Known job hoppers may not be as fickle in future jobs

The days of employees working for the same company for 30 years are well in the past, as the American workforce appears more mobile than ever before. The explosion of small businesses has provided consumers with boundless opportunities, while technological advancements have exposed workers to many of these openings. Is it possible, though, that this abundance of opportunities has created disloyal workers who are unlikely to be hired by new businesses?

This phenomenon of “job-hopping” is a relatively new trend brought on by the aforementioned issues, in addition to workers from Generation Y who have been shown to be quite willing to switch jobs if their expectations are not met.

Many business writers have cautioned that workers avoid this temptation, including Forbes contributor Chrissy Scivicque, who referred to the resumes of job hoppers as “scattered, incoherent mess[es].” In a piece written for CNN last January, contributor Dan Schawbel said that his lateral moves at EMC Corporation were ultimately more beneficial than job-hopping would have been.

“I gathered new skills, expanded my network and got a better sense of the company based on my experiences,” Schawbel said. “More importantly, I learned a lot about myself in the process. If I had jumped to three different companies during that time frame, I would have had to rebuild my network, visibility and go through months of additional training for each job.”

Hiring managers generally avoid these job hoppers because of the perceived likelihood that they will switch jobs again, leading to costly turnover. But, a new study released this week by Evolv suggests that the number of jobs, including short-term assignments, that a worker has had in any five-year period is in no way indicative of how long they will stay with different companies in the future.

Businesses decision makers may take this study to heart and adjust their hiring processes accordingly or they may simply rely on professional job search firms when recruiting accountants, managers and other financial professionals.