Job-hopping works when you show value

by Rebecca Thorman on February 2325 Comments

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Several people were worried what employers would think if they job-hopped, especially in the recession. But really, too many people don’t know how to talk about their experience in a way that shows value and meaningful experience.

Do you know how to translate your experience into value? Are you staying at a job that you’ve grown out of because you’re worried what future employers will think? Are you just scared?

http://personalbrandingblog.com Dan Schawbel

Rebecca, what type of video camera did you use? I knew you wanted to start video blogging and it’s great to see you followed through.

I don’t think a lot of people are willing to job-hop now unless the opportunity presented itself. The reason I say this is because if your employer finds out that you are searching elsewhere, you will get cut. It’s dangerous waters right now. That isn’t to say it’s impossible or a bad decision. I just think you need to be careful.

Good podcast and keep up the great work.
http://modite.com/blog Rebecca Thorman

@ Dan – The video camera is a Flip Mino. Interesting thoughts on the job-hopping – a friend of mine was worried she was going to get fired since she decided to go to grad school… ended up not being the case, but it certainly does seem like people are on edge. Thanks for the encouragement!
http://ryanstephensmarketing.com/blog/ Ryan Stephens

Rebecca,

AWESOME that you’re using a new medium to produce content for Modite. I also want to use video soon, but haven’t decided what I want to go with. People keep telling me my digital camera will do the trick, but I’m not so sure.

With respect to your post, I think your confidence in yourself and your ability to excel at your next job (whatever that is) is tremendous.

I would be willing to be that most people, even confident people, are relatively terrified to even think about job hopping during this recession. I’d love to take this offline and chat with you about it briefly — that is if Ryan lets you talk to ridiculously attractive and charismatic guys also named Ryan. ;-)

And use emoticons. It’s cool trust me. I’m done now.
http://www.intersectedblog.com Jamie

Rebecca – I loved this! It was short and sweet.

I hope you keep posting videos! They are really fun and you seem comfortable in front of the camera. A natural! =)
http://modite.com/blog Rebecca Thorman

@ Ryan – Thanks so much! The logistics for video were much easier than I thought – it’s being in front of the camera that’s difficult. I agree that confidence is essential to getting the job you want. I’m happy to talk to you anytime “offline” – especially because you’re another attractive and charismatic Ryan ; ) I’ll look for you on gchat, or feel free to send an email.

@ Jamie – I appreciate the support, thank you! I think I seem really nervous, which I am, but I know I will get better. The plan is to definitely keep doing video, so I’m thrilled you like them : )
http://thewriterbabeseries.com Raven

Interesting way to layer information in your blog by vlogging. Looks fun.
I think showing value is important whether or not you have job hopped. There are just as many people sitting on their duff at job for several years doing the same thing and adding very little. The same goes for job hoppers – you may be flitting from one (un)productive venture to the next.

Also, maybe I’m missing something, but I always thought the stigma of job hopping was that you got fired a lot (or quit before you got fired). I can understand employers being wary of hiring people with career ADD…but I think that mindset is (reasonably) changing.
http://www.andydrish.com Andy Drish

Rebecca – Loved the video post! I really think that video will be a big thing in 2009.

About job hopping… How often have you switched jobs over your career? I’ve got to think there is a 4-6 month learning curve for what the job entails. (Longer for more complicated industries.) If people only stay at a place for 9-12 months, is it worth the employer’s time to train you on everything?
http://modite.com/blog Rebecca Thorman

@ Raven – Great points concerning showing value no matter what. There are so many people that can’t articulate why they rock and that’s not conducive at all to success. I had no idea about the getting fired bit being associated with job-hopping – I’ve always thought about it more as “career ADD” as you say and I think you’re right that times are a’ changing.

@ Andy – Awesome, I’m so glad you liked it : ). I’m on my fourth job since I graduated in ’05 and have been at my jobs on average twelve to eighteen months. It may take 4-6 months to feel comfortable at a job, but it certainly shouldn’t take 4-6 months to learn what to do.
http://www.ceruleanbill.blogspot.com bill

I suspect people are very, very reluctant to leave any boat, however leaky, even if the captain’s name is Bligh, when there are no other boats nearby — which is how the current job market feels. There are always people who are willing to jump, but most aren’t. To me, the question becomes ‘is there anything that the non-jumpers can do/get/believe that would make them more willing to take that chance?’
http://howardkang.com Howard

Nice! Congrats on your first video. The closer I get to graduation I think I may start by lining up several successive internships to gain experience. My ideal situation would be to find an employer that I feel I could be rooted in and have a mutual investment on both ends. Great that you can capture the interest of employers to be able to job hop!
http://www.mckinneyoatescereal.wordpress.com Marie

Rebecca, the video looks great. I love your positive attitude even during these “dark times”.

It definitely takes a paradigm shift to speak about our career history as simply a time line of jobs we’ve held, and more as a representation of skills we have or results produced.
http://www.smallhandsbigideas.blogspot.com Grace Boyle

I hear this time and time again, people want to stay in their job because they’re worried about future employers thoughts. I can’t help but think the same thing, although I’m not trying to leave my job. What do you say when people worry about this?

I’m a big proponent of taking risks–in life and work. However, I commend your job-hopping because you have taken hold and know what it means to bring value to a company. You’re right, “safety doesn’t create innovation.” By the way, love the video. You’re so cute, video blogging is a great way to really personalize your blog and connect with your readers in a new way.
http://modite.com/blog Rebecca Thorman

@ Bill – Love the analogy and the question. It brings up some great points about how much risk the average person is willing to take and how scary change is. For me the rewards of job-hopping have been tremendous – I love the challenge to translate those rewards so that they can be easily accessible to potential hoppers. Thanks for commenting!

@ Howard – Thanks! When I graduated college, I had an internship that transitioned into a full time job. I thought I would be at that company for years and it would be my dream job. Boy oh boy, how things have changed! The key, I think, is not to be afraid of where the ocean takes you.

@ Marie – Thank you, I appreciate the support! I’m definitely an optimist and hope that we all succeed in the paradigm shift… and soon!

@ Grace – I say that I’ve never had it come up as an issue, and if it did, I would break out my sales skills, because an interview is really all about being a good salesperson. And thanks so much about the comments on the video – I’m glad you liked it – now where’s yours? : )
Sabrina

I’m on Rebecca’s team, I think job-hopping is no longer the big taboo it once was. How long you managed to stay tethered to a position shouldn’t matter, RESULTS matter.

Though I have to say, at first, it was uneasy to count all the jobs I’ve had in the 2 years since I’ve left college (some held at the same time). I felt like I was being irresponsible compared to other friends who managed to stick with 1 employer in the same amount of time. Then I realized two chief flaws with that reasoning: 1) Fuck comparisons. and 2) I managed to pile up way more accomplishments by moving around to more challenging roles than if I had stayed in one place.
http://www.silvanaavinami.com Silvana

Rebecca – your video is short and sweet…It’s a great format to deliver a key message. (BTW short and sweet is the title of yesterday’s post on my blog: http://silvanaavinami.com/?p=655)

Which takes me to another point – to thrive as a job hopper, it’s key to be able to sum up your benefits (not features) as an employee to an employer. Focus on helping the interviewer answer: “what’s in it for me?” as quickly as possible, as clearly as possible, as many times as possible. In short, brand your strengths on their forehead.
The best way is to keep your message short and sweet.

( thanks so much for granting me permission to include my blog’s URL on your blog…)

Stay in touch..and keep on rockin’ with your writing!
http://ihatehr.com Rachel – I Hate HR

I’ve found that job hopping still is taboo. Most of my hiring managers have been only had 1 or 2 jobs in the past 10 years. Every time they see a resume in which someone stayed at series of jobs for 1 or 2 years they get concerned.
http://modite.com/blog Rebecca Thorman

@ Sabrina – Thanks for sharing your story! I love to hear of people who are bucking the status quo. I agree that I’ve been able to accomplish more by being in more places. Although, some people are able to do this in one job, I think the trend is definitely changing.

@ Silvana – Love the interview tips. And I just checked out your “Short and Sweet” post – it’s a great mantra for your career, accomplishments and goals. Very Seth Godin for careers : )

@ Rachel – Do they get concerned because they don’t know any different or because there’s some kind of actual research or experience that shows that it’s a bad idea? I’m a strong believer that the status-quo needs to be broken (welcome, change!) for true productivity and innovation. Thanks for sharing another viewpoint!
http://twitter.com/leslieforman Leslie Forman

I’ve had 6 different jobs since I graduated from college in ’06 (some overlapping) and I really appreciate your advice to demonstrate value in each setting! This has exposed me to many different working styles and I think I have grown a lot through all the variety. I think that the main thing I have learned is that I cannot take vocational stability for granted, and I always need to be meeting new people and learning new skills. I like the videos too!
http://www.mushymish.net Mish

Wow, a brief video but does make sense especially now for me. I’m planning to look for a job related to web development but my current job has nothing to do about it. Have been working for a big shipping line for 4 years but no longer happy because I’d really like to pursue a career on something I’ve always love doing. Thought it was safe staying on a job that offers a lot of benefits for a regular employee but feels like I’ve wasted so much time.

But would take your advice here to consideration so my experience with this job I have right now will not sound like wasted years.

Thanks!
http://tv.factor77.com @MattWilsontv

Hi Rebecca, very cool that you expressed your “job hopping” publicly. A lot of people who think it’s an underhanded thing to do–leave a company for a better opportunity would not be so public about it.

As you know Gen Y is taking a lot of flack for our job hoping. I think it translates into the fact that we are ambitious and aren’t going to sit around in a position that isn’t utilizing our skills to our full potential. If we don’t like what we are doing–guess what–we are finding something we do like doing!
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http://ssylee.wordpress.com Stanley

Nice to “meet” you on Brazen Careerist, although this is the first time we have interacted with each other on the cyberspace. This video is really comforting for someone who is fairly insecure about how long I can stay with a particular organization until parting ways, or what the hiring manager would think about the supposedly job-hops. I also have similar insecurity about a particular city that I’m staying for career reasons. More specifically, I would be ready to relocate at any time for a particular job if required. Basically on top of job-hopping, I think location-hopping (or relocation-hopping) would consume a lot of years of my life too. Do you have any tips of possibly dealing with that? Basically similar to job-hopping when focusing to show value to the potential employer? Do you have any other tips or opinions on top of that?
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