Job Hoppers, and era where corporate America has created its own worst enemy.

Job Hoppers, an era where corporate America has created its own worst enemy.

Job hoppers; many have heard the term and especially those that their CV’s show a lot of movement. What is a “lot” of movement? Most employers and recruiters regard anyone who has stayed with a firm for less than 2-3 years as a “hopper”. What does this translate to in terms of my hiring potential? Well most hiring managers perceive this trend in a resume as a negative.

They tend to see that this person is either not able to hold a job, has been downsized an so indicative of the incumbents worth to their previous firm, or in the case where the incumbent has left the firm on the own recognizance as; disloyal, opportunist, risky, and not possessing the long term potential that most hiring authorities prefer.

Many job seekers are aware of the connotations that accompany a “lot” of movement in their resume and so attempt to hide these details in their résumé, such as instead of giving specific chronological dates of employment (i.e. 06/01/2005 – 01/25/2007) they give their dates in years (i.e. 2005 – 2007). When this is seen on a resume by a recruiter or hiring manager red flags go up! And even if the incumbent manages to get to the formal interview with the potential employer this information will be questioned and will be found out without question. True that there are a number of possibilities as to why your resume reflects a “lot” of movement and could likely be explained away given the chance. But the fact of the matter is that when looking at resumes when this type of movement is seen more often than not your CV is looked over.

To me as a recruiter the desire to hire professionals that have long term tenures with one or two companies is naive on the employer’s part and a problem that was created by the industry. Looking at the situation in its entirety we must consider several key factors as to why professionals leave their employer for another employer. Compensation is largely first in most people’s mind. If I’m worth more than I’m currently receiving and there is no foreseeable increases what option do I have left but to leverage my experience elsewhere. Every year if not quarter the standard of living increases, gas prices increase, healthcare coverage and expenses increase, goods and services etc etc. So in short so should our incomes right? Not exactly.

Compensation is a big factor but not the only one for certain. Many professionals are content with their pay but believe it or not want more responsibility and greater challenges as cliché as that may sound. If a professional is not challenge and finds themselves “bored” inherently their productivity goes down as stimulation decreases. Given the opportunity to do more does prompt a good number of people to seek a new home.

Here the third and namely the reason I find to be the greatest factor is the where employers don’t take into consideration their own industries hiring and firing trends. If Bank A merges with Bank B there is little chance that both companies’ staff will stay in tact. More often than not as units or businesses are bought and sold a healthy number of superlative employees are “let go”. Yes they receive a severance package and good references, but you are still technically “fired” and out of work. When you are “out of work” your leveraging ability is severely handicapped and most professionals do not want to see themselves taking a role for less money. This also creates a sense of desperation though in varying degrees, but never the less when you are out of work you typically-unless independently wealthy- need a JOB! And guess what professionals have gotten wise to the predicament of not having leveraging power while “unemployed”. They end up taking a role with a firm simply to have an income and then continue to look for work elsewhere.

Hiring managers need to take this into consideration when hiring and employee and instead of viewing the incumbent as risk, they must truly probe the candidate’s worth and not simply the years of employment with one company. This situation can be managed if not averted if done properly. The best asset many professionals have in this situation is to go through a recruiter as they act as your advocate to the client and explain away most of the discrepancies in a CV to employer, allowing the incumbent to interview in a manner that is equal to those that may have the tenures preferred.

In the next post I will discuss how to create a Resume/ CV that lowers the resistance factors and allows your skill set to be applied to alternate positions within a firm.


Coming posts:

How can I create the most effective resume/CV to reflect my background?
When is the best time to Leverage your career and myths about bonuses.
Leveraging my salary, how to get more bang from your recruiter.