“A candidate who changes jobs frequently becomes much less of a concern for prospective employers in recent years, compared to how it was viewed even as recently as five years ago.” Preston sides with recruiters that the age of the candidate makes a difference along with where they are in their career and their reason for switching employers.
Yes, it’s common to see people relatively new to the workforce leave a job after one or two years, however, the situation becomes more problematic the farther someone advances in their career. When a candidate doesn’t have much experience on their resume, yet it becomes more challenging to stand out to employers, which often leads to taking jobs that are less than ideal in order to gain that experience.

Those situations are more acceptable than situations in which more senior-level employees decide to job-hop. For example, typically when a company is hiring for a leadership position, they are more concerned with finding someone who will still around long-term and are looking for some evidence of that kind of loyalty on candidates’ resumes. At this stage of a leader’s career, it’s important to have at least one position that they stayed in for three-plus years.
Preston agrees.

 

“The younger generation of employees job hop because they think they can, think it is OK, and think they deserve more: more money, more responsibility, more flexibility, more anything,” she says. “The grass is always greener on the other side, people think — until it is not! The reality is that job hopping is not a positively viewed transition on a candidate’s resume. In fact, it is the opposite.”

 

Preston’s instinct is to pass on someone whose resume shows a penchant for job hopping — something she calls “a sign of unreasonably high expectations, lack of perseverance, disconnect between skill level and market/reality, someone who is easily frustrated and walks away when the going gets tough, and someone who has not fostered trusted relationships within the company.”

 

The cost to recruit, hire, onboard, and train someone who lacks staying power is a key reason Preston typically passes on those kinds of candidates.
“After a period in a role or within a company, switching jobs for upward mobility, better training, opportunities that align with career goals and dreams is OK, to a certain extent; however, doing so repeatedly is an issue,” she adds. “These candidates need to convey why and how they made the change they did.”

 

The overall narrative your work experience tells can make a difference. Gradual climbs in jobs for a better career path set-up, to take on more responsibilities or enhance your skillset, may make sense. On the contrary, if you are only making lateral moves over the years, this becomes a red flag for recruiters as a sign of someone not interested in the role, difficult to manage, etc.

 

To avoid feeling the need to change jobs every year or two, Preston says employees should focus on the improving communication, building relationships, and practicing the art of self-promotion.

 

“Employees need to communicate with their managers or higher-level staff about their goals, get involved outside of the role, ask for more work, creatively work harder and smarter, ask for the perks or responsibilities that are personally valued, and ensure they have cultivated loyal and trusting relationships,” Preston advises, adding that they should look for outside classes or volunteer work to supplement their role in ways that will aid in career development if they find that internal opportunities don’t exist.

 

“Before quickly leaving a role because the next best thing has landed in your lap, exhaust all resources at your current company. Speak with Human Resources, talk with your manager, do a pros/cons list, and truly ask yourself, ‘Is the grass really going to be greener?’” Preston concludes.

 

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