Are You Afraid to Hire a Job Hopper?

Job Hoppers have a notoriously bad reputation. According to CareerBuilder.com, 43% of employers won’t consider hiring people who change jobs often. In my experience as a recruiter, this accurately reflects the opinion of my clients. Yet, what if we are looking at this the wrong way? What if some job hoppers bring value to your company?

Dr. John Sullivan, an internationally known HR thought-leader from Silicon Valley, provides rational reasons that advocate hiring Hoppers in his article, “Hiring Job Hoppers: 10 Reasons Why They Are So Very Valuable.” The #1 reason is that Job Hoppers are likely to be top performers. His analogy is, “Would you rather hire LeBron James for one year or Homer Simpson for 4 years?” Nearly 50 percent of top performing 30 year old workers with great school and work credentials stay at their next firm just over two years while the average hire stays 4.6 years.

Here are a few other reasons you should reconsider hiring Job Hoppers. They:

1. Bring best practices and knowledge of your competitors.
2. Adapt quickly, learn rapidly and build relationships fast.
3. Apply a broader job functional perspective.
4. May be easier to recruit.
5. Represent next generation of talent

The reality is that 91 percent of Millennials expect to stay in a job for less than three years, according to FutureWorkplace.com. While most employers value loyalty, employees value learning and having new experiences which makes them more valuable in the work place.

Let’s face it. There are some jobs that are just not exciting or don’t provide learning opportunities which creates a conundrum for employers. And, many companies are too small to provide career growth opportunities. If you are caught in one of these situations, consider developing training programs that can fast track new hires. A “planned” turnover strategy will allow you to hire top performers, one right after the other, without your organization missing beat.

In a nutshell, short-term excellence may be better than long-term mediocrity. If you would like to learn more about the pros and cons of hiring Job Hoppers, give us a call at 317-578-1310.