In just 5 years as an adult, gainfully employedprofessional, I've worked for four different employers.According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, the average tenure for an American at any given jobis just under four and a half years. I fall a bit below thataverage—in fact, just as I hit the 3-year mark in my last position(an apparent lifetime through my personal career lenses), I leftfor a new opportunity.

But I don't consider myself a job hopper.

When faced with my resume, I'm sometimes accused of having acase of career ADD (though in my defense, all of my hops were the directresult of a move). It's when I share the story of my brother thatI'm usually left alone on this point.

My baby brother (who really is no longer much of a baby now thatI think of it), has me beat by a long shot. In just under 3years, he's worked for eight different employers. Eight! That worksout to be a job change every four months.

Now he's a job hopper.

Millenials at issue
A lot of bloggers andjournalists ask “What's wrong with Generation Y? Why the job hopping?” There are dozensof conjectures as to whywe doit. We're entitled, we were coddled as children, we have nopatience, etc.

I'll be the first to admit it—yes, we are the generation of atrophy for everyone, win or lose, and not keeping score at littleleague. Yes, we are a generation not used to disappointment ordirect criticism, and whose parents often overindulged us.

But it's unfair to accuse Millenials of being the “problemchild” generation when it comes to employment staying power.According to PenelopeTrunk, job hoppers make some of the best employees. Others are much less optimistic. Still, others say that it's not a problem specific to Generation Y.

Yes, it is all about me
Not the words of abratty twenty-something. But rather, the words of a youngprofessional building her skill set and network. Saying “it's allabout me” doesn't reflect someone who is anti-teamwork or opposedto collaboration. In fact, it's quite the opposite—Generation Ydepends heavily on developing a personal brand through theirnetwork and enhancing their skill set through new and differentopportunities.

We don't live in the world of the gold Rolex anymore, wherecompany loyalty was a given. As Ms. Trunk so eloquently puts it:

But what else is there to do? Work atIBM until you get a gold watch? There are no more jobs likethat–companies are under too much pressure to be lean and flexible(read: layoffs, downsizing, reorgs), so workers have to be, too(read: constantly on the alert for new job possibilities).

A changed job market and precarious economy has forced employeesto continually look out for their best interests. And this includesseeking out opportunities that best suit an individual's skills andinterests.

Attention Gen Y: Stop whining
That doesn'tthat Gen Y employees have a carte blanche to move arbitrarily to anew position the first time they become dissatisfied with theirjobs. One of my biggest gripes is with friends who insist that theyare somehow being undervalued at work and not being paidappropriately for what they do, after being with a company for justa few months. There is a lot of worth in paying your dues. Considerthe take of JasonCalacanis, whose scathing review of Gen Y employees drew muchire:

Trading massive advancement to popyour salary is a career move I could never understand. Back in theday when I was employable I would never have made that tradeoff–instead I cultivated my network. Nothing puts me on tilt liketalented young people trading long-term rewards and careerdevelopment for short-term greed and negative expectations.

There's a 1-year learning curve with any job, so unless youstick it out for 12 months, you're constantly restarting at thesame level, and not gaining any real experience. One of mycolleagues phrased it well: “Is that someone with five years ofexperience or one year of experience five times?”

Job hopping is a reality in today's economy. It affects everyindustry in some way. Heck, even LeBron James did it. And while there are some clear negativesto such behavior, there are also benefits worth considering. In the end, it's unfair to condemnan entire generation of employees on the merits of some largertrend that's occurring. Better to consider each individual, oneresume at a time.

Read Melissa's previous nGInsight blogs, “Get Gen Y to consider an insurance career.” and “The myth of the big bad insurance industry