By now, you may have already cleared the biggest hurdle to landing a job: lack of experience.
But there’s another challenge you might still face — the negative perception of job hopping, especially if you have been between four or five jobs over the last two years. It’ll often be the first thing employers notice on your resume.
In our years of working with candidates and hiring managers, we’ve seen some things remain constant. One of them is candidates getting rejected for switching jobs too often.
What’s new, however, is seeing people on TikTok and other social media recommending their viewers to job hop and boasting about its perks.
Wait, what?
Yes, job hopping is a topic full of many nuances (and surprises)
As a recruitment agency, we’ve seen strong opinions from both clients and candidates. There is no clear-cut answer and each unique situation deserves to be considered. That’s why we take the time to evaluate each candidate’s work history on a one-on-one basis.
How Short is Too Short to Stay in a Job?
Job hopping refers to changing jobs more frequently than usual. While the exact timeframe that qualifies as “too short” varies by industry, there are some general guidelines to keep in mind.
- Entry-Level Jobs: In most industries, staying in an entry-level position for 12-24 months is generally acceptable. The sweet spot is often around 18 months, which allows you to gain sufficient experience at the workplace, and jump to a new job without raising eyebrows.
- Mid-Senior Level Jobs: For mid to senior-level roles, a tenure of 18-36 months is more appropriate. Here, the two-year mark is often considered ideal, striking a balance between gaining a deeper understanding of the company, allowing you to expand on your expertise, and showing hiring managers your commitment to the role.
However, it’s important to note that these timelines can shift depending on the industry. For example, in the fast-paced tech sector, shorter tenures might be more common and less of a red flag. But if you are in the field of account management, where the position is all about getting to know your clients’ needs and building a strong relationship, a shorter tenure could be seen as untrustworthy.
When it comes to when is the right time to make a move, it’s crucial to be strategic about where you are in your career and the industry context to avoid potential negative perceptions of your work ethic.
To keep in mind
While job hopping can raise concerns about commitment, staying in a toxic workplace can be far more damaging to your mental and physical well–being. In this blog, we are specifically discussing job hopping between healthy and mutually respectful workplaces.
The Impact of Job-Hopping
What Employers Think About Job Hopping
Employers value commitment, growth, and long-term contributions. In return, as you establish yourself in a company, you can earn the business’ trust and be granted work flexibility, access to wellness programs, and secure financial support for professional development.
When reviewing candidate resumes, frequent job changes can be seen as a red flag. Compared to someone who’s moved around multiple times a year, candidates with more loyalty and steady growth are at an advantage, and employers are more likely to invest in someone who seems committed to staying long-term.
How Job Hopping Affects Your Career Long-Term
Now, let’s flip the script and analyze job hopping from the impact on your personal development.
Some argue that it enhances adaptability — and that’s true! You’re constantly starting new projects, meeting new people, and learning to collaborate quickly.
However, you may struggle with building meaningful connections with your colleagues.
Have you heard of Tuckman’s stages of group development? This framework breaks down teamwork into five stages: Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, and Adjourning. Unbeknownst to many, almost all teamwork and collaboration evolve in these stages.
Many job hoppers often leave during the ‘storming’ stage. This is a time when conflicts can arise, power struggles occur, and role clarity is lacking. However, real teamwork and friendships typically develop in the ‘norming’ and ‘performing’ stages. The once struggling team becomes a fully functioning one, leading to strong bonds formed through mutual understanding and respect.
For some, these relationships are as important as earning a raise (let’s not obviate how meaningful it is to find a place with a healthy work environment!)
Additionally, if you want to eventually be in a senior, managerial position, it often requires in-depth expertise in your field, and tangible evidence to back it. While you might argue that short stays can still provide this level of knowledge, you may have a hard time proving you’ve made an impact in your role in the short time you’ve worked there. Plus, if your resume is the first (and only) thing an employer sees, convincing them otherwise can be a tough battle, even with a team of experts by your side.
Case Study: Job Hopping and the Lack of In-Depth Knowledge
A few months ago, our team worked with a great candidate with over three years of experience. Though their roles were short-term —temporary contracts, coverage for maternity/paternity leave, etc.— they had valid reasons for each transition and positive referrals to back those claims.
Despite our best efforts in advocating for their skills and cumulative experience, the resume didn’t reflect the depth of knowledge or long-term contributions required to be successful in the role they were applying for. They hadn’t had the chance to showcase involvement in larger company transformations, which was crucial for this position. As a result, they couldn’t move forward in the hiring process.
Hiring stories like these are common, but they’re not to discourage you. Life happens, and sometimes, job gaps or short stays are unavoidable — whether due to caregiving, health issues, or other life events. So, if you’re in a similar situation, how can you advocate for yourself in your next opportunity?
Life happens: How to work around resume gaps?
First, be prepared to explain the reasons behind each transition, whether it was due to company restructuring, personal circumstances, or simply the need for growth. Having clear, honest explanations will help hiring managers understand your story.
To keep in mind
Employers will verify with your references, so having reliable contacts from each experience can support your case.
We’ve worked with candidates who were initially rejected by clients due to a perceived “lack of commitment.” However, after speaking with the candidates and their references, we believed their experience and expertise were still worth the client’s time.
By discussing the candidates’ backgrounds and advocating for each job change, we managed to shift the client’s perspective. This led to a conversation and, ultimately, the candidates were reconsidered!
In situations like this, working with a recruiter can be incredibly valuable. Under the right circumstances, our recruiters will do our best to advocate for you, offering context that might get overlooked by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and ensuring your story is heard.
We want to reemphasize that this blog is not intended to condemn job hopping. In toxic environments or difficult family situations, you must make the decisions that are best for you. Our goal is to offer our perspective on the job-hopping trends and to share our experience working with these cases!
Writing this blog got us thinking about something crucial —understanding a company’s cultural fit before committing to a role! Stay tuned for our next post, where we’ll dive into this topic with tons of practical resources.