My Job Hopping Ways (Or, Why my Resume Sucks)
"I would pass over your resume in a heartbeat." This was the statement I received from a director of training very recently (who is supposed to be my friend). The reason? I have had three jobs in the last 6 years. This comment caught me a little off guard, and I will admit, offended me at first. I had been recruited away from my last three positions, and was not in the job market when these transitions occurred. I had been searched out for my skill set and talent, and I hadn't even taken all of the opportunities I had been offered.
Before this 6 year stint I was with one company for over 15 years. Truth be told I hate switching jobs, but I do not believe that this "job hopping" is not look at the same way it was in previous times in job history.
According to CNBC (2015), job hopping can boost your career if you do it right. In fact, gone are the days when you stayed with one company until retirement (if you are lucky enough to plan for retirement). Millennial workers, job hopping can have its advantage, if you are leaving a company for the right reasons. There is still a dogmatism for many employees if you hop jobs with no apparent reason, or if it is because you are not promoted or you facing termination. Many workers who make a job change are doing so because they have been recruited or head hunted by employers.
Many career gurus state that job hopping is something that employees should do. The average baby boomer had 11 jobs in their lifetime, while Millennials see job hopping as the norm (Inc.Com, 2015). Job hopping, if done correctly, helps an employee experience different work environments while developing complementary skill sets.
Poaching employees is now common practice for employers who are seeking top talent. In niche industries this practice is even more prevalent. Employers who are interested in your specific skill set are not interested in how many times you have changed employers over the years. What they do care about is that your skill set has continued to develop and has continued to mature.
Those employers who would pass over a resume because they had worked for a couple of companies in a shorter period of time than the outdated norm, find themselves with outdated talent. It is the progressive company who realizes that if they want to keep an employee long-term, they need to provide that employee with opportunities for growth and advancement. That, along with competitive salary and benefit packages lead to talent retention.
So while the comment I mentioned above took me aback for a minute, I realize that this was a statement that is not universally accepted, and is becoming outdated. While many employers still look down upon a resume with multiple jobs in a relatively short amount of time, many are realizing that this is the new norm. To compete for top talent employers must woo away gainfully employed individuals. The new norm is employer survival of the fittest, and for employees, they will hop until they find the right career home.
I am hoping my current job is my forever career home, and as long as I am challenged and moving forward it will be, but there are many factors that make an employees stay. Companies re-organize, the economy affects industries at varying degrees, or a company makes an offer that an employee simply cannot refuse. It does not make an employee unproductive, it does not make a statement about their loyalty or work ethic. It simply means that the job or work environment was not the best fit for the employee, or the employee outgrew the current position, so the employee chose to try or seek an opportunity that was a better match.
Before this 6 year stint I was with one company for over 15 years. Truth be told I hate switching jobs, but I do not believe that this "job hopping" is not look at the same way it was in previous times in job history.
According to CNBC (2015), job hopping can boost your career if you do it right. In fact, gone are the days when you stayed with one company until retirement (if you are lucky enough to plan for retirement). Millennial workers, job hopping can have its advantage, if you are leaving a company for the right reasons. There is still a dogmatism for many employees if you hop jobs with no apparent reason, or if it is because you are not promoted or you facing termination. Many workers who make a job change are doing so because they have been recruited or head hunted by employers.
Many career gurus state that job hopping is something that employees should do. The average baby boomer had 11 jobs in their lifetime, while Millennials see job hopping as the norm (Inc.Com, 2015). Job hopping, if done correctly, helps an employee experience different work environments while developing complementary skill sets.
Poaching employees is now common practice for employers who are seeking top talent. In niche industries this practice is even more prevalent. Employers who are interested in your specific skill set are not interested in how many times you have changed employers over the years. What they do care about is that your skill set has continued to develop and has continued to mature.
Those employers who would pass over a resume because they had worked for a couple of companies in a shorter period of time than the outdated norm, find themselves with outdated talent. It is the progressive company who realizes that if they want to keep an employee long-term, they need to provide that employee with opportunities for growth and advancement. That, along with competitive salary and benefit packages lead to talent retention.
So while the comment I mentioned above took me aback for a minute, I realize that this was a statement that is not universally accepted, and is becoming outdated. While many employers still look down upon a resume with multiple jobs in a relatively short amount of time, many are realizing that this is the new norm. To compete for top talent employers must woo away gainfully employed individuals. The new norm is employer survival of the fittest, and for employees, they will hop until they find the right career home.
I am hoping my current job is my forever career home, and as long as I am challenged and moving forward it will be, but there are many factors that make an employees stay. Companies re-organize, the economy affects industries at varying degrees, or a company makes an offer that an employee simply cannot refuse. It does not make an employee unproductive, it does not make a statement about their loyalty or work ethic. It simply means that the job or work environment was not the best fit for the employee, or the employee outgrew the current position, so the employee chose to try or seek an opportunity that was a better match.
I'd hire you in a heartbeat after an interview... If your resume got you that far.
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