Is job-hopping and career success related to each other? What is the effect of one on the other? How long is too long for staying in a company? I must admit, the resumes that pass by my desk makes me conclude that job-hopping is far too common.
Job hoppers do it for many reasons. More often than, they may not know what they are getting into. Sometimes, it is because they do not know what they want and hence they are not ready for the challenges that lay ahead of them. Job-hopping and career success are related to each another.
In my opinion, job-hopping affects career success negatively. Consider this, what signals are you sending to your potential employer if you job-hop too often?
The Two-Year Rule
I have a two-year rule that I tell my staff and potential employees. The two-year rule is this – you must be willing to commit mentally to spend at least two years in the company before you quit. The reason is that; you need to deal with the learning curve. If you job-hop too often, you learn nothing as substantial.
For me, it takes you at least two year to know the ins and outs of the company. Then next year before you can eventually be truly productive in adding value to the company. To see the true results of your contribution to the company, for me, it takes at least two to three years. So, if you are prone to job-hopping and career success is on your mind, then it is time to rethink.
Training You
Many well-established companies have training programs. They are willing to invest in fresh graduates as trainee. However, in order for them to make that decision, they need to look at previous track records. Ask yourself if you are a manager -who are you more likely to invest training time and money on? Someone who is a job-hopper and shows tendency to job-change, or someone who is stable? Companies are more likely to invest in people who are stable. The reason is very simple. They are able to contribute back into the same company. Everybody wants to win. If you are constantly job-hopping, you send a negative signal that you are not ready to commit.
Companies like to invest in people who see their career goals align with their corporate goals. Job-hoppers usually cannot see their career path beyond the every next year.
Decreasing the Incidence of Job-Hopping
One of the best ways to quit job-hopping is to truly know what you want. Once you know that, you will have to straight focus on the pursuit of your career goals. Of course, it is understandable that as a fresh graduate or trainee at work, it is tough to know that. You may be interested in some other different industries.
If there are from other fields that you are interested in, then make a plan to find out about them. Start with the Internet contact, and then ask friends who may know people in those fields. Ask them about the expectations of the company and the role of the position you are interested in.
You may not have all the answers, but at least you get some idea. That would decrease the chances of you job-changing.
Make Learning a Key Objective
If you are new to the work force and have been job-hopping quite a bit, my advice to you is this – truly find out what you want. Once you know that, find a company that is willing to train or how they are willing to commit to their employees’ career in the long term. If they have structured vocational training programs, join them.
Make learning the relevant skills and knowledge in that industry your main objective. The skills and knowledge that you learn will contribute to your career success in the long term career path. It is something that you can carry with you the rest of your life. Once you see the benefits of committing to a company who is willing to train you for more than two years, hopefully you won’t be job-hopping often anymore.
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