4 Steps to Break Your Job Hopping Habit

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Are 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 make me conclude job hopping is far too common.

Job hoppers hop for various reasons. More often than not, they don’t know what they are getting into. Sometimes, it’s because they don’t know what they want; hence why they are not ready for the challenges that lie ahead of them.

In my opinion, changing jobs often affects your career in a negative manner. Consider this, what signals are you sending to your potential employer if you are job hopping too often?

1. Follow the Two-Year Rule

I have a two-year rule 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 this: you need to deal with the learning curve. If you job hop too often, you learn nothing substantial.

In my opinion, it takes you at least a year to know the ins and outs of the company. Then another year before you can 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 years. So, if you are prone to changing jobs and career success is on your mind, then it is time to rethink.

2. Learn to Be Stable

Many well-established companies have training programs. They are willing to invest in fresh graduates and newbies. However, in order for them to make that decision, they need to look at past track records. Ask yourself, if you are a manager, who are you more likely to invest training time and money on? Someone who is job hopper and shows tendency to job hop, or someone who is stable?

Companies are more likely to invest in people who are stable. The reason is simple. They are able to contribute back into the company. Everybody wins. If you are constantly moving from one job to another, you send a 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 next year.

3. Know What You Want

One of the best ways to quit job hopping is to truly know what you want. Once you know that, you will have singular focus in the pursuit of your career goals. Of course, it is understandable that as a fresh graduate or newbie at work it is tough to know that. You may be interested in some other industries.

If there are other fields that you are interested in, then make a plan to find out about them. Start with the Internet then ask friends who may know people in those fields. Speak to them, 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 jumping jobs.

4. Make Learning a Key Objective

If you are new in 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 training programs, join them.

Make learning the relevant skills and knowledge in that industry your key objective. The skills and knowledge that you learn will contribute to your career success in the long term. It is something that you can bring 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.

Break job hopping habit image from Shutterstock

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2 Comments

1. 

   Afifa Siddiqui

   September 17, 2012 at 10:22 AM

   Longevity at a company is important. When switching employers, many interviewers will ask your reason for leaving your last position. If you can’t give a concrete answer, it doesn’t bode well for your future with them. Why would they hire an employee who might potentially leave at the end of a year, when they could hire someone with a better track record? This is an aspect of the job search not often discussed, so thank you for bringing it to job seekers’ attention, Yun!

   Reply
2. 

   Jeff Sigetich

   September 16, 2012 at 7:56 PM

   I find it refreshinging that you are honest about how long it takes to become a productive employee. That has been almost exactly my experience over the years. But, if you told an interviewer that it would take a year for you to know what’s going on and another year before you were truly productive, you would be escorted out the door, immediately!!

   Reply