Sometimes life doesn’t turn out like we think it’s going to. You might start what you thought was a perfect job and find out you hate it. Or you get hired in one state but your significant other has to move and you decide to go with them, leaving that new job behind. Or maybe a family member gets sick and you have to quit your new job to take care of them.

Regardless of what the reason is, your resume makes you look like a job hopper—you’ve had multiple jobs in a short time span, like three jobs in two years. This can scare potential employers who want an employee to stay for the long haul.

According to Bersin by Deloitte, as reported by Glassdoor, the average cost per hire is around $4,000. And that doesn’t even include the time it takes to train a new employee. Employers don’t want to spend all of that time and money only to see a new hire quit a few months later. They’re going to ask why you had so many jobs, so it’s important to have a planned answer ready. Here are our thoughts on how to answer. (more…)