Ramkkasturi's-Job Hopping, is it Good or Bad and the Precautions You Need to Take

Job Hopping What it Can do to You-the Good and Bad of it and Precautions

If your are a job hopper you better stay away from Jason Calacanis and Mark Suster,

Jason says that they are destroying America and Mark Suster says that he would not let them come any where near his companies. So before you make a move think again.

Not to worry, if Paul Dix is around he will call you provided you can make it through his filters.

Job hopping has become a very common phenomenon these days. People move from job to job very easily. If you have a count of more than one job that you left in less than two years in the last 6-8 years it is likely that you will be called a ‘hopper’. Some of us interpret that job hopping means more money higher status and new environment. Let us be clear it is not a sin to look for another job, and there is no clear demarcation on when some one could be called a ‘hopper’. It would depend on the guy who is interviewing you for the job.

In Silicon Valley people hopped job every 18 months once. Some say job hopping is bad but once in 5 years a job change seems to be acceptable in the corporate world; the median was 2.3 years in 1983. In California the hopping rate was higher than any where else. Law facilitates hopping in California. Outside California employers can use non compete-agreements to inhibit mobility

Before the slow down had come, the number of people job hopping was too many. People would move from job to job within the same location or move from coast to coast as well. California had one of the highest job hopping rates where almost half the people held their jobs less than two years.

The luxury days are over? At least for now it looks as if that is the news. Many stay put where they are put and some employers are smiling. It is great to have a job now and be able to live and pay the mortgage and make sure that the home is not foreclosed.

Will the hopping start again. It does not look like it. There are not enough jobs to hop around.

Why do People Hop Jobs?

When market is rapidly growing the number needed goes up so there are vacancies are high and the employers start throwing in good incentives like good relocation expenses and similar benefits to attract people they need. It is always cheaper for a company to buy some ready made employee than to train one. Training costs money and time Therefore, it is tempting to get some one from a competitor even if it costs a little more. After all, if they are not good or if we decide to stop continuing the project we can always lay them off for pittance is the employer’s logical thinking.

What Job Hoppers expect from Hopping

Job hoppers think that they can get better pay

Job hoppers expect better benefits as well

Job Hoppers hope they change the responsibilities to a higher level perhaps a management level.

Some job hoppers see it as a learning opportunity which gives a development opportunity and growth.

There are also job hoppers who go to places where they can get better balance of life and work. They are not happy with the current job because they spend too much time in the office.

An opportunity to work overseas could also be strong reason for hopping

Some hoppers move for very personal reasons like the weather is not suiting them or they want to be closer to the place where their families live

Job Hopping is Risky

Jog hopping has hurt too many in the recent period. Many left their stable jobs and went into what they thought were growing frontier areas. They were just start ups. When economy dwindles start ups don’t thrive and so they axed many. It was last in first go or LIFO as we call it in accounting.

Job Hopping and the larger impact

Job hopping is highly contagious and it catches up fast. Many factors contribute

1. The hopper informs his friends who are tempted because his employers want more ready made employees.

2. The hopper himself wants to develop his group at the new place with the people he knows and can manage easily.

3. He comes across a friend who is desperate to make a move

Hoppers have weak minds

The hoppers are like the fish that go for the bait. They try to grab this opportunity.

The reasons job hopping could be many. Some of these are

1. There is need for extra money because of house or you a new baby have come, so wife is not working and that extra money is not there.

2. There is no growth in the present job and I see that others moving up

3. The other looks more attractive for money and also the technology seems to have better potential.

4 Mark Shuster feels that if you are 30 and had six jobs since college, you are a job hopper, you are disloyal, you care for yourself not the company or may be you make wrong judgments about the companies you get into

Hoppers as Performers

Some argue that hopping gives more intellectually rewarding career. The hoppers are more mature and enthusiastic because they are into new job. They very quickly learn the navigation in the corporate hierarchy. In favor of the hoppers is also the argument that that if you know you are going to leave the organization soon you become more productive and value adder because you want to do it before you leave. Thus they tend to be higher performers. The hoppers are also known to be quite loyal to their net works and help them in finding new jobs.

How employers look at Job hoppers

Some new companies encourage hopping because they want ready made material. They cannot afford to lose time and they don’t like to waste money on training. So they love it when they can grab a qualified person for a good rate. But they also forget that a hopper is a hopper and may hop to another organization for more if possible. Anyway there is not much they can do especially if they are new in the market without any image and experience. So it is something they do out of necessity.

Bruce Fallick, Charles Fleischman, Federal Reserve Board Governors and James Rebitzer of Case western University suggest that job hopping facilitates the relocation of resources towards firms with superior innovations

Hoppers can find it hard to get back into the organization they left. The larger organizations spend substantial funds on training. They also believe that an employee becomes productive only after some months. Therefore hoppers are not what they want. When the bio tells them that the employee has not been staying at one place they prefer to leave them out of the selection list. Hoppers disturb the equilibrium and the working relations established. Some call them as the ‘rolling stones’ with contempt.

Mark Suster who had plenty of experience in running companies says that job hoppers make terrible employees. They wont get past through his filter. Not so, feels Paul Dix who also has his own company He does’t care if they pass through his other filets-relevant experience, github or other public code profile, writes technical hubs, involved in the community and picked up some programming languages and technologies picked up in free time. He feels they are better for start ups as they take risks. . He also feels that loyalty has to be earned by the employers.

What to Do If you decide to Hop

If you must go and you feel that you might be labeled as a hopper, you need to exercise some care in writing your resume. I would focus on the experience link and try to keep low prominence to the dates of leaving and may be designations too

If you have left one job in less than 2 years out 5-6 then you can get away without being called job hopper, in my opinion.

If you are a chronic hopper then you need to worry about how the new organization takes it when you hop again. You must also think how many more times you can hop.

You should have evaluated the new organization well enough to know the atmosphere, the people and the attitude of the management. Mistakes here can make life difficult.

You must make sure that your new package gives you increase in take home. The tax, cost of living, sale of property, interest penalty if any, kid’s education, your commuting costs, baby sitting costs all must be evaluated. Some companies may make adjustment for it.

You will forego all your seniority linked benefits when you hop, like longer vacation after some years. The new company may consider you as beginner in their organization irrespective of your designation. Many times we hesitate to get this clear because we get embarrassed to talk about vacation when looking for another job.

You must remember that the organization you leave in general closes the door for you. Unfortunately, they don’t feel guilty when they lay you off but they can make you feel like the most ungrateful person if you leave, especially in a short time.

If your name rotates around and you become a famous hopper that produces nothing very soon you might find that the hopping is over for you

for further reading http://ramkkasturisbusinessmanagement.wordpress.com/2010/05/29/how-to-make-employment-choices