This article is going to go against what you think recruiters do. I know what you are thinking. My job as a headhunter is to convince you to quit your job and go work for one of my clients. While that is definitely the approach of some of my competitors, it’s likely not the right approach to build your career.

What is job hopping?

Let’s first define what job hopping is. The definition varies across industries—some “experts” will tell you it doesn’t matter, but it does. From my perspective, job hopping is creating a career where you stay less than 3 years on average with your employer. Ideally, you want your average at each job in your career to be in the 4–5 year range. Any less than this average and some employers will consider you a job hopper.

Why is it bad?

Job hopping is detrimental to you in terms of your professional development, and it’s bad for your career.

Impact on you – Most career coaches and executives will agree that it takes a minimum of 18 months for an individual to get up to speed in most of today’s complex and challenging roles. If you’re constantly exiting your employer in the 2–3 year range, you never have time to implement solutions and see their results. This means you are not building accomplishments. See our previous article on building accomplishments. Your resume will become a list of responsibilities, and you will lack the track record of implementing that gets and keeps people on the fast track.

Impact on your career – In the modern world, your resume means a lot. I can tell you right now that the majority of Senior Leaders in the medical device industry are not job hoppers. They value the commitment, loyalty, and persistence it takes for people to invest long term in their employer. Look at the situation in reverse. Would you really go work for a company that had a reputation of firing employees regardless of performance at the 18–24 month mark? Many leaders will not consider the resumes of job hoppers and neither will HR. You may not even get considered. Companies want to invest in people that will yield them a return, and 18 months is not long enough to see a return.

When is it ok to job hop?

When given a choice, it’s best to stick it out, so it’s really never ok to job hop as a pattern, but sometimes things happen.

• Serial start-up – If you’re a start-up person and your employers consistently run out of money or get acquired, your resume may look like a job hopper. If the companies are acquired, then what other employers think may not matter because hopefully you’re rich! If your employers always run out of money, start making better choices.
• You made a mistake – Sometimes you end up in a bad job, with a bad boss, or at a lame company. If this happens once in an otherwise impeccable career, it is very

explainable. If it happens multiple times, people will question your judgment and decision making.

• Early in your career – Sometimes people make changes early on in their career. Heck, I did. My first job was 3 months, then 4 years, another 4 years, and then almost 11 years. People understand that new grads sometimes need to figure it out. Just be careful. Once you’re in the working world for a few years, people expect loyalty.

By developing a career plan and making solid choices about the places you go to work, you can create a career path for yourself that builds your value and wealth. Just don’t assume that job hopping will get you there. You cannot hop your way up the corporate ladder. It takes hard work, accomplishments, and some time.

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