How Job-Hopping Can Actually Help Your Career - The Muse

How Job-Hopping Can Actually Help Your Career - The MuseHow Job-Hopping Can Actually Help Your CareerRemember when changing jobs every couple of years was viewed as problematic? How would you explain having three roles at three different companies in a span of seven or eight years? How would you address the unstable nature of your job history?Fortunately, thats no longer a concern among an increasing number of hiring managers. Unlike your Baby Boomer parents, most of whom probably went to school, obtained a degree, and worked in the same field for the duration of their career, youre far mora likely to scope out a few jobs- if not careers- in your lifetime. In an article for Fast Company, Vivian Giang brings up a point that makes the case for moving around even stronger 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 abou t making a good impression in the short amount of time they know theyll stay with each employer.Patty McCord, a coach who advises companies on leadership and culture, speaks to this learning curve and notes that it exists, in part, because critical change in peoples mental outlook is to view employees as smart contributors from the beginning. For employees who are doing the hopping, that means getting with the program as quickly as possible and making a mark as early as its feasible.And, in a surprising twist, entrepreneur Penelope Trunk believes that with frequent job changes comes stability. This is because if you never have to look for a job, then you dont develop the skills to move on quickly and efficiently and are instead stuck being too dependent on the one employer you know.Still, the term job-hopper carries with a negative connotation and does suggest a certain inability to stick with something, even if thats far from the truth. Career-builder, on the other hand, indicates that your movement has to do with your own quest for learning and knowledge, so its a phrase you should start incorporating into your professional tale. As long as youre making a strong impression, helping the companys bottom line, and not burning any bridges on your way out the door, you can comfortably keep adding jobs to your budding resume with impunity.Photo of man in an interview courtesy of Shutterstock.