Written by Kalli

Job hopping is described as jumping from job to job after 1-2 years. Employers often see a job-hopper as a fickle employee that cannot keep their job. However, there are pros and cons to the practice. 

Pros: 

  • Finding a place you fit in: If you do not feel like the company does not provide a desirable work environment or opportunities for advancement, the best course of action may be to leave 
  • Most professionals are able to increase their salary as they job hop
  • Gaining skills: Job hopping provides the opportunity to gain a number of experiences from different companies

Cons:

  • The undesirable employee: Companies going through the tedious recruitment and training process do not want an employee that will just leave within the next two years. If you have a history of job hopping, they are likely to ask many questions. 
  • Employers often want consistent work experience. They do not want an employee that leaves when encountering challenges, but rather prefer someone who works through them. 

Job hopping provides its own perks and disadvantages. While it would look great on a resume to have varying experience in your desired field, it is not appealing to employers when your work consists of 1-2 year stints at different companies. You have to consider if the job hop would benefit you and why you are deciding to leave; Employers are likely to ask your reasons for leaving previous jobs. You should also consider if the job hop would benefit your future. Moving from a lower paying job that offers great advancement opportunities to a higher-paying dead end job may not be the best idea in the long run.

If you decide to job hop, here are a few tips: 

  • Frame each job hop around your long-term career goals. Explain the skills you hope to accumulate from each position and how it will provide useful experience for you.
  • Focus on adaptability: Constantly changing jobs requires flexibility and the ability to fit into different environments easily.
  • Avoid mentioning “challenging environments” to ensure employers know that you are not simply job hopping to run away from problems.

 

Sources:

https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/job-hopping-v2/
https://builtin.com/articles/job-hopping