Job-hopping : How It Affects Your Career Success
By Long Yun
Siang Is job-hopping and career success related to each other? What is
the effect of one on the other? How long is too long for staying in a company?
I must admit, the resumes that pass by my desk makes me conclude that
job-hopping is far too common. Of course, I understand this may only apply to
my advertising industry.
 Job hoppers do it for various reasons. More often than not they may not know
what they are getting into. Sometimes, it is because they do not know what they
want and hence are not ready for the challenges that lay ahead of them.
Job-hopping and career success is related to one another.
In my opinion, job-hopping affects career success in a negative manner.
Consider this, what signals are you sending to your potential employer if you
job-hop too often?
The Two-Year Rule
I have a two-year rule that I tell my staff and potential employees. The
two-year rule is this – you must be willing to commit mentally to spend at
least two years in the company before you quit. The reason is this; you need to
deal with the learning curve. If you job-hop too often, you learn nothing
substantial.
For me, it takes you at least a year to know the ins and outs of the
company. Then another year before you can eventually be truly productive in
adding value to the company. To see the true results of your contribution to
the company, for me it takes at least two years. So, if you are prone to
job-hopping and career success is on your mind, then it is time to rethink.
Training You
Many well-established companies have training programs. They are willing to
invest in fresh graduates and newbies. However, in order for them to make that
decision they need to look at past track records. Ask yourself, if you are a
manager –who are you more likely to invest training time and money on? Someone
who is job-hopper and shows tendency to job-hop or someone who is stable?
Companies are more likely to invest in people who are stable. The reason is
simple. They are able to contribute back into the company. Everybody wins. If
you are constantly job-hopping, you send a signal that you are not ready to
commit.
Companies like to invest in people who see their career goals align with
their corporate goals. Job-hoppers usually cannot see their career path beyond
the next year.
Decreasing the Incidence of Job-Hopping
One of the best ways to quit job-hopping is to truly know what you want.
Once you know that, you will have singular focus in the pursuit of your career
goals. Of course, it is understandable that as a fresh graduate or newbie at
work it is tough to know that. You may be interested in some other industries.
If there are other fields that you are interested in then make a plan to
find out about them. Start with the Internet, and then ask friends who may know
people in those fields. Speak to them; ask them about the expectations of the
company and the role of the position you are interested in.
You may not have all the answers but at least you get some idea. That would
decrease the chances of you job-hopping.
Make Learning a Key Objective
If you are new in the work force and have been job-hopping quite a bit, my
advice to you is this - truly find out what you want. Once you know that, find
a company that is willing to train or how they are willing to commit to their
employees’ career in the long term. If they have structured training programs,
join them.
Make learning the relevant skills and knowledge in that industry your key
objective. The skills and knowledge that you learn will contribute to your
career success in the long term. It is something that you can bring with you
the rest of your life. Once you see the benefits of committing to a company who
is willing to train you for more than two years, hopefully you won’t be
job-hopping often anymore.
About the Author: Long Yun Siang or Long, as he is popularly known runs http://www.career-success-for-newbies.com as his way of
paying it forward. His website – based on his real life experience - provides
tips, tools and advise for newbies pursuing career success.
Source: www.isnare.com
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