Job-hoppers guide
Four or five years ago, a CV showing a lot of movement would set off alarm bells with most recruiters. Why was this woman only in her last job for two years? And the previous job for only three? Sounds like a troublemaker...
These days in some sectors you'd have to have been in a job less than two months to alarm a recruiter. There are still professions where longevity is rewarded - in law, for example, or if you're an academic. But increasingly it's trendy to job hop in certain fields. What's going on? The national skills shortage, increased demand for workers in specific fields such as IT and new media and the rapid decline in the traditional job for life are making it difficult for anyone to make a long-term commitment to one company.
A 1999 survey by the Institute of Personnel Development of over 700 organisations, with a combined workforce of 1.2 million employees states that the employee turnover rate is about 20 per cent; and that of employees that left the organisations almost a quarter did so in under six months.
If you find yourself working in a booming sector with skills that are in demand at the moment, the secret is working out how and when to jump with grace. Here are a few pointers:
1. Look before you leap. Good reasons for leaving a job include a higher salary (at least 15 per cent), an easier journey into work, flexible working hours and possibly stock options. Bad reasons for leaving include peer pressure ('What, you're still working there?'), seduction (the potential employer who paints too rosy a picture) and an addiction to the adrenaline rush that comes with starting a new job.
2. Stay in your job until recruited. Although it's a terrific idea to use the time between jobs for travel, study or personal development, any person looking to job-hop quickly up the ranks needs to be permanently employed. Companies steal workers from other companies because they perceive that the employee is valuable and believe they will be taking on a big asset. If you're unemployed at the time, you're much less likely to be wooed.
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