Is job hopping bad? Read our advice from recruiters

There was a common ideal about how careers would progress in generations past. You’d go to college, get a degree, get your first job, and stay put for a long while. If you were lucky, you’d advance up the career ladder and build a nice life for yourself.

Trey, a Talent Acquisition Partner at Fidelity Investments, describes the rest of the scenario this way: “You work for a company, for like 20 years. They give you a Rolex. You’d retire. You’d be on a pension, and you’d be set up for life.”

We know this ideal only worked out for some people. It didn’t take into account things like raising children, elder care, family illness, or economic downturns, much less a global shutdown, remote work, and the gig economy. These are all valid reasons for leaving the job market temporarily or switching jobs to find one with a more accommodating schedule.

If you see yourself in these scenarios, you’re in good company. The reality is that most people have had times when they lost a job, a company closed, or they had to step out of the workforce for personal reasons.

Other reasons for frequent job changes that recruiters can understand (they’re human, after all, and have their own stories of winding career paths):

• You found you didn’t enjoy the work
• You had a terrible boss
• The work stopped being challenging
• You were looking for a healthier balance between work and the rest of your life
• You had the opportunity to make more money

However, if you leave a job every year or two, and always attribute it to having a terrible boss or hating the work, recruiters will be less understanding. They’ll wonder if you’re a good gamble or if you’ll be leaving their employ quickly, too.

The way companies do business has changed over the last couple of decades. Companies had loyal employees, in large part, because they took care of their employees. They offered paid benefits and pensions. Employees had the incentive to stay with their employer because they knew they’d be taken care of during retirement.

It’s a rare company now that offers pension plans that provide a guaranteed income during retirement. The responsibility for retirement income has shifted to employees via 401(k) plans. Yes, companies contribute, but they don’t offer guaranteed retirement income anymore. In a workforce where, according to Trey, “loyalty is not so baked in. It’s not so inherent,” employees need to look out for their financial stability. Often, that means changing jobs.

Companies play a role in frequent job hopping through their policies on pay raises. Often, companies limit pay raises for current employees—no matter how well they are performing—yet they offer significant pay increases to entice new employees to join their ranks. Because of these policies, workers opt to change jobs to better their financial futures rather than stick it out with one company.

Given that there are plenty of legitimate reasons for frequent job changes or employment gaps (we’re looking at you, pandemic), the best thing to do is to be upfront about them on your resume. If you ended a job because your department closed, say that. If you left a full-time role in favor of part time, it’s okay to include a statement about your choice.

The same applies to employment gaps, except you can include skills you strengthened during your time away from paid work. Many people take time off to raise children or need to leave work to care for someone who is ill. These employment gaps don’t raise recruiters’ eyebrows as they once did. If you care for an elder, you could include, “Skilled at navigating complex governmental entities to secure necessary funds.” Or, if your gap was because you had a business as a freelancer, include all the skills that you used—and grew—during that time.

Recruiters are familiar with a variety of these types of situations. One or two, or even three, “detours” on your resume can be understood in the context of a person’s whole life. There is a tipping point, though, when recruiters start to look askance at frequent job changes on a resume.

There is such a thing as too much when it comes to job hopping. Kimberly, a Talent Acquisition Partner at Fidelity Investments, agrees that job hopping doesn’t necessarily rule out a job candidate.

However, she says “it tends to be most effective when [candidates] still have a pretty good tenure established in each role. If folks are moving every 3 to 5 years, that’s still pretty respectable.

“But we also do see folks that are moving every year or every 18 months, and that’s the opposite effect. That can be very concerning for a hiring manager or recruiter to see. Folks moving companies in under that 2-year timeframe consistently are just getting up to production. Right? You’re being fully trained in your current role and then immediately moving on. Nobody wants to hire for your position again in 2 years.”

Kimberly states that the exception to that thinking is the period during the pandemic and its aftermath. Recruiters know that the economy was uncertain during this time and people needed to pivot frequently.

There are two other exceptions to the 3-to-5-year window—people with tech jobs and consultants. Recruiters are more tolerant of job hopping among tech candidates for two reasons. One, tech people can earn significant pay increases by changing companies early in their careers. Recruiters understand that the money is simply too good for people not to make those changes. Two, tech workers often work for start-ups that sometimes go out of business unexpectedly. That being said, even tech people can’t job-hop indefinitely, or recruiters will look elsewhere.

Consultants don’t job-hop in the true sense of the word. Consultants work with companies to advise in certain areas or to address particular problems. After they have carried out their role, they move on to a different company. Recruiters advise consultants to make it clear on their resume that their short stints are contracts with a set end date.

Recruiters are a little more forgiving of job hopping these days. It’s still not advisable to have too many job changes on your resume. A few strategic career moves—for more pay or more flexibility—may even be a smart move.