To move or not to move: Is rapid movement between jobs still frowned on?
Job-hopping: An accepted trend?
Over the years, job hopping has certainly gained relative widespread acceptance as a quick way to fast-track your career, be it in earning potential, level of responsibility or even job title. The advocates of this practice will certainly attest to the speed and efficiency of job-hopping - don’t like where you are, what you do, your colleagues or your salary? Make a move. And yes, the next opportunity would likely address and correct some of the issues you might have faced in your past role.
We operate in a world that demands immediacy and correspondingly, employment behaviour, attitudes and trends have changed. So with job hopping being so common these days, do most employers really care about the number of moves you’ve made? And could those same moves also impact your career negatively?
The answer is yes and yes.
Pitfalls of taking the fast-track short-cut
As a headhunter, I have definitely witnessed individuals emerging from a (sometimes long) series of short, rapid moves with a positive overall net gain. However, the pitfalls are many and risky. Although words such as ‘stability’, ‘commitment’ and ‘dedication’ are no longer quite on trend these days, the bare truth is that most smart employers do still seek contenders with such aptitudes.
Given that you will need an adequate span of time (most headhunters would agree a minimum of two years) to learn the organisation and develop the best skills for each role, too many rapid moves will certainly raise eyebrows and lead the employer to question your accountability, dependability, ability to deal with challenges and obstacles or even your people skills.
The worst decision you could make would be to neglect the impact of such potential reactions on your long-term career. As you take on increasing responsibilities, have no doubt that if the organisation was seeking to entrust its profts and losses, revenue or operations in your hands, it will be scrutinising your career moves. Ultimately, you need to showcase that you can be trusted to deliver – and in the best case scenario, overachieve - in your role and there is nothing quite like a good span of growing responsibilities and the corresponding glowing achievements across a few good organisations (rather than multiple stints in many) to prove that any firm would be smart to invest in you.
The bottom line
Of course, hiring practices in specific industries, such as digital media and advertising may run counter to the opinions I’ve expressed so far in this article. There is no ‘one size fits all’ answer.
Ultimately, each move you make in your career should be strategic and carefully planned. Consider what each new opportunity presents in terms of scope, responsibilities, growth potential and earning capacity. If the strongest allure seems to be its short-term benefits, be mindful in your evaluation and ensure that your exit (and next role) is strong and sound.
There may be times in your career when making a short-term, strategic move could prove to be very beneficial. Just ensure that you are in the driver’s seat, have planned your route carefully and know exactly where you’re heading.
Angela Ng is a specialist consultant for Digital Media & mobility at Talent2 Singapore.