One of the biggest problems we at JTL Services see in the job market is the phenomenon known colloquially as “Job Hopping”. When a candidate spends only about a year and some change with each company one can’t help but ask the question, “What are they really in it for?” Generally, people enjoy making a lot of money; that goes without saying. The problem comes in when it becomes apparent that these people only care about themselves and how big the number is on the end of their pay-stub. Companies don’t want people who are only searching for a bigger paycheck; they want dedicated employees who can advance their business. They are investing in a new hire and hopefully there will be a return for them. Recently, we’ve seen more cases of job hopping within the millennial age group. So not only do we hate commitment in our relationships, we have to bring that nonchalant attitude to our professional lives as well?
Candidates who take every new opportunity thrown at them consistently have the lowest resume strength of their non-hopping peers, which is problematic in and of itself. This may seem counter-intuitive in that one might think, “But won’t having a more diversified range of companies under my belt show that I enjoy taking on new challenges?” That would be true if the resume displayed three years or more at each company, showing a candidate not only enjoying challenges, but also sticking with them to completion. When a prospective employer sees a hopper’s resume, they are already formulating a negative assumption that the candidate is selfish and does not seek to advance the company.
So go ahead and take that new job for a salary increase, whether it be $5,000 or double what you’re making now. You had better hope that you like this new job for years to come because you will need to be there for at least 3-4 years, so make sure that you learn something to make yourself valuable. The first thing any employer looks for is stability, and if your resume or LinkedIn profile looks like something from a speed dating show, then you are screwed. You just started at your current company 10 months ago, but surely a marginal salary increase is worth the risk of being unemployable in the future, right?