well, there's always the "client pulled his project" defense...

i was in a somewhat similar situation, and just told the interviewer that i wasn't happy working in a poorly managed firm that was hostile to employees.

bad mouth previous firm is a no no at an interview. unless the previous firm or boss is well-known for being an ass in the field.

talk about what you've learned that you can bring to your potential employer. if you criticize your last/current job you won't get the next one.

Defo avoid bagging the last place. Just explain what you hope to get from the new place that you couldn't get from the last.

How long have you been working in the field? If it's four 6-month gigs in the two years since you graduated, that wouldn't necessarily be so unusual. If it's twenty in the last 10 years, you might have some 'splainin' to do.

I agree that overtly or covertly blaming past employers for why you're not still there is a bad idea. But there's no reason not to briefly acknowledge that you've moved around a bit, but now really want to find a home in the new job.

let's be really objective here ... most employers run like hell from resumes with the characteristics you describe ... the simple fact that this one has offered you an interview has to be seen as a) a good indication they're looking beyond your work history, or b) they're desperate.

if it's a) then you just need to be positive, but truthful, about why those prior experiences didn't work out, what you learned from those experiences, and that you're now looking for a stable and lasting employment relationship.

if it's b) then it won't matter anyway --- they just need somebody to fill an empty seat.

but, it's really, really important for younger professionals to understand how damaging, and difficult, a succession of short-term work assignments appear on the typical resume. what it typically means to a prospective employer is that "this is a problem employee -- can all of those other firms really be so horrible?" given what's at stake, why would any firm really want to take that risk?

in the past, our firm has made a real effort to look past credentials such as you describe and focus on the person and what his/her portfolio actually shows -- we've been burned (badly) in every single case.

in our profession "track record" is an important concept and one that is ignored only at one's peril.

hope you get the job -- also hope you hang in there for a while as a demonstration that you can be a good, reliable, long-term employee.

are they horrible because they are horrible or because you can't wear your nose ring?

'I firmly believe that there should be a good fit between the values and temperment of employees and the culture of the firm. Six months happens to be the amount of time that I commit to evaluate that fit.'

I would respect a resonse like that.

This is a strong statement and it might be fine if we're only talking about 1-2 jobs - but this approach holds no water if it has happened 7 times in a row ! IMHO, it's all about the frequency of occurrence.

pomoinmono hasn't shared with us how many instances he's trying to address -- in this context, that's pretty critical information.

Yo, pomoinmono is a chick...... represent!

Anyway, to address quizzical..... yes, I can agree that my job history is becoming problematic and I'm VERY worried about it. My next job has to be PERFECT, because if I leave again...... well, I might as well shoot my foot at the same time. My first post said that I've had four jobs since grad. (last May) ...... so four emplyments in over a year. On my resume I eliminate the position I held for a month and a half (I hated it) and fill the in the gaps between working in construction for six months and then, working in an arch. firm for the subsequent 6 months (really it was 5 months). Currently, I'm freelance, really it's 3 months probation until I get offered a salary position, but I've decided I don't want to stay after the 3 months are up. I'm working in exhibit production and I'm bored out of my MIND. This is all water under the bridge though, in the end, I think that citizen is right that lateral movement is very common for entry-level grads, although it has to settle off at a certain point. It's just hard to explain the wide-ranging reasons for leaving jobs when you've done a bunch of different things like I have ......

4 jobs in the first year after graduation is decidedly NOT common - don't kid yourself.

prospective employers want to know whether you can do the work and whether you'll be a good, reliable employee - a highly unstable work history does not bode well for the second of these criteria.

I do not believe you ought to be looking for ways to disguise or explain away your work history - that seems intelectually dishonest to me. instead, you should find a reasonable way to make your present position tenable and stay with it for at least a year. you owe it to yourself and your own future.

pomo -

i agree with quizzical - sitting on the other side of the table (which i do quite frequently), i'm 99% sure i wouldn't have even invited you in. that said, you are in and i'll give you a few observations to try and help things go more smoothly:

first, does your prospective employer have a high churn rate (turnover rate of employees)? try to find out - if so, your story won't really matter. if not, don't give the story you did just above. don't mention you left somewhere because you were 'bored' or 'just trying things out'. to a firm that values reliability, you're history looks beyond suspect. try to do as much research on them, figure out what all this hard earned 'experience' can bring to their firm, and just admit you've made some questionable decisions in working for so many firms, so early (we like people that can admit mistakes). fall on the sword on that count.

second, figure out what kind of 'fit' you think that firm is going to be with your working persona. do some recon within the firm to find out what it's like, day to day, and be prepared to show you've done some serious homework on the firm culture and that you believe you'll be a good fit. our firm, for example, tries really hard to choose people we think share a similar temperment to the overall vibe of the office. make sure you can show that.

third - have stellar references. if they have more than a passing fancy for hiring you, they're going to check.

lastly, be prepared to be somewhat lowballed on the salary offer. unless, as noted, the firm is just plain desperate to fill a seat, most employers are going to ignore your experience to date (too much variety and non-continuity to have any really solid experience) and pretty much treat you as a fresh-from-school grad. that will probably extend to the pay. if you ask for something much higher than the norm, don't be surprised if the firm just walks away, especially if the firm thinks you're doing all this 'lateral' movement to try and get a bigger paycheck each time. (believe me, i've turned down enough 'lateral' movers who had an overinflated sense of their true value to know when someone is just trying to play the field). realize, you're something of a high-risk candidate - a firm is not going to want to invest all kinds of time and money into your development, just to watch you leave in 6 months.

good luck...

I would spin it as a learning process, and be very adamant that you've figured out now what exactly you want - i.e. what the best size and type of firm is for you - and that this firm at which you're interviewing is exactly what you're looking for.

I don't think you need to try to make your previous jobs look less "awesome on paper". You'd be better off saying that these were great firms, at which you got great experience, but that they just weren't good fits (and be prepared to be asked after that what you think WOULD be a good fit for you, and prepare some specific traits/qualities with which to answer that!)
Absolutely, positively DO NOT say or imply anything negative about those firms. Tell this firm all the great stuff you learned at them, and emphasize your diverse experience.

I don't like freq_arch's answer because it hints that you'll be "evaluating" this new firm for 6 months as well, and this will make them leery about investing the time in you. You really need to sell this as "I didn't know what I was looking for before, but now I do and I very much want to join for the long run."

Thanks for the well-thought responses. I did already admit that I'm very concerned about my job history. Yet at the same time, I don't believe I could have possibly known what the right context would be for me post-graudation without having been in a few different offices, like I have in the past year.

This is all very good advice and overall, I will be more cautious about negativity towards previous job environments. Perhaps the advice that I've gotten through this is that I should have changed interneships during school, instead of staying at the same office..... so that I would have had the multiple work experiences without the negative impact on my resume. Therefore, by graduationI would have known more about what firm would be a good fit.