Job hopping - ultimate career booster or dangerous obstacle?

Job hopping - top or flop? The so-called job hoppers, who hop from one employer to another in the shortest possible time, are increasingly turning the working world upside down. In our blog post, we get to the bottom of the job hopping phenomenon and give tips on how you can make valuable use of the hopping employee!

Job hopper by profession

Conspicuous and frequent job changes have a name: Job hopping! The seemingly new hobby that is characterized by regular changes, so-called "hopping" from company to company in a very short time, has become a popular trend, especially among the younger generation. Working for one and the same company all your life? Boring and once upon a time! Completely outdated ideas are being overtaken by the once so modern world of work, and as a result, more frequent changes of employer are no longer a rarity. The desire for a dynamic, flexible and above all exciting lifestyle and work is more present than ever and an absolute must-have for every employee. Especially for highly qualified professionals, the perfect foundation and means (to an end) for a faster climb up the career ladder. Because of the constant job changes, so-called job hoppers get to know new industries and corporate cultures much faster and can reach set goals more quickly through the subsequent rapid change of position - with in the luggage are valuable (professional) experience from different fields of work, which also scores points with companies and arouses interest. Or?

Job hopping - opportunity or danger?

Not all HR managers and companies welcome "job hoppers" with open arms. It is not without reason that job hopping is often associated negatively: Those who change too often and exaggerate job hopping feed doubts about their loyalty, teamwork skills and competence. After all, the rapid jumps from job to job suggest the inconstancy and unreliability of the potential applicant and hopper. What does this mean for companies and HR? Uncertainty and stress combined with a great deal of effort and strong nerves - in order to be, at the end of the day, symbolically just a stepping stone for the once so lively job hopper. Even though many (unintended) factors such as fixed-term employment contracts, restructuring and a shortage of skilled workers can contribute to the new job trend: An applicant who lists too many stations on his or her resume automatically stands out and comes under extra scrutiny.

So how do you "healthily" change jobs and pursue new challenges? When does a change of employer become too much at all and strikingly punished with the term job hopping?
One thing is clear: The line between justifiable job change and whimsical back-and-forth is insanely thin. A healthy balance between the never-changer and the much-changer is the secret. But how?

From normal change to hopping

Changing jobs is an absolute normality and, according to experts, even an absolute must for professional success and personal development. Changing employers every three to five years is therefore absolutely fine and is considered an acceptable change of orientation. Changing after only one or two years? Especially unfoundedly not welcome and is therefore quickly called job hopping - but only as soon as this appears regularly on the resume. Despite the "every three to five years rule", each company and recruiter defines when job hopping really begins for itself - and is therefore dependent on the professional assessment. For example, some recruiters see job hoppers as erratic and unmotivated persons, keyword job nomads, while others favor flexible and curious, hopping employees with a colorful resume. Because the supposed textbook career is slipping more and more into the background and becoming quite out. A varied and not necessarily straightforward resume is evidence of character and inquisitiveness - with interesting side-steps, this can become a valuable candidate and potential employee despite easy job hopping, but only if the latter can sufficiently justify his erratic lifestyle and put the frequent changes in as good a light as possible.

A survey commissioned by Xing shows that employees are increasingly open to new things: although a full 83 percent are satisfied with their current job, one in three could imagine changing jobs before the end of the year; the desire for further development, discovering new skills and getting to know a new working environment is too great. The yearning for freedom and flexibility is causing people to look for jobs in which they can experience independence and self-determination - the keyword here is gig economy.

The advantages of Jobhopper for companies

Despite their bad reputation, hopping workers hide multi-talented and adaptable all-rounders. Why hire job hoppers?
We'll tell you:

1. because of their flexible work style, job hoppers are incredibly straightforward - and pitch in where help is needed - without lengthy training and explanation. 

2. job hoppers love innovation and progress - which they also automatically bring to the workplace. Companies profit enormously from this! 

3. job hoppers are characterized by their hands-on mentality - instead of looking for excuses and discussing problems for the third time, they put their plans directly into action. 

4. job hoppers bring a lot of new and valuable know-how with them - a positive effect for the team, projects and in achieving set goals.

Conclusion

Job hopping - a promising work trend that is not only very popular among its main players, but is also gradually finding many supporters among companies and can thus survive in the long term as an attractive and valuable model - but only with the right leadership!

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