Have I had too many jobs?

The question: When I went into HR in 2004, a booming jobs market allowed me to make a succession of rapid career moves between companies. Since then I’ve changed jobs five times, but I know it doesn’t look too good to be constantly hopping from one employer to another. I was hoping, therefore, to stay with my current employer for some time. Unfortunately, it appears the company I work for is not in great shape and may need to make job cuts. I’m worried I might be made redundant on a “last in, first out” basis. Should I jump before I’m pushed or do I run the risk of looking like I’m incapable of sticking to one job?The advice: Treat a job offer like a second-hand car, writes John Lees, careers coach A good career strategy doesn’t depend on an abundance of vacancies, but on long-term thinking. If you need to move on, it should be for better reasons than job insecurity, just as your past career hopping could have been more about enhancing your CV than getting pay rises.When job searching, make sure that your main message is not about your current situation but about what you have learnt in various roles. If you have moved jobs more frequently than average in your sector, you’ll need to say why. Do so by talking about your wish to get experience of functions and sectors. Whatever you do, don’t explain that the reason you are on the market is job insecurity, otherwise you reinforce the surface message of your CV that you’re a job flitter.