As hiring professionals gear up for staffing challenges in 2015, an increasing number of them say they're completely comfortable hiring a job-hopper, as long as the hopper can do the job.
A study just released by Accountemps found that millennials in particular take job-hopping in stride, and that men are more likely to seek greener pastures more often than women.
This survey, from the employee standpoint, offers support for data released last May, when CareerBuilder polled 5,000 employers and employees about their attitudes toward job-hopping. That survey indicated that a third of hiring managers expect employees to job hop, and that more than half had hired a known job-hopper without undo concern.
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The Accountemps report was based upon responses from 324 employees. Among highlights:
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57 percent of employees between the ages of 18 and 34 said changing jobs every few years can actually help their career;
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38 percent of employees between the ages of 35 and 54 said job-hopping can be a career booster;
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22 percent of those age 55 or older agreed that it could help one's career.
The gender breakdown: 47 percent of men embraced job-hopping as a career strategy, compared to 37 percent of women.
Asked to identify the top five benefits to their careers of job-hopping, the hoppers in the survey listed the following:
- It leads to higher compensation
- Job-hoppers can new skills
- They climb the corporate latter more rapidly than non-hoppers
- They can experience more corporate cultures
- Job-hopping quickly builds an impressive resume
"Conventional wisdom about the perils of job hopping has begun to shift, but professionals still need to look carefully before they leap," said Bill Driscoll, a district president with Accountemps. "Changing jobs every three to four years is one thing; more frequent moves could indicate the inability to dig into a role and put employers on guard. Professionals considering job moves should evaluate not only salary but also where they will have the greatest opportunity to build skills and advance their careers."
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Dan Cook
Dan Cook is a journalist and communications consultant based in Portland, OR. During his journalism career he has been a reporter and editor for a variety of media companies, including American Lawyer Media, BusinessWeek, Newhouse Newspapers, Knight-Ridder, Time Inc., and Reuters. He specializes in health care and insurance related coverage for BenefitsPRO.
