Trending post
Julie Jakubiec
Bullet point
Follow
Sr. Talent Acquisition Manager, US Sales @Jobcase

I’m talking about the bias around “job hoppers”. Somewhere along the way a stigma formed that “job hoppers” are BAD. They won’t be reliable, definitely not loyal, and they’ll jump at the next best opportunity. And while sometimes this may be true, let’s be positive and focus on when it’s not.

The way I see it is, the workforce of the past stayed in their jobs for years upon years. It was a different time, there was a different kind of respect & loyalty between employer & employee and there was nothing wrong with staying at the same company for 20+ years. In some situations, employees had no other choice but to stay.

But things are different now, today is definitely not like the days of the past. New industries are being created every day, and with that comes a multitude of new roles obviously which equates to more choice. Another factor is the exorbitantly high cost of attending higher learning institutions, resulting in a greater number of people who aren’t able to attend. Non-college job seekers may have started lower on the salary scale & feel pressure to catch up; plus, with a longer work history, they have more opportunities to try to find their true passion.

College or no, not everyone is lucky enough to find their “dream job” right away or even for years. But this shouldn’t always be viewed as a bad thing. Part of what makes our country so wonderful is that, as employees, we have a multitude of choices. As employers, we should not be judging any member of the workforce for taking advantage of that. Would I be more apt to question if a candidate is making a move every one to two months? Probably, but at least give them the opportunity to explain it. They may have truly had the misfortune of being oversold on an opportunity, they may have been subject to a layoff (we hear about them every day), or maybe they fell into an unfortunate event in their personal life that they had no control over.

So my ask here is simple.. Have some empathy. If an applicant meets the experience requirements laid out in your job description, give them the opportunity to tell their story and hear them out. Who knows, these could be your next best employees or (dare I say it?) ROCK STARS! And I’m very aware of the cost associated with employment, and - yes - you may be faced with replacing a few. But doesn’t that outweigh the cost of having NO ONE doing the work. They just need a chance to prove themselves, and didn’t we ask someone to take a chance on us at some point in our careers?

#recruitersadvice #trendingtopics

2
1 Comments
over 7 years ago
Like
Comment
Share
Olivia Howard
Bullet point
Follow

THANK YOU! It frustrating always having to explain that I was hired and immediately laid off from a job or that I was forced to take on several seasonal jobs last year because I couldn’t find a permanent one. I know my hiring potential worsens considerably when I have to defend my work history during most of the interview. I honestly don’t know how I can break out of this cycle. Open to suggestions. TY

8y
Like
Reply
2
Add