Job hopping - what's too much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: First job I had was with a manager who had RBF (resting bitch face) all the time and did not like me for no reason at all! I was always helpful, nice, and she did not take any employees reports seriously (we worked in HR) and on top of that she was racist (She ONLY preferred to move up the black employees she was friends with or give them more work or OT). Next job from the first day I felt the company culture was not a good fit because although the corporate people 'acted' friendly they were not. On my first day one top manager was having some party and she refused to give me a piece of fruit from the party. The manager I had was very wishy washy and always went back on what he said. Should I have stayed at those 2 places for years to be accepted by you?

This response confirms people's worst fears about job hoppers. Each situation may have been bad, but the way you've presented things makes you sound immature and high-drama.

High drama is me not ignoring employees concerns when the other upper hr does? Immature is believing what the boss says but then that boss going back on what he says? 1 thing that i found weird in 1 of those places was that a boss told everyone at orientation that a lot of employees who work there die of cancer and named 1 recent employee who did. Does that sound normal to you?

[Anonymous]

just because milk used to be sweet, does not mean it will be sweet again after turning sour.
Be realistic about your options

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: First job I had was with a manager who had RBF (resting bitch face) all the time and did not like me for no reason at all! I was always helpful, nice, and she did not take any employees reports seriously (we worked in HR) and on top of that she was racist (She ONLY preferred to move up the black employees she was friends with or give them more work or OT). Next job from the first day I felt the company culture was not a good fit because although the corporate people 'acted' friendly they were not. On my first day one top manager was having some party and she refused to give me a piece of fruit from the party. The manager I had was very wishy washy and always went back on what he said. Should I have stayed at those 2 places for years to be accepted by you?

This response confirms people's worst fears about job hoppers. Each situation may have been bad, but the way you've presented things makes you sound immature and high-drama.

High drama is me not ignoring employees concerns when the other upper hr does? Immature is believing what the boss says but then that boss going back on what he says? 1 thing that i found weird in 1 of those places was that a boss told everyone at orientation that a lot of employees who work there die of cancer and named 1 recent employee who did. Does that sound normal to you?

You are not the OP, correct?

[Anonymous]

I do have a question though

Do different assignments for a single contractor (e.g. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, etc.) count as "job-hopping"? I work in IT if that affects the answer.

My own experience:

10y in private industry

3y 2m Company A, Project A - left because I was starting to measure times in terms of layoffs ("two layoffs ago, this happened.")

10m Company A, Project B - left due to me moving making the commute untenable

9m Company A, Project A - welcomed back with open arms, promotion in title and a slight increase in pay, left due to doing the work 3 people had been doing when I came on board at the start of it all

6m Company B, Project A, Assignment A - was reassigned (semi) voluntarily since I was the only member of the team with a DOD 8570 certification and the work was more in line with what I'd been doing at Company A and in my previous years in private industry.

5m Company B, Project A, Assignment B - what I'm doing now. Shave 30-45 minutes off my commute and I could see myself staying here 5-6 years. But I can't shave that time off my commute (see above, DOD contractor).

So four job changes in a little under five years. One was due to a reasonable fear of getting laid off, one was due to a move (sort of personal), one was for purely personal reasons, and one was at my company's request.

My first thought is to make it a year at my current assignment and start looking within Company B for a new position at the start of next year -- if that doesn't pan out, then expand my search gradually outside the company.

[Anonymous]

Edit: ok the move was purely personal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do have a question though

Do different assignments for a single contractor (e.g. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed, etc.) count as "job-hopping"? I work in IT if that affects the answer.

My own experience:

10y in private industry

3y 2m Company A, Project A - left because I was starting to measure times in terms of layoffs ("two layoffs ago, this happened.")

10m Company A, Project B - left due to me moving making the commute untenable

9m Company A, Project A - welcomed back with open arms, promotion in title and a slight increase in pay, left due to doing the work 3 people had been doing when I came on board at the start of it all

6m Company B, Project A, Assignment A - was reassigned (semi) voluntarily since I was the only member of the team with a DOD 8570 certification and the work was more in line with what I'd been doing at Company A and in my previous years in private industry.

5m Company B, Project A, Assignment B - what I'm doing now. Shave 30-45 minutes off my commute and I could see myself staying here 5-6 years. But I can't shave that time off my commute (see above, DOD contractor).

So four job changes in a little under five years. One was due to a reasonable fear of getting laid off, one was due to a move (sort of personal), one was for purely personal reasons, and one was at my company's request.

My first thought is to make it a year at my current assignment and start looking within Company B for a new position at the start of next year -- if that doesn't pan out, then expand my search gradually outside the company.

No, that doesn't count as job hopping.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Its a new work-world out there, thanks to Millenials. You are actually expected to change jobs every 3 years, otherwise you are considered "stale".

Don't blame Millenials. The boomers running corporations have no loyalty to their employees either.

Amen

[Anonymous]

I stayed on my first 3 jobs for more than 5 years each.

Never again. These days I switch when I get bored.

[Anonymous]

In some fields, job hopping is the only way to get ahead. I would say the reason for the job hopping is relevant. If each move was an increase in pay and a bump in title, it makes sense. Many companies these days no longer "promote from within" in a way that one can move up the ladder during a 20 year career. My husband was once advised he would be a good candidate for a position within his company, but if he applied and got it as an employee, they could only bump his salary by 3%. He was actually advised to leave his job and apply again as a free agent from the outside because then they could have more leeway in salary. Please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a hiring manager, and I would avoid you based on your resume. Sure, your first 2 jobs were long enough, but now you've had 4 jobs in the last 4 years. To me, that says, this person is restless, doesn't follow through, gets out when it gets tough, has unrealistic expectations. At worst, it says- this person can't get along well with others, isn't smart enough to do the work required.

Suck it up and stay until 3 years with your current company to break the string of job hopping. Also, maybe do some soul searching and figure out why you keep moving. With 4 jobs in 4 years, the problem is you, not the employers. Stop the excuses. What are you looking for?

First job I had was with a manager who had RBF (resting bitch face) all the time and did not like me for no reason at all! I was always helpful, nice, and she did not take any employees reports seriously (we worked in HR) and on top of that she was racist (She ONLY preferred to move up the black employees she was friends with or give them more work or OT). Next job from the first day I felt the company culture was not a good fit because although the corporate people 'acted' friendly they were not. On my first day one top manager was having some party and she refused to give me a piece of fruit from the party. The manager I had was very wishy washy and always went back on what he said. Should I have stayed at those 2 places for years to be accepted by you?

ALL of that, is why I wouldn't hire you. Someone's face kept you back? "No reason at all!" screams: Not willing to take responsibility and I know black people are taking over all sorts of stuff, you see it in 'C' suites all over the area because black managers (oh, so many of them) only move up black employees. You have nightmare written all over you and my assumption is your ability to keep that under wraps and to yourself is a herculean effort. So I'd find a therapist and sit in your job for a while. It's not always someone else, though you may think it is. And BTW, your friends and family also think this, but your endless tirades have shut down any feedback they are inclined to give you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm a hiring manager, and I would avoid you based on your resume. Sure, your first 2 jobs were long enough, but now you've had 4 jobs in the last 4 years. To me, that says, this person is restless, doesn't follow through, gets out when it gets tough, has unrealistic expectations. At worst, it says- this person can't get along well with others, isn't smart enough to do the work required.

Suck it up and stay until 3 years with your current company to break the string of job hopping. Also, maybe do some soul searching and figure out why you keep moving. With 4 jobs in 4 years, the problem is you, not the employers. Stop the excuses. What are you looking for?

First job I had was with a manager who had RBF (resting bitch face) all the time and did not like me for no reason at all! I was always helpful, nice, and she did not take any employees reports seriously (we worked in HR) and on top of that she was racist (She ONLY preferred to move up the black employees she was friends with or give them more work or OT). Next job from the first day I felt the company culture was not a good fit because although the corporate people 'acted' friendly they were not. On my first day one top manager was having some party and she refused to give me a piece of fruit from the party. The manager I had was very wishy washy and always went back on what he said. Should I have stayed at those 2 places for years to be accepted by you?

NP here - no you shouldn't stay to be accepting by this hiring manager. but sometimes you have to suck it up and stay so the problem doesn't look like its you. Just understand if you switch again - you really HAVE to stay at that job for a number of years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I stayed on my first 3 jobs for more than 5 years each.

Never again. These days I switch when I get bored.

I have been at the same company for 22 years. I am not doing the same job, though. I was good and moved up the ranks. And my salary is now 5x my starting salary (which was decent).

I enjoy my job. Job hopping is not a requirement. The top performers do not have to jump.

The middle performers have to jump to get ahead.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Just wondering how my situation would appear, since I've changed jobs more than I would have liked...and I'm being advised, even by DCUM, to leave my current job b/c it is a terrible fit:

early 2008 - Graduate with PhD and begin a postdoctoral research position (1.5 yr)
late 2009 - Leave research for good. Take a 1-yr policy fellowship to transition career.
late 2010 - Short term contract position while waiting on Fed applciation (don't put this on my resume since it was only a couple months)
2011 - Permanent Fed position (2.5 yrs) : I would still be in this job if I could be.
2013 - Need to relocate and leave Fed service due to DH job; transition back to technical private sector role in a relatively junior position just to get feet wet (1.5 yr)
2014 - Recruited to another company to lead a team doing what I was doing at previous job (significant title and salary bump)
2015 - Laid off in a somewhat complicated situation; started to do some independent consulting
2016 - Asked to take a permanent consulting position with a firm, but new employer hasn't brought me any clients and I'm having trouble closing deals with the types of clients I used to work with due to rates being too high (6 mos in now)

So that's where I am. I have very little work to do, but a high salary...and I basically can't bring in the clients that I would most like to work with due to our costs being too high. I wouldn't mind going back to doing independent consulting work, though I would probably cut my earnings in half. I also am coming to learn that I don't like consulting as much as I like working within a company...I'm really nervous about applying for new jobs, though, given my job history. Except for my most recent job, I have excellent relationships with all of my former bosses, and they would all give me great recommendations. My boss at last job was later fired due to corporate malfeasance (I refused to participate, and I took advantage of broader lay offs happening company-wide to get out of the situation).

From my perspective, the only job I left where I could have realistically stayed was my first after leaving Federal service. I do now regret leaving it, since I would have moved up eventually.