Job hopping has become a more usual practice every day, people don’t last as long as they used to in their jobs, jumping from one job to another in seek for better conditions, work environment or for professional growth are more common and frequent.
For many years this practice was not well seen, but millennials have changed this point of view, now that they conform most of the “new adults” in the working class.
The new generation experienced the transition to the digital era, they learned how to use the technology that opened the door to the cyber-globalization, reason why they’ve accessed to new working conditions that are offered in the exterior.
This new practice is a trend among 34-year-old professionals and younger and is usually caused by a lack of grasp to the company, not sharing a common goal, policies or career plan.
Companies often seek for people to fit certain profiles, reason why they focus on the job and not the person, so they don’t offer any career development or professional growth for the millennials.
A new model
Most professionals in the economic active population have witnessed world crisis (including the Covid-19 pandemic), reason why they have way less confidence over their job stability than previous generations, which represents a change of values; having a job is not a sign of stability, that’s why they seek for deeper motivations, oriented to their wellbeing and with more flexibility. Why would I work the same way people did 50 years ago, if I now have more technology?
The dynamism derived from technology represents a new paradigm for the labor market, starting with the virtual work market, an answer for a global necessity and the lack of specialized workers in certain regions over the world, by 2020 there were half a million job openings in the Europe Union, according to the European Commission that urged over the lack of technology job profiles.
In this defying and changing world with high volumes of unprocessed data are influenced that the Job Hoppers motivations are based over continuous learning and constant change, reason why is key to encourage challenges to develop their knowledge and abilities to keep them from feeling stuck.
They are usually attracted by activities that create social value, a reason why it is important to encourage projects that make them belong and feel a social impact.
Pros
People in constant job movement in seek of more challenges for professional growth are motivated by learning, so they keep themselves in constant mental training, this helps, for instance, to adapt faster to organizational programs, easy comprehending their chores and are not afraid to ask.
Some of them are self-taught people, and in their seek of answers can develop soft abilities such as communication, planning, and flexibility.
Being flexible to adapt to new organizations or projects that start every two or three years, is what let them develop their own organization methods; taking the pieces of knowledge that they’ve acquired along of their careers to implement, which turns out to be more efficient.
Cons
It's not all rainbows and sunshine, some job hoppers are not precisely encouraged by growing in their professional careers, they are just jumping from one place to the next with no direction or defined destination.
This profile represents a risk for the companies and is no business to invest time, money nor other resources in someone who will soon leave the organization and has no intention in learning or contribute.
In the other hand, constant work jumps are keeping them from developing a history of results or abilities that can be appreciated by their future employers or show themselves that they’re capable of achieving a transformation, so if you are decided to become a Job Hopper, remember to pursue real goals.
Relationships are built overtrust, and trust is gained over time, so another disadvantage of job hopping is that it keeps them from creating deeper relations in the work environment, so it is probable they will come unnoticed in the organizations they work at.
Bring out the best of the hops
Pros or cons, the new labor market reality is here, reason why we have some tips to share for you to take the best out of the job-hopping practice.
Agile Methodology: These methodologies are focused on developing cross-functional teams to manage projects for short and medium term with defined objectives and expected results. After a project is finalized, the next one begins.
Human Sense Profiles: A job hopper is in seek of personal and professional growth, that’s why it needs to adapt to new models and build more flexible profiles, oriented to talent development.
Internal influencers: Strengthening the personal signature of your work colleagues is essential to turn them into internal influencers, these people will become the success stories inside the organization.
Innovation: Remember that a job hopper is not infected by the everyday blindness developed by the rest of the staff due to years of the daily routine, so make use of the job hopper to “think outside the box” and open the door to innovation.
