Job hopping - what's too much?
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Anonymous
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I'm 10 years out of law school, and have had 6 jobs in that time. 2 of the jobs I stayed at for 3 years each, the last have all been between 1-2 years. The decisions to leave each job was mine, and each time for different reasons (great opportunity presented, company was bought, etc). Each time I've either stayed at about the same level or advanced. All of my former employers would give great references, so I haven't burned bridges.
When I made the last move, my plan was to stay for at least 5 years. However, the company is a horrible fit and I'm pretty miserable, but I've been there less than two years. I'm dying to leave, but I'm worried I'm going to start looking flighty or unreliable to potential employers. Should I just suck it up and get to five years? Or do employers really care? In my last job search, I talked about my previous jobs and reasons for leaving, but no one seemed too concerned that I'd moved around a lot. My resume is really strong otherwise, but I'm worried moving around too much is going to start trumping that. |
Anonymous
It is what it is. Focus on how to spin your experiences into a positive so someone can hire you. As long as you make your moves sounds reasonable, it shouldn't make a difference. Any employer that holds it against you is an employer you would not and should not want to work for anyway. |
Anonymous
| 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". |
Anonymous
| I agree that people expect job movement, but 6 in ten years is starting to seem like a lot. There is a threshold (which I'm sure varies by industry) where you instantly go from ambitious and hard working to sketchy. I'd try to stick this out another year or so, but that's just me. |
Anonymous
| Keep in mind that while companies hire you, you hire them. Be deliberate and thoughtful about your next move. Perhaps you are too hasty in where you decide to build your career. |
Anonymous
+1 I was a job hopper myself years ago. I took new jobs for the wrong reasons-- higher pay (that wasn't much higher) and wanting to move into a similar field that wasn't any better and led to my being let go because I wasn't the right fit for the job (I should have known that all along). I ended up being rehired by the place I left, which told me they valued my work and skill a lot more than the new place had. OP, really assess the reasons you want to move. Is it worth disrupting your life and resume for a couple thousand more? Is your boss really THAT bad? Are you so bored there you can't take another day? The big lesson I learned from my job hopping was that sometimes it's best to work for people who really like you and value your work rather than earn a little more. |
Anonymous
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I'm not in law, but in an IT technical field. When I search resumes, I look for candidates to have stayed in each position at least 2 years. If a candidate looks promising but has any job for less than 2 years, during an interview or phone interview, I'll ask them about the job and why they left. If there is a decent reason to leave such as a negative atmosphere or a bad fit, then I don't worry about it. If the answer is vague or they don't have a reference from the place, or they left for a better opportunity, then I red flag it. My issue is that I don't want to hire an employee that might have a performance issue or that will jump ship when the first better opportunity rolls through. There will always be more lucrative jobs that come by (we are federal contractors and don't pay the highest salaries) but I'll be investing anywhere from 6-12 weeks ramping a candidate up, I'd like them to last at least 2 years in the job before I would have to lather, rinse, repeat. Candidates who have worked for my agency already, I'm a little more lenient with because they will take less time to ramp up to full speed as they don't have as much to get acclimated to in the environment, the bureaucracy, and the technical infrastructure.
Just some of the reasons that jobhoppers may have issues and what employers look for in those candidates. The question is how much productivity will I get out of you before you jump ship. |
Anonymous
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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? |
Anonymous
Don't blame Millenials. The boomers running corporations have no loyalty to their employees either. |
Anonymous
I would agree with this. I am in charge of hiring at my workplace, and your resume would make me question your stability, work ethic, and collaboration skills. I would stick it out another year or two just to show that you can. I work in a completely different field, so maybe a law office would not be bothered by this. |
Anonymous
| If you don't have the personal network to get interviews/offers from companies without going through HR/job postings, then you should stay put for a while longer. If you get most of your opportunities through people you know, then they already have made their mind up about your career trajectory and decided they want to talk to you. |
Anonymous
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? |
Anonymous
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. |
Anonymous
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There are several reasons why people job hop a lot.
1) they keep getting laid off/fired. -- this means at best, they are a low performer; an occasional layoff is not a flag, but my experience is the better workers are kept on. You can ID these by not really moving up at all; still doing entry level work 10 years out. 2) They are social climbers -- they want to quickly move up the ladder; you can identify them by each job having a more senior title. Figure these people will use you as a stepping stone to the next job; they can be very good employees, but with have no loyalty. 3) They keep getting into bad situations -- they have good reasons for leaving each job. Best case, they are telling the truth, and are just bad at evaluating offers or take the first one that comes along. Worst case, they are toxic employees who blame others for the failing. The issue is not one or two job changes, but 5-10 over 10 years. FWIW, the ideal situation is the employee who has moved up the ranks within their company. 20 years, started out in a junior position, now is a leader. |
Anonymous
| You need to grow up a bit op. No situation is perfect |