Today, most under-30 employees view themselves as "free agents" who need to manage their careers actively. They realize that the company they are working with can lay them off at any moment if there is a merger or a business slump. They are also well aware of the fact that their economic survival depends on the maintenance of cutting edge skills. And this is the reason why they do not feel guilty when they jump to other jobs for a better pay package or better opportunities for growth.



The trend of shorter job tenure has its base in the downsizing wave of the late 1980s and early 1990s due to which many people's expectation of lifetime employment in a single company was shattered. But several other factors have also contributed to the increase in this trend. The workers have become more confident about job-hopping due to the strong economy. Many firms have replaced traditional pension plans with portable 401 (K) retirement plans, thus reducing the financial risk of frequent job changes. The growth of the Internet has been one of the key factors of this trend, because the huge databases of jobs listed in various websites makes it very easy to find alternative jobs.

Effects Of Job-Hopping

There is a direct relationship between job-hopping and success in a career. In most cases, job-hopping affects success in a negative manner. There are many well-established companies that have training programs for their employees. They are interested in investing in new people. However, to make such a decision they need to look at the past track record.

Employers are never interested in investing money and training time on someone who is a job hopper. They would rather invest in people who are stable because they will be able to contribute back into the company. With constant job hopping you will send a signal that you are not ready to make commitments. Organizations show their interest in people who have their career goals aligned with their corporate goals. Job hoppers cannot see their career path in a company beyond a year.

How To Decrease The Incidence Of Job-Hopping

The best method of quitting job-hopping is to truly know what you want, because once you identify this, you can focus singularly on the pursuit of your career goals. If there is a particular field that you are interested in, then make a plan to find out more about it. Get help from the Internet as well as your friends who may know people in those fields. Speak to them and get as much information as possible about the expectations of the company, and the position your are interested in.

This method might not provide all the answers, but it can surely decrease the chances of you hopping jobs. It is always advantageous to make learning a key objective. If you are a part of the work force and you have been job-hopping a lot, then find out what you want, and then look for a company that is willing to train or commit to their employees' long-term career path. Join the company if it has a structured training program. Once you see the benefits of committing to a company that is willing to train you for more than two years, hopefully you won't be job-hopping often anymore.