so it might just be me, who constantly likes change.

[Kitty]

6 months.

[jrwilheim]

It depends on your field somewhat, too. One good thing about being in ESL/EFL is that it's kind of expected teachers will move around. Different standards apply in different countries and places. Some places, you have to sign a one-year contract, which you may or may not renew. Other places, you can work for shorter periods of time.

[winneythepooh7]

For my field, social work, a year + always looks good. Staying at one agency and advancing in it to different positions also looks great.

While I can certainly understand bad environments and very stressful client populations can account for jumping around, I still think it makes you look "better" if you are at a place for at least one year.

It is pretty common though to jump around every few years in my field. This is usually the main way you are going to increase your salary in human services, and grow professionally in my field. I've had mentors say that it's important to be exposed to different populations/agencies.

With that said, I am happy where I am now, but pending changes in life circumstances that may come up down the road, I don't know if I see myself staying where I am or even in this field forever.