As a former Human Resources manager for over 7 years, I have seen the most when it comes to job applicants. One of the most flagrant job no-no’s that I witnessed was the serial job hopper. You know, the employee that hops from job-to-job every few months and has over three pages on their resume. As a former Cubicle Creature, I feel it fitting to discuss this problem since there may be a few of you who this definition may fit. Are you a serial job hopper? And most importantly, what are you searching for?
The days of employees working for a company from the beginning of their career until they retire are no longer commonplace. The average person will have worked 5 to 7 jobs in their lifetime. But there is also a growing group of people (serial job hoppers) who jump from job-to-job, sometimes having 5 to 7 jobs in one year and not over the lifespan of their career.
Serial job hoppers are easy to spot. Either they have an overabundance of jobs on their resume or they have a spotty one, due to the fact that they do not want anyone to know that they have been a job hopper. They never give a 2 week notice when they leave an employ, and they are constantly on Monster.com and CareerBuilder.com looking for a new job, even on company time. No matter where they get hired, they are always looking for something better.
Which poses another question. Is a person is constantly looking for something, then chances are, they will never be satisfied. So what are they searching for? Job hoppers for the most part become complacent in their positions because they always think there is something better out there for them. There is no such a thing as being settled or being comfortable. They always have their boxes ready so they can move onto the next.
If you are serial job hopper, have you asked yourself the following questions?:
- What would be your perfect position?
- Are you applying for positions you are overqualified for?
- Are you in a career field that interests you?
- What makes you leave a position
- Do you believe in completing your tasks?
- Are you afraid of rejection?
Study the answers to your questions and analyze them at length. If you are a serial job hopper, chances are you aren’t challenging yourself, and instead, thinking short term instead of long term. You are thinking about getting that “easy job” so that you can get a check rather than the bigger picture which is finding a job that is suitable for you and your goals.
Being a serial job hopper does not bode well for your career. Hiring managers will balk at hiring you because they see your pattern and cannot rely on you to complete your tasks. Also, it costs companies money to hire and train people, so why invest in someone who is going to probably leave in a few months when you can hire someone who will be there for the long haul?
If you are a serial job hopper, my advice would be to truly find a job you love. And in this market, that may be hard to do, but you have to break the cycle sometime.
Do you know a serial job hopper? Send them this article, or better yet, comment below and let me know your thoughts!
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