SC Haidhof, FC Tribuswinkel and Badener AC before joining Admira Wacker, where he started his professional career.

[5] After a two-year spell, he moved to Rapid Wien where he was a replacement for Muhammet Akagündüz, who left for Turkish side Kayserispor.

[6][7] Hoffer made his Rapid Wien debut on 29 July 2006, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 loss against SV Ried.

[27] After suffering a muscle injury that kept him out on a short term,[28] Hoffer then scored two hat–tricks against Red Bull Salzburg[29] and Kapfenberger SV in May 2009.

[30] Finishing the 2008–09 season as second top scorer in the league behind Marc Janko, Hoffer made a total of 39 appearances scoring 29 times in all competitions.

[31] Amid to the transfer move, Hoffer made two appearances for the side in the UEFA Europa League Qualification Round campaign against Vllaznia Shkodër, scoring in the first leg, with the result was 8–0 on aggregate for Rapid Wien.

[36][37][38] Hoffer scored his first goal with the partenopei on his club debut on 16 August 2009 in 3–0 Coppa Italia win against Salernitana.

"[40] Two weeks later, on 30 August 2009, he made his league debut for Napoli, coming on as a late substitute, in a 3–1 win over Livorno.

[41] But as the 2009–10 season progressed, Hoffer found his first team opportunities limited at Napoli, due to striking form of Germán Denis and Fabio Quagliarella.

[44] Hoffer made his debut for the club in a first round cup match against VfL Osnabrück, scoring two goals, having came on as a substitute for Iliyan Mitsanski, in a 3–2 win after extra time.

[49] A week later, on 21 August 2010, he made his league debut for the club, where he set up a goal for Ivo Iličević, in a 3–1 win over Köln.

FC Kaiserslautern came to an end, Hoffer's next loan move was in the 2011–12 season to another German side, Eintracht Frankfurt, who had been relegated to 2.

[57] Hoffer made his Eintracht Frankfurt debut in the opening game of the season on 15 July 2011, where he started as a centre–forward and played 90 minutes, in a 3–2 win over Greuther Fürth.

[63] But by January, Hoffer managed to regain his first team place,[64] forming a three-men attack alongside Alexander Meier and Mohammadou Idrissou.

[67][68][69] Despite being sidelined for one match,[70] Hoffer ended the 2011–12 season with the club promoted to the Bundesliga, having 31 appearances and scoring 9 times in all competitions.

[79] In a next match against Dynamo Dresden on 8 February 2013, Hoffer scored his first FC Kaiserslautern goal since returning on his second loan spell, in a 3–0 win.

[84] With his first team opportunities limited once more ahead of the 2013–14 season, Hoffer was linked a move to Fortuna Düsseldorf following the club's failure to sign Jeremy Bokila from Belgian side Zulte Waregem.

[85] On 21 August 2013, Hoffer officially transferred to Fortuna Düsseldorf on a two-year deal, finally ending his miserable time at Napoli.

[86] Hoffer made his Fortuna Düsseldorf debut on 30 August 2013, playing 30 minutes after coming on as a substitute, in a 4–2 loss against Arminia Bielefeld.

[90] Since joining Fortuna Düsseldorf, Hoffer found himself in a competitions with strikers such as Charlison Benschop and Aristide Bancé which saw him placed on the substitute bench in the first half of the season.

[106] Hoffer made his Karlsruher SC debut in the opening game of the season, playing 45 minutes before coming off in the first half, in a 1–0 loss against Greuther Fürth.

[110] Since making his Karlsruher SC debut, Hoffer found himself in a competitions over a striking position with Pascal Köpke, Dimitrij Nazarov, Dimitris Diamantakos and Vadim Manzon[111] and played under manager Markus Kauczinski in a 4-4-2 tactics.

[128][129][130] As a result, Hoffer shaved the name "Jimmy" into one side of his head after receiving that nickname from a coach, Karl Brauneder.

[131][2] In late–May 2007, Hoffer was called up by the senior national team for the first time and made his Austria debut on 2 June 2007, where he played 45 minutes, in a 0–0 draw against Paraguay.

[135] On 1 April 2009, Hoffer scored two goals for Austria in a 2–1 win over Romania in a Qualification match for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

[136] After missing out two matches in the early 2010s, due to his lack of first team opportunities at Napoli,[137] he made his first appearance in eight months, in a 1–0 loss against Switzerland on 11 August 2010.