Job hopper has a really dreadful sound to it. In my head I cannot stop comparing it with being a deserter because of all the negative stereotypes associated with it. So I never paid it much attention, because... I couldn't be one. After all, we like to think of ourselves as good people. It's basic human nature. However, this year I realized that without having the intention of being one, I was actually a job hopper.
Circumstances had led me to moving to a new country, and thus I was in search of a new job. As one usually does when in such a predicament, I was chatting with several recruiters about potential new projects. Skills and enthusiasm were shared on both parts, until eventually each conversation led to the same awkward question. "Why did you leave your previous employer?" Most recruiters were optimistic about my expertise and experience, but were worried that my CV linked 5 years in the field with 5 different companies. It looked too much like a trend.
But I wasn't feeling like I was doing anything wrong. Each job was like a story with a beginning and a very natural end. While living in a particular story - for what felt like a long time, I always gave my best. So how was I similar to the definition of a job hopper?
As it turns out, a "job hopper" is described as a person that stays a short amount of time into a position before they move onto the next one. But here is the catch: what counts as short is subjective. Do a quick search on the internet and you will see different articles defining it as varying from less than a year to less than five years. This might be why some people find it hard to self-identify as job hoppers. To me a whole year, let alone five years, is a long period of time and staying as long in a company should surely showcase stability.
Switching jobs frequently became a trend only recently. Compared to my generation, our parents were more likely to stay with the same employer throughout their careers. Not only that but most of my mentors from my previous jobs were in the same company for a median of 7 years, and they were only around 10 years my seniors. It soon becomes obvious why a company's definition of what short and long mean might not coincide with my own definition. The trend hasn't been in place long enough to be a widely accepted thing. The irony is palpable.
As a general rule, job hopping is frowned upon, although there is some movement in trying to accept it a new normalcy. There are several reasons why it has a negative meaning behind it, which I am sure might make sense from the perspective of the employer. Looking back on my own experience, it comes with some advantages and some disadvantages. Like most things in life, it's never truly good or truly bad. So in the spirit of list making, here are 5 lessons I learned along the way.
1. Working for a short number of months in a company doesn't mean you cannot add value
One of the things I noticed that companies are worried about is that by the time they finish investing into your onboarding (and possibly training), you will leave without having added any value. Their return on investment is not looking good. They are practically losing money while helping you grow. But in my experience that is potentially* wrong. It's true that when starting a new project you will need some time to adapt to a new product, a new tech stack and a new way of doing things. But after switching a few of those, you will find out that you are ready to jump into creative/debugging mode in a couple of weeks as opposed to the initial couple of months. That in turn means that you can add value even if you only work there for a short time.
(* - depending on the time and the speed of the person)
2. You learn to adapt. Fast.
When you stay in the same job for a while, you will get used to the tech stack and tools, and you might even get fairly good at them. But I've sometimes noticed that bringing change into an established product can be difficult. Sometimes it might be because you don't want to touch something that is already working, other times the schedule might be full with requirements and to gain speed you use what you're comfortable with. But as mentioned above, when you change a few projects (and implicitly a few different technologies) you get used to change. This comes with two good things. Firstly, you are not as uncomfortable with the unknown. New framework? Sure thing. Completely new architecture? Bring it on. Secondly, you gain speed at learning new things.
3. You might not make a lot of friends
The best friendships develop over time, and unless you are an extroverted friendly person you will find it hard to hone those connections if you leave a workplace after a short time. That doesn't mean that you will find it hard to fit in. But it's usually hard to keep in touch with multiple people from multiple previous jobs, especially if you didn't find the time to deepen the relationship into an out-of-work-friendship. My advice here is to talk to people, join them for lunch, participate in the random chat. You never know when those small acquaintances turn into friendships for life. It also makes for a much better social experience while at work.
4. You learn to get bored easily
While in some cases job hopping could be prompted by boredom, sometimes this is just a side-effect. I didn't leave a job yet because I was bored, but with time I did notice that I got bored more easily and I needed more effort to find enjoyment in the daily grind. The solution is usually personal to the one applying it. You could try asking for more responsibilities, changing teams or just bring some good old gamification to your tasks. If nothing works and you have the possibility to do so, take some time off and get a chance to miss your job.
5. It puts you in some weird conversations with recruiters
This brings us full circle with how I got to think about job hopping. As I mentioned above, this is still something that it is frowned upon, and therefore you might be filtered out by some recruiters. Even the ones that might consider putting you forward for a position might have some reservations about you based on this, and they will usually ask you to clarify the reasons why you change your role so frequently. Because in my case, the moves were influenced by my personal life, I felt uncomfortable telling the story every time I had an interview with someone new. Therefore it's usually a good idea to prepare the story beforehand so you are not caught off-guard. Preparing it in advance will give you the time to make sure you only disclose those things you are okay with being out in the open. Also, remember you could always choose not to have this conversation. Don't feel pressured into giving answers you are not comfortable with.
In the end, people hop jobs for different reasons. Some of them might do it because they're bored. Some of them might be influenced by outside circumstances, like it was in my case. Or maybe the nature of their jobs demands it. Whatever the case, it's not all bad. And it's not all good. It's just a slightly different way of doing things. If viewed with the right mindset, it's a great opportunity to learn some things that otherwise might be harder to come across. So if asked about it, consider it a strength.
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