Will Job-Hopping Hurt Your Career? - Singapore's Online Community

**toothburs** · 24-03-2008, 03:36 PM

by Kristina Cowan, PayScale.com

Edward Muzio's grandfather worked in the same company his whole life. His mother labored in the same industry until she retired, though for different employers. But that kind of longevity was not for Edward and his brother, who have worked in six different career fields during 30 combined years.

Muzio, president and CEO of Group Harmonics Inc., in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says accelerated movement -- often called job-hopping -- is becoming the norm.

"Not long ago we all said that the average person changes jobs about seven times in his or her lifetime; now we say it's probably more than 10 jobs over at least five different careers," he explains.

It's a generational trend, experts say. Generations X and Y are more comfortable switching jobs every few years than their predecessors were, and as they scale the ranks of the job market, such changes are increasingly accepted and understood. But some call it a lack of commitment that's damaging to workers and employers.

The New Norm?

Some experts say frequent job changes don't mean death to your career -- they're just part of work life.

"I don't think you can be judgmental [and say it's] good or bad -- it just is; it's a fact of life in today's workplace. It's fruitless to impose a judgment on it," explains Sally Haver, senior vice president of business development at the Ayers Group in New York. "If people don't move with change, they get left in the dust."

Rich Gee, an executive career coach based in Stamford, Connecticut, agrees, and suggests finding a new term for job-hopping.

"It's just the nature of the beast of employment: Expect people to leave after two to three years, and be happy if they stick around longer," Gee says.

Brooks Savage, CEO of the Executive Staffing Group in Raleigh, North Carolina, sees it differently.

"When you don't have someone stay in a post two to three years, how do you learn? To get a degree out of college at least takes four years," he says, noting neither he nor his clients are interested in resumes of job-hoppers (people who change positions every year or so). He'll also ask candidates about any jobs where they spent less than five years.

Savage questions the commitment of individuals who don't stick around long, and says the U.S. job market could change dramatically if commitment levels don't increase.

Job-Hopping Pros & Cons

Ultimately, it's important to plan carefully when evaluating a job change and not switch too often, experts say, citing the following pros and cons:

* Pro: Pay increases. "The way you make a large jump in your pay scale is when you leave a company and go to another one. It's proven time and time again," Gee says.
* Pro: Networking. Gee says different gigs expose you to new networks of people, which can be a real asset.
* Pro: Learning new skills. New environments sometimes teach workers new skills and how to function more quickly, says Kathy Jeffery, vice president of human resources at WhittmanHart Consulting in Chicago.
* Con: Landing in a worse situation. "You might jump into a new job that's worse than your old job," Gee explains.
* Con: Moving too soon. "If you're really leaving places rather quickly you may not be extracting the full value from what that particular workplace has to offer you," notes Haver, of the Ayers Group.

Kristina Cowan has over 10 years of journalism experience, specializing in education and workforce issues.

Source From: http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/career-arti...our_career-339

**MiRyung** · 24-03-2008, 08:42 PM

It's best to stick to a job for one year at least. No matter how sucky it is.. just bear with it for a year. It would look much better in your CV. At least you know you've given chance to that place and the people there, and have no regrets of moving on to better, hopefully greener, pasture.

**TotalNV** · 25-03-2008, 03:59 PM

job-hopping will definitely not look good in your resume. however, during interviews, you can actually turn it to your advantage by telling the employer what you've learnt from the various companies you worked for, even though it was short-lived.

if you look at it from a different perspective... like if your resume states that you're working as a XXX position in a company for say... 5 years... then no change or no promotion... what will be your potential new employer think? - "you mean you stayed as a sales executive for the past 5 years?" hahahaha...

like dat lor....

**Ray Ang** · 25-03-2008, 04:07 PM

It perfectly alright to switch job, but should at least stay for a year and wait for bonus too

**Miss QQ** · 31-03-2008, 08:17 AM

Maybe it will in the long run...

**Morrot** · 31-03-2008, 09:13 AM

employer might feel insecure hiring someone job-hopping frequently..

**Apocalyptic** · 31-03-2008, 09:26 AM

I think that what is more important are the reasons a person job hops. There are some reasons, like a contract expiring, that would be more acceptable if you can explain it at a job interview.

simplepris · 31-03-2008, 07:36 PM

nowadays it's a trend for most ppl to change job every once in a year or 2. the turnover rate is way higher, compared to the past whereby ppl used to stay in the same companies for 5, 10 years or MORE. (especially govt servants.)

like the others, i'd advise ppl to stay at least a year before changing job. Unless it's a contract job and the contract is not extended/renewed. (because if it's a short-term contract job, u can still explain that you left the company cos the contract had ended and not cos u wanted to leave.. at least not so bad.)

1 of the main reasons why employers are not keen to hire job hoppers is because of the high possibility that they wont stay long in their companies. I.e. if the candidate nv stay beyond a year in most of his/her previous jobs, what makes u think that he/she will stay long if u hire him/her? general perception: quite unlikely.

unless the staff is hired on a temporary basis (i.e. to cover the duties of a staff who will be away for a long time or there's a surge in the workload.. such as yr end closing, audit, etc).. otherwise, all employers would want to hire a staff who would probably be staying long in the company.

it takes time and money (hiring expenses, opportunity costs, etc) to train a staff until he/she is able to perform the tasks efficiently. and it is really disruptive to the daily operations if the staff were to quit abruptly.. afterall, who to do the work when while waiting for a new staff to come in and be trained until he/she is is independent enough to work on his/her own w/o any guidance?

**Ray Ang** · 31-03-2008, 07:39 PM

should stay for at year one year, than you will also not forfeit ur bonus in the company, be smart