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Question: "In an interview, how should I answer the following question, 'It looks like you change jobs about every 2-3 years. Why is that?"
~from a Military Spouse on Facebook
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By Amy Rossi
An interview is a series of questions designed to gather information around five categories. Typically, ONLY questions in the first two parts will eliminate you from further consideration.The five interview parts include:
Part 1: Who are you? Tell me about yourself. Purpose: Are you going to fit into the company culture. Can we see you working at our company? If you get this wrong, it doesn’t really matter what you say after this.
Part 2: Why do you want to work here in this role? Are you going to enjoy this role and feel successful?
Purpose: Is this role a good match for what you want to do and do you have the basic skills that we need for you to be successful? They are trying to picture you in the job doing the work; if they can see you performing the duties listed and enjoying the work, then you are likely going to make it to the hire pile.
Parts 3-5: What did you do in the past? Why did you leave previous jobs? How long can we expect you to stay? They have a good idea that you will fit into the culture of the company and perform the role so now they are just trying to get a feel of what you did in the past that brought you here?
The question about perceived job-hopping usually falls into the last few parts of the interview that helps them compare you to other candidates applying for the position and determine your return on investment.
I hope you understand there are no specific or perfect answers to this question, only different strategies depending on who you are and what information you want to give the employer.