Job hopping: they new track.
For many years job hopping has been the kiss of death for job hoppers. No employer wants to take the chance of hiring someone who doesn’t stay because of the cost of hiring and training employees. But that was back in the day thinking. Today’s position is different. Some companies don’t mind the job hopping candidate. They can see the benefits of an employee with varied experience and has seen how other companies do things.
It may seem strange to think about it, but the reality is that people no longer work at one job from graduation to retirement. If you are older than 25, you can think of many reasons such as:
- The job hopper is a poor employee, whether it’s performance, attitude or attendance the job hopper isn’t highly valued by companies.
- The job hopper can’t commit to any job.
- The job hopper doesn’t build up job security or benefits such as pensions and added paid time off.
- The job hopper doesn’t obtain longevity; will be at risk at lay off time-last one in is the first one to go.
- It just looks bad.
Well the above is true if the job hopper is changing jobs after less than 2 years or out of boredom. Or if the jobs one takes on a variety of jobs in different industries and sectors.
However the idea of job hopping being beneficial for a career has some intriguing ideas. Here are some of the ideas:
- The job hopper increases skills with each new position.
- The job hopper obtains a pay raise and promotions.
- The job hopper increases their level of responsibility.
- The job hopper grows their network quicker and maintains them because they are dependent on their network to land new jobs.
- The job hopper knows the early warning signs of impending problems and makes a move before they happen; s/he beat the competition when looking for another job.
- The job hopper advances to the dream job by strategically obtaining jobs to acquire the skills and necessary experiences the dream job requires.
- The job hopper has a more rewarding career; they are continually learning new things and will be learning many things.
- The job hopper understands that loyalty on the part of companies and employees is gone.
- The job hopper is taking on roles rather jobs; more projects based than function.
- The job hopper is dependent on recommendations from former employers and works at a high standard because they are always thinking about their next job.
- The job hopper won’t settle for being bored, using outdated technology, or put up with poor working conditions.
The thought of job hopping has to be planned and executed according to the plan. However, there are things that one just can’t control, such as, when you become a job hopper because you have been laid off many times. My next post will talk about unplanned job hopping.
