How Job-Hopping Could Actually Help Advance Your Career
Since graduating from undergrad almost five years ago, I have had classmates that have switched jobs at least three times. Changing jobs every year or every few years is the norm now. While job hopping used to look really bad on a resume, career experts are entertaining the idea that it isn't as bad as it seems.
As Millennials are rising in the workplace and are craving immediate gratification, development, and advancement, the idea of staying with the same company for years until retirement is pretty obsolete.
Older generations have argued that staying in a job for less than a couple of years showed disloyalty or a lack of commitment. While personally I have never been eager to job hop (the job hunt isn't fun), after reading the quotes from the career experts below, I began to think otherwise.
Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer for Netflix says job hopping isn't a bad thing and employees should consider doing so every three to four years. "I think that the most important, critical change in people's mental outlook is to view employees as smart contributors from the beginning," says McCord.
In a Fast Company article, Vivian Gang argues that job hoppers get paid more and are more loyal: “Workers who stay with a company longer than two years are said to get paid 50% less, and job hoppers are believed to have a higher learning curve, be higher performers, and even to be more loyal, because they care about making a good impression in the short amount of time they know they'll stay with each employer."
Penelope Trunk, entrepreneur and writer said in an interview, “I've read a lot of research about what makes a good employee and people used to think that the longer you kept an employee, the more worth they are to you, because you train them and they get used to their job and then they do it. But, in fact, an employee who stays on the job and isn't learning at a really high rate is not as engaged, so they're not doing as good work. So it turns out, the employee who stays longest, you get the least work out of, and the employees that job hunt are the most receptive of becoming extremely useful, very fast."
Before you jump on the bandwagon of anti-job hoppers and preach that they are not loyal, can't keep a job, or get along with team members, consider the benefits below of job hoppers.
1. It's an opportunity to network and meet new people.
It's not what you know, it's who you know. We have all heard this saying and I honestly believe that it has some truths in it. When you are looking for a new opportunity or need assistance from someone, often the people in your network are able to help (or know someone that can).
If done tastefully, job hopping can help you achieve a powerful network. If you decide to leave your job, be sure to keep a healthy and balanced relationship with those people. Take advantage of your powerful network and nurture those relationships.
2. It's an opportunity to renegotiate your salary.
Job hopping can also get you the salary increase that you have been wanting. At most companies, the salary increase percentage is pretty low so even if you are at a job for years and have done an amazing job, your pay will probably not jump as high as you would like.
When you are interviewing for a job, you can easily communicate your salary demands and if they want you, chances are they will pay you that if not more. Every time you switch jobs, there is a new opportunity to re-negotiate your salary, sometimes even doubling what you make at your current employer.
3. It provides you with diverse experience.
If you job hop between different industries or companies, your skill set and experience will become more diverse and you will be more marketable. Someone who has a diverse background will often be very attractive to hire because they can bring new ideas and a fresh perspective.
4. It's an opportunity to figure out what's best for you.
When you job-hop, you experience different people and companies and you are able to figure out what you like versus what you don't like. You are able to learn different management styles and figure out what you like in a company. If you are a budding entrepreneur, this is valuable knowledge and experience. Even if you are not an aspiring business owner, it is still important just in case you ever did want to settle down with a company longer than usual.
What are your thoughts on job hopping? Drop a comment below and let us know!
Featured image by Shutterstock
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- Why Job Hopping Is Losing Its Negative Stigma ›
Brittani Hunter is a proud PVAMU alumni and the founder of The Mogul Millennial, a business and career platform for Black Millennials. Meet Brittani on Twitter and on the Gram at @BrittaniLHunter and @mogulmillennial.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Why We'll Probably Never Hear Lupita Nyong'o Share Her Relationship With The World
Lupita Nyong'o is sharing a transparent look into her life after a recent breakup.
In a cover story for NET-A-PORTER, the A Quiet Place: Day One star shed light on the significant heartbreak she experienced following the end of her relationship with ex-boyfriend and TV host, Selema Masekela.
As a public figure, Nyong'o, 39, sought to divulge the news of the breakup in hopes of presenting a more authentic perspective on the pain that follows a separation.
"I was living in a lot of pain and heartbreak," she told the publication. "I looked at the environment of my social media and thought I don’t want to be a part of this illusion that everything is always coming up roses. Surely there is a lesson for me to learn in this, and I just want to be real about it."
The Black Panther star went on to explain that her choice to be transparent with her fans about her breakup came from the certainty she felt after ending the relationship. “In my mind, when I shared my relationship status with the world, it was because I felt sure about it,” she said.
While she didn’t know how the news would land with her fans, she found relief in knowing she wasn’t alone in her experience.
“I knew how it could be interpreted; I knew it would have a life of its own,” she reflects. “But then I started to see the comments and people were being so loving and supportive. The ones that moved me the most were other people sharing their pain and their heartbreak.”
Nyong'o and Masekela went Instagram official in December 2022, publicly announcing their relationship in a couple's video. In October 2023, Nyong'o took to her personal Instagram account to share the news of her breakup in her caption, writing, "At this moment, it is necessary for me to share a personal truth and publicly dissociate myself from someone I can no longer trust.”
She continued the vulnerable note, "I find myself in a season of heartbreak because of a love suddenly and devastatingly extinguished by deception. I am tempted to run into the shadows and hide, only to return to the light when I have regained my strength enough for me to say, 'Whatever, my life is better this way.' But I am reminded that the magnitude of the pain I am feeling is equal to the measure of my capacity for love."
These days, Nyong'o tells NET-A-PORTER that she is prioritizing profound self-discovery that extends beyond her career. She notes having a deliberate and unhurried approach to understanding herself.
She also alludes to keeping her relationships private moving forward after noting it was "very, very sage" of her not to talk about her private life professionally in the days before her last relationship. "I'm going back to those days by the way," Nyong'o shares of her reinstated boundaries around her personal life.
Earlier this month, Nyong'o made headlines alongside her new boyfriend actor Joshua Jackson. Nyong'o and Jackson went through public splits from their respective SOs in October 2023, with the latter splitting from his long-time partner Jodie Turner-Smith following her divorce filing from the Dawson's Creek alum.
The pair have been spotted together as early as December 2023, but nothing screamed "couple" quite as loudly as their recent getaway to Mexico for Nyong'o's 41st birthday featuring passionate displays of affection.
"Our purpose in life is to love. And so you have to get back in it," she tells the outlet, seemingly alluding to her budding new romance.
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Featured image by Taylor Hill/Getty Images