How often can you change jobs without looking like a "job hopper?"
It's extremely rare these days to spend an entire career with the same company. To progress professionally, employees often need to change jobs because they've hit a ceiling in their current role.
But changing jobs too often is a red flag for employers who don't want to hire you only to have to refill your position in the near future. So what is the right balance of change and job tenure?
@Bill Branstetter Hello Bill, I think it’s a good idea to at least do a year before considering changing jobs. I wouldn’t say change every year but if you’re ready after a year I feel that’s long enough and shouldn’t raise any red flags to potential employers.
and if you're in the same role at the same company too long you risk being labled "unpromotable".
I average six years with a company, with growth, as an employee and I don't normally include my short term gigs/projects - Unless a unique skill is involved.
My first 9 months of trucking I worked for 4 different companies. The last company I’m still at, but recruiters never seemed to care. They seemed to enjoy stealing an employee from another company. I generally don’t stay at a company for longer than 2 years. There’s always another company paying more so I follow the money as opposed to waiting around for a cost of living raise. Job hopping has never had a negative impact on me. In fact it has had a positive outcome because I learn different skills along the way making me more valuable to any company I work for.
@Bill Branstetter in my opinion, having been a hiring manager, two to three job changes within a year or two could be a red flag. However, it can also depend on why the candidate chose to switch jobs.
As you mentioned in your post, sometimes an employee hits the ceiling in their job role and needs to change jobs in order to continue acquiring experience and new skills.
Another common reason is that the employee hired on with the company in good faith only to discover that their expectations were not met. Most employees don't want to remain with a company that doesn't offer opportunities for them to meet their career goals.
And of course, there's always those circumstances where an employee is offered an enticing higher compensation and benefits package from another prospective employer.
While there may be justifiable reasons for several jobs within a short period of time, individuals need to consider what those employment durations will look like on their resumes. Acquiring new skills and gaining experience may not necessarily be a great exchange for longevity and vetted performance. As a hiring manager I sometimes had difficulty judging whether or not I wanted to hire someone based on the lack of ability to review their performance in previous occupations. As a rule, when I speak to a previous employer they can generally only tell me whether or not they would rehire that person and not give me details as to why if the answer is a negative. Some would often not even tell me if it was based on performance or not and there could be one or numerous factors that contribute to their response.
The other thing that "job hoppers" need to consider is the amount of money it costs to hire, train and then terminate an employee. The term "terminate" includes the process of closing an employee file. With the changes in the job market following the pandemic I can tell you that it cost my company a pretty penny to go through that hiring process as the turnover rate was incredibly high compared to previous years. If I didn't feel pretty certain that that candidate was going to be a good return on our investment they didn't get the job.
Here's a link to an interesting New York Times article about Job hopping amongst the Gen Z population:
While an employee may be willing to stay in their given roles, nowadays companies are likely to layoff or reduce their hours without any given notice.
Sometimes layoffs may occur due to political or cultural differences from what is considered the norm within the company or organization.
Even if a given employee has a written contract or agreement for employment, the company may simply lay off or forgoe the agreement and hire part-time workers due to cost saving measures.
So, it is not uncommon to change jobs these days.
@Bill Branstetter, in this area of the planet it is common for folks to hop jobs because of the many different RV and mobile home manufacturers. It has a high turnover rate because the work is very fast paced and it's not for everyone. The more places and different departments you have experience with, the more marketable you are. The pay is great, but the toll it takes on the body if brutal....