wisdom and judgement.

So, here's the deal. The initial two jobs did not result in offers, which was not shocking as we know competition is fierce at the moment. Since then, I have submitted a lot of applications, did a short lived temp remote job, and accepted an offer for full time employment that is fairly close to home.

A word on the current job: to be frank, it is a tread water job. I am grateful to have steady pay. It allows me to pay for groceries, make the car payment, pay for cell phone monthly, etc. It came at a time that I really needed a steady paycheck. It, however, is not the job I want long term for many reasons. The pay is very low. Benefits are not great (no health or dental). I am grossly overqualified (and I am being modest there). I accepted it because it kind of came out of nowhere and I needed a steady paycheck with no other imminent offers on the horizon. I could stick with it for a while, but it simply cannot be the job I plan on keeping longterm. I currently have one semi-promising application in for a position that I would love to get (submitted before I was offered the current job but the selection process is more drawn out), but I have reduced my job search drastically at least until that application process reaches its end. I'm not so much concerned about jumping ship from the current job if a good offer came in (I've only been there a week). I think the current employer would have to know that there's a good chance I'm a short-timer given my qualifications and their pay rate and benefits package). I wouldn't be shocked if I were the employer and I received my notice.

What concerns me is how to address the current job in any future interviews in the short term. The temp job, I'm not even putting that on my resume. It lasted a week and had no chance of ever being full time. I feel like I would need to mention the current job though. How do I go about convincing the interviewer that I'm not going to just jump ship again? How do I explain why I accepted the current job if it wasn't enough? Is it acceptable to explain that I needed a job to start covering my family's living expenses and paying for health insurance while I continued looking for a position I felt comfortable with for the long-term? Would the hiring manager understand and accept that explanation given the current job market and my qualifications?

I know these may be dumb questions, but I've never been in this type of situation before. I'm not even looking for anything ridiculous in terms of benefits and salary, so I'm a little embarrassed to even say how much I'm currently making. Trust me when I say it is just enough to keep my head above water. If the current pending application falls through (just as likely it will as it won't) I really want to start applying seriously to other positions ASAP. Just want to know how I should plan on addressing the current job. Being in an underpaid job just feels pretty rotten and is a little demoralizing. I can't say I regret taking the job because we have to eat, but I also won't be upset to leave it behind eventually.