It's time to stop dismissing job hoppers

Career coaches and mentors have often told job seekers that job hopping — staying at a company for less than two years — looks bad on a resume. But it may be time for hiring managers and recruiters to change their tune.

Younger professionals continue to keep their employee tenure low, with Gen Z staying an average of two years and three months at one company and Millennials staying two years and nine months, according to CareerBuilder. On the flip side, Gen X tends to stay as long as five years, and Baby Boomers last an average of eight. While this means the average worker, regardless of age, isn't technically job hopping, Gen Z talent seems to be staying just long enough to avoid raising red flags with potential recruiters who are looking at their job history.

But Dr. Marais Bester, occupational psychologist and senior consultant at people management resource SHL, believes recruiters should get rid of the red flags they have around tenure altogether, and look at job hopping in a new light. 

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"It doesn't necessarily mean that if you didn't stay long with a single organization, you aren't a good employee," says Dr. Bester. "Maybe there's something associated with your personality where you are open to new experiences, or you are really driven as an individual, so you want to grow, and the previous organization didn't allow you to learn as much as you would like to."

Dr. Bester acknowledges the fear hiring managers and recruiters have about job hoppers: that those workers lack loyalty or motivation to commit to an organization's mission. However, Dr. Bester points out that retention doesn't fully fall on the employee's shoulders. From a lack of competitive pay or benefits to a lack of growth opportunities, there are valid reasons for employees to seek out other employers — reasons that can be assessed during the interview process. 

Dr. Bester advises recruiters to decenter tenure from their vetting process and instead focus on whether a candidate has the necessary skills, experience and drive to learn what will make them successful in the next two years at the company. 

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"Bringing someone into an organization with short-term experiences has its own benefits," says Dr. Bester. "They can bring the insights and lessons they learned from various experiences into your organization. Even if they don't stay a long time, you will benefit from that additional knowledge."  

As for job seekers who may be asked to defend their short-term stays with previous employers, Dr. Bester recommends focusing on development and growth in their answers.

"Maybe you reached the ceiling with your organization on what you wanted to learn, and this next opportunity aligns with your learning objectives," she says. "In other words, you achieved what you wanted at your previous organization, and in order to remain employable — [prepared] for the next opportunity or project — you're looking forward."

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While many organizations will continue to value long-tenured employees, it doesn't mean that short-term employees can't benefit their company, emphasizes Dr. Bester. She reminds employers that their company may have projects or goals that are short-term in nature — if a candidate has the right skills to tackle it, their job hopping shouldn't matter. If employers want to retain top talent for longer, consider what opportunities would entice high-performers to stay. 

"Don't read too much into tenure," she says. "Rather, focus on the key skills your organization will need for a specific role or project."