As the internet puts it, job-hopping is to spend less than approximately two years at a job before “hopping” to another one for the sake of, naturally, more compensation. While it can be understood why someone would forgo standing on stable professional ground in favor of making more moolah, you should know that this strategy does come with its own shortcomings.
Put another way, there are tangible drawbacks to be experienced along the way if you do this too much. Like anything, too much of something will often lead to unwanted consequences.
Here’s how that can be the case.
Some employers have abandonment issues
All jokes aside, if you have a track record of staying no more than 24 months in every position you’ve ever filled, employers aren’t going to necessarily feel good when they see that. They’re never going to think “Oh, he looks like he’s probably not going to stay here for long. I should hire him!”
When that’s the case, your CV will most probably be dismissed in favor of someone whose history suggests they’re able to stay in one position for a relatively long period of time. The thing is, hiring managers need to know you’ll be sticking around before they can consider hiring you. After all, there’s little point in going through the pain of finding the right candidate only to do it all over again because the “right” candidate wasn’t so right after all.
Your loyalty is put under the spotlight
Tying into the previous point… Even if you were to get hired, with your employer fully aware of your history as a professional shillyshallier, you’ll generally find most people hard-pressed to trust you. And can you blame them? When a company hires you, they’re by default investing a lot in you. If you don’t take the time and effort required to give them a good ROI, all that investment will have effectively gone to waste the moment you decide to skedaddle elsewhere.
Besides, if your previous employers aren’t too delighted about your decision to call quits, then you’ll likely put your reputation – and therefore the ability to expand your network – in jeopardy.
Bad move, Buckaroo.
Get used to having a constant eye over your shoulder
As “the new guy”, you’ll have other employees and bosses closely monitoring what you’re doing. You know… just to be there in case you, uh, mess up. And you’ll always be “the new guy”, since you’re constantly moving from one place to the next, and therefore always have that pressure of someone standing over you and expecting you to drop the ball at any moment.
“Yeah, good luck finding career satisfaction in that, pal,” says your future self.
That being said, there are some benefits to this strategy, so it would behoove us to discuss those as well. Here they are.
You’ll earn quicker
Staying in the same job may translate into fewer pay raises and therefore less money earned over time. Job-hopping, on the other hand, gives you more opportunities to negotiate for your own salary. Hence, you get more chances to dictate what you earn, and therefore end up earning more as a result – as opposed to what you would earn if you were to stay for longer periods of time in a position.
More opportunities to upskill yourself
Because you’re more or less always on the go, job-hopping is going to keep you on your toes in terms of meeting new criteria and qualifications. Naturally, this will lead to you gaining more experience and more skills than your more loyal (or rigid if you like) counterpart. Needless to say, adding different flavors to your career will prove of significant benefit to your personal and professional life alike.
You’ll have more info to fill up your resume
It is said that every truth is but a half-truth; as you’ll see, the old, esoteric saying applies here. Let me explain. While some employers will react negatively to your propensity for spending short stints at any particular company, others will be seeing the other side of that coin; a diverse background can be a quality that can easily pique a hiring manager’s interest.
After all, having worked under multiple employers (aside from the short stint part) means exposure to multiple corporate cultures, responsibilities, and experiences – the amalgamation of which will result in a versatile and well-rounded employee (i.e., you).
To hop or not to hop? That is the question.
Job-hopping may have been frowned on in the past, but recent times have seen this pattern change in more ways than one. Generally speaking, what was once considered a stumbling block has turned into a stepping stone toward a better, more fulfilling career. With reason and good judgment, you can strategize to blaze a professional path that has no more hurdles than necessary and gives you a better-paying and more versatile career.
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