The Bureau of Labor and Statistics reports that to the day an average worker stays at a job for an average of 4.4 years, and young workers, those belonging to the millennial generation like recent college grads are expected to stay half as long as that. Hopping from job to job for around a year or less, job hopping as it is labeled, has become common practice among young workers. There are both negative and positive consequences to this recent job trend.
Pros
First, let’s look at the positives. Job hopping allows for job seekers to find the right job they are looking for. Instead of committing for years to a job that doesn’t give them complete job satisfaction. Job hopping can give job seekers the chance to find a job they can see themselves committing fully to. Job fulfillment is reported to be a more important value to Millennial’s than other generation before them.
Young workers have been living in the midst of a recession for as long as they can remember, and therefore are familiar with having economic and job instability. Young job seekers don’t expect to have a job for the long term given the current job market. Job hopping makes sense for young job seekers that don’t want to stay too comfortable in a job that may not be that stable.
Not all jobs are alike. Therefore by hoping from different job to different job, job seekers can acquire and strengthen certain skills. Adding these skills to your resume can be a positive and shows that you have a flexible skill set that can transfer over to various jobs.
Cons
Even though the skills you learn at each job look good on a resume, the short length of stay at each job won’t impress employers. Employers are seeking candidates that commit to their company and build a good work relationship. Job hopping makes employers question your loyalty and professionalism.
Many job hoppers don’t immediately go from one job to the next, there’s a period of job searching and having that gap in between brings a lot of economic instability to your life. Instead of having one job that offers a steady pay check, disrupting your career by skipping over to another job can hurt your finances.
Many job seekers that do job hopping are hoping to find a job that will bring them the most happiness and job fulfillment, but on a resume different job titles send the message to employers that you don’t know what you want.
Do you think job hopping is a positive or is it a negative? Comment below!
IMAGE: Courtesy of Flickr by AForestFrolic
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