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Pros and Cons of Job-Hopping

Pros and Cons of Job-Hopping
29th August 2018 Amy

Pros and Cons of Job-Hopping

You’ve been in your role for a few years and you feel you have learnt everything there is to learn, you have no room for progression and you are not bringing the same sort of energy to the role you once did. You are stagnating. In your opinion it’s a good time to consider a change. How will this be viewed by potential new employers and what are the pros and cons associated with job-hopping?

First of all, we should identify what would be classed as ‘job-hopping’. WhatIs.com defines Job Hopping as ‘…a pattern of changing companies every year or two of one’s own volition rather than as a result of something like a layoff or company closure.’, but different opinions exist meaning the duration of employment that is ‘acceptable’ may vary slightly.

What are the pros and cons to making a career move after a few years?

POSITIVE: A higher salary

The most sought after positive of a job-hop is the increase in pay and in addition, you might even find a job with better benefits than you’re presently offered. Author Erin Lowry, believes that ‘negotiating with a new employer often yields better results than hoping for significant bumps at your current position’.

 

NEGATIVE: Questionable Loyalty

Moving from one company to another with short periods of tenure could make a potential employer think you are not very loyal. If it seems that you change role too often, they may not think you are worth their initial investment of time or resource and therefore not consider you for an opportunity.

 

POSITIVE: Increased job satisfaction

A sense of purpose and a positive work environment are becoming increasingly important to the 2018 workforce. As a result, many are finding that a job change is needed to help them find a cultural fit more closely aligned to their own personal values. Respect, Trust, Security and a Healthy Environment are all important factors to ensure job satisfaction and many employees are finding that if they are not getting these things in their present role, they have no hesitation in looking elsewhere.

 

NEGATIVE: Job Security

Unfortunately, sometimes companies have to make people redundant. In these situations, it is usually those with the longest tenures whose positions are safe guarded and more often than not, the ‘last one in, first one out’ mentality is adopted. As a result, job-hoppers can often find they are the first to go when an organisation begins to make cut backs.

 

POSITIVE: Self-discovery

A great aspect of job-hopping is that it allows you to ‘rule out’ the things you don’t like about a role and seek out those you do. Whether that be in regard to company culture, work flexibility, hours, commute or even the day-to-day duties; job-hopping allows the employee to find the perfect role for their personality, skillset and values.

 

NEGATIVE: Questionable Reliability

In addition to your loyalty being questioned, a further negative of job-hopping is that you may not always be viewed as reliable. Reliability is strengthen by you being there and ‘coming through’ during difficult challenges for an organisation; they know they can count on you. If you appear to ‘bolt’ at the sign of challenge or adversity or have questionable tenures, your new prospective employer may think you are unreliable.

 

POSITIVE: More Experienced

Changing companies regularly can help you to gain a varied amount of experience that you may not get from sticking with one organisation.  Job-Hoppers are able to gain experience from a varied range of different company sizes and industries.

 

NEGATIVE:  Bridge-Burning

Probably one of the biggest negatives associated with job-hopping is the rate at which bridges can be burnt and a negative impression of you as an employee can be created. Job-hoppers are costly to organisations; namely due to the time and resource is spent bringing an employee up to speed in the first 3-6 months. If an employee leaves after one – two years the return on investment has not yet matched that initial outlay. As a result, the previous organisation may end up with a negative impression of you and bridges are burnt with that particular company.

 

When considering a change of role, it’s important to consider the pros and cons involved and how they may impact you in the future.  Do you have any other positives or negatives we haven’t discussed? Let us know by emailing us at [email protected].

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