Job Hopping – what’s all the fuss about?

Understanding Job Hopping

There is no longer such a thing as “A Job for Life”

In the past, having job security (a regular income and good pension) and possibilities for promotion was high on the agenda; professionals looked for safe jobs in safe industries such as banking, where, with hard work you can move up the career ladder.

Previously employers ‘looked after’ their staff: mentoring individuals with a long-term view of helping staff members move into senior positions. Wages were increased through time-served processes, and at retirement, good employees left with a ‘golden handshake’.

Nowadays, jobs and industries are no longer safe and more professional job-hop. On average we changed our job or company every 3 years.

There had been a shift from one employer-for-life mindset to frequent job changes for a long time. This speeded up through global crises such as the 2007 banking crisis and the more recent Covid-19 pandemic where employers showed that they weren’t as employee-focused as they said they were by dismissing staff at the drop-off a hat.

This has led to the great-resignation, where employees will leave an organisation without a new position if the company is viewed as a negative employer.

For some employers, job-hopping can be seen as a concern – ‘why does this applicant keep changing roles? But this thought process is unlikely as many industries like to recruit staff from a mixed talent pool, with experience in different sectors as this provides new perspectives and skills to the overall team, encouraging job-hopping.

Technology and globalisation have changed the job market. Industries grow and decline more rapidly than ever before. Automation is removing low-skilled positions from the job market and advanced technology will create new roles in industries such as the space sector, renewable technology, and cryptocurrency and gaming.

The increase in adults returning to higher education to complete a second degree (or the first degree as an adult) has increased, resulting in an older generation making career changes at various stages through their careers.

In public-facing job sectors, job-hopping is seen as a positive or the norm, as employers only offer short-term contracts.

Why job hop?

Some hiring managers will stereotype job hoppers. When looking at your CV, resume, or application, a recruiter may believe the applicant will accept a position with the company only to quickly move on to something else-costing the organisation time and money as they will need to re-recruit for the role.

Most employers focus on the candidate’s qualifications, experiences, skills, and qualities, rather than the number of roles an applicant has had. Some applications only ask job-relevant competency questions, in place of the chronological order of previous positions as applications of old did.

Why you must job hop to be successful in your career

Job Hopping can be productive for people who like variety, options, starting new tasks, meeting new people, and gaining new experiences. But a role in an innovative or busy industry can offer the same varied opportunities.

Job hopping is proven to increase a career professional’s salary. Let’s say one person is on £35,000 and stays with a company for 10 years, gaining an annual 1.5% pay increase. Their salary after 10 years would be £40,618.93

A second employee job hops once every 2 years and gains a £3,000 pay rise per position. The final salary in a 10-year period would be £50,000 – nearly £10k more than sticking with one employer.

The truth is the final salary is likely to be higher, as career professionals will see a higher increase in annual salary per new position as their current salary acts as a baseline as to what minimum pay to accept.

An employee on £35,000 may be happy with a £3,000 pay rise but once on £47,000, the same career professional would only accept a new role with a minimum of £7000 increase.