Should I include a job that I was at for only 4 months on my resume?

Question

I left a company that I had been with for 4 years for what I thought was a better opportunity (promised better pay and lots of room for growth). I soon realized that not only were there strings to some of the pay scale (and yes, I had received a contract in writing prior to leaving my old job) but that my job discription was very different from what I was told during my interviews. Bottom line: I changed jobs and I have now been working for another company for the past 6 months and I want to do my resume and look at getting out of the current industry I have been in (all the jobs I have held within the last 5 years have been in the same industry)

...my question is: Do I include this job that I was at for only 4 months? Yes, I will include it on my written application, but do I need to put it on my professional resume?

sorry, i might not have been clear enough...the job i want to omit is the one that I had prior to my current one...thanks

Answer 1

Absolutely include it. The gap raises a much bigger red flag. The short emplyment in ONE job can be chalked up to a bad match or other reasonable circumstances (which you may have to explain in a job interview), but a gap is not a good idea at all.
Now if you had a series of very short emplyments and it seemed like a pattern it would seem odd, but one is not even worth worrying about.

Answer 2

I'd say put it on. Since it's your most recent job, it's important to have it there. Employers don't like to have gaps in the resume without knowing what was done during that time, so not putting it on your resume could look like you did nothing for the last few months or that you're trying to hide what you did.

Answer 3

you should only put it on your resume if it gave you a relavent skill or experience to your long term career onjective. a lot of times its not the length of time spent on the job but the skills learned and the tasks accomplished that matters. you can always justify leaving by saying it was not a pleasant work environment :)