How to handle short-term jobs on your resume

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December 7, 2011

How to handle short-term jobs on your resume

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By Marie G. McIntyre
McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Q: I would like to know how very brief jobs should be handled on a resume. My most recent position was eliminated after I had been there only eight weeks. If I include it, employers may wonder why I left so quickly. But if I omit it, how do I explain why I left the preceding job?

Also, I have previous experience with a temporary employment agency where most of the assignments lasted only a few months. Listing all those companies could make me look like a job-hopper.

I have read that it's OK to leave short-term positions off a resume, but I don't know whether that's a good idea. What should I do to give employers the right impression?

A: Under certain circumstances, applicants might wisely choose to omit a job which lasted only a few weeks. In your case, however, there's really no reason to exclude the eight-week stint with your most recent employer.

Instead, indicate on your resume that this position was eliminated as part of a workforce reduction. If the rest of your work history is solid, you're not likely to be screened out because of a layoff.

To accurately portray your experience as a temp, list the agency as your employer for the entire time you worked with them. Then show each assignment as a project completed during that period of employment.

Q: My uncle's wife has been sending insulting and hurtful emails to everyone in our family. I believe she sends these emails from work, so I want to teach her a lesson by telling her supervisor. Can you advise me on how to approach this professionally?

A: You can approach this professionally by not doing it at all. This is a personal family matter, so involving your aunt's supervisor is completely inappropriate.

Instead, instruct your email program to direct all correspondence from your aunt to the "junk email" folder. That way, you can avoid both the nasty messages and the unnecessary drama.

Marie G. McIntyre is a workplace coach. Send in questions at http://www.yourofficecoach.com.