nGInsights: So What If I'm a Job Hopper?

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

But I don't consider myself a job hopper.

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

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

Now he's a job hopper.

Millenials at issue
A lot of bloggers and journalists ask “What's wrong with Generation Y? Why the job hopping?” There are dozens of conjectures as to why we do it. We're entitled, we were coddled as children, we have no patience, etc.

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

But it's unfair to accuse Millenials of being the “problem child” generation when it comes to employment staying power. According to Penelope Trunk, 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 a bratty twenty-something. But rather, the words of a young professional building her skill set and network. Saying “it's all about me” doesn't reflect someone who is anti-teamwork or opposed to collaboration. In fact, it's quite the opposite—Generation Y depends heavily on developing a personal brand through their network and enhancing their skill set through new and different opportunities.

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

But what else is there to do? Work at IBM until you get a gold watch? There are no more jobs like that–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 employees to continually look out for their best interests. And this includes seeking out opportunities that best suit an individual's skills and interests.

Attention Gen Y: Stop whining
That doesn't that Gen Y employees have a carte blanche to move arbitrarily to a new position the first time they become dissatisfied with their jobs. One of my biggest gripes is with friends who insist that they are somehow being undervalued at work and not being paid appropriately for what they do, after being with a company for just a few months. There is a lot of worth in paying your dues. Consider the take of Jason Calacanis, whose scathing review of Gen Y employees drew much ire:

Trading massive advancement to pop your salary is a career move I could never understand. Back in the day when I was employable I would never have made that trade off–instead I cultivated my network. Nothing puts me on tilt like talented young people trading long-term rewards and career development for short-term greed and negative expectations.

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

Job hopping is a reality in today's economy. It affects every industry in some way. Heck, even LeBron James did it. And while there are some clear negatives to such behavior, there are also benefits worth considering. In the end, it's unfair to condemn an entire generation of employees on the merits of some larger trend that's occurring. Better to consider each individual, one resume 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