Job hopping: Career growth or instability?

Just like you press the refresh button and see new stories or photographs come up on social media, have you ever been friends with that one person who refreshes their resume very frequently with a new job role and company? This may seem weird, but is actually termed as job hopping, and is a reality many people are striving for today. But with job hopping, or frequently changing the job, the primary question that arises is if it is truly good for the career or it reflects instability on your résumé.

All you need to know about job hopping in the contemporary career arc

Normally, a person changes their jobs after working in a company for at least three to four years. A change might mean aiming for a better pay package, or a shift on work role, or a transfer to a different city. A change may also mean that you are dissatisfied with your current job role and are on a lookout for a better workplace. And lastly, which is probably the worst-case scenario, employees tend to resign and change their jobs to mask any termination from the management. But, if an individual keeps on changing their jobs as frequently as within a year or two of taking up a new job, then it is something to take notice of.

What do recruiters look for in a candidate

Frequent job changes may be due to a better pay package or skill growth. But when reflected on the resume, hiring management may be unsure of whether to recruit them or not. It is because hiring managers are in the lookout of employees who are loyal to the company and stick around for at least 3-4 years is regular positions (ensuring growth opportunities) and 7-8 in senior positions. In case a candidate has a very short stint reflecting on their CV, then there should also be a legitimate reason to it.

However, if one notices that most roles and job switches have happened even before the completion of a year, there has been no upward progress in terms of position, or that exits may have some conflicts with the company, that lowers the chance of finding a job soon. Even if the case is none of the above, employers might worry about spending time, energy and money on hiring a recruit who leaves in just a few months. They would rather invest on a person who sticks around for a longer time and participates in the growth of the company.

A calculated move

In case you truly want to change your job in a short span or notice that it is becoming a pattern that is being reflected on your resume, keep these tricks up your sleeve. First, show considerable growth in each job role. Make sure you can identify and define certain things in accomplished by you that contributed to the overall growth of the company or its social visibility. Second, be very clear about why you want to move because you will be questioned about your short stint. In that moment, remember to never badmouth your previous employers. Third, always keep a good relationship with your previous employers so that you not only have good references, but also a path to return if there’s a vacancy in future.

Today, the workplace has become very flexible than it really was in the past. While earlier there were people who joined a company, fresh out of college, and left it after retirement, or at most changed two or three job roles, today Gen-Z is always on the lookout for challenging profiles, better pay package, and satisfaction. Extreme stress, pressure, workplace conflict and bullying aren’t safe game for the employees. However, one has to be meticulously intelligent enough to make these job changes look for the better with noticeable accomplishments rather than something done in haste.

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