Are you a ‘job hopper’ ? The term is used to describe someone who has had a large number of roles in a short space of time. But starting with the term, being very honest, it is nearly always used in a derogatory way, a slur of sorts and many a CV is tossed in the bin simply by hirers looking at the number of roles someone has had.
Is that fair and if you are concerned that you might be perceived that way, what can you do about it?
It is fair to say that for quite some time now the ‘job for life’ analogy just does not exist. The idea of joining one firm and ‘climbing the ladder’ until you get your gold watch just does not appeal to those joining the workplace now. And from a business point of view, you want employees who have rich experience in different environments who can bring new ideas, so variety and diversity is something to be promoted. So why the slur?
I think it is more so used when looking at a potential employee who has had similar roles and never ‘stuck’ with it, has moved at the first sign of adversity or has not passed probation. But most of the time, the reader is assuming that. It could be that the candidate was a carer or a parent, or someone who travelled with their partners work (could be in the armed forces for example) and whose circumstances regularly changed but now has a fixed address. Whatever the reason, it is always best to check and we would challenge employers to not automatically default to seeing someone who has multiple experiences in a negative light.
And what if you think you are being labelled as a ‘job hopper’? I think the main thing you can do is explain on your CV some of the reasons for moving roles. For example, if redundancy then say it. If it was a fixed term contract then fine, but explicitly put this down on your CV. If you moved address, you are allowed to, but make it clear. That way it gives the reader the facts rather than them making up your life story for themselves.
If you would like to hear more on the subject, please do listen to my latest bitesize podcast on this subject, as part of the Working in Mortgages group. You can listen to it at https://workinginmortgages.org.uk/media-centre/#recruitment