Large Minority of Employers Expect Job Hopping, Finds CareerBuilder

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bar graph with magnifying glassAccording to a new study from CareerBuilder, 55 percent of employers said that they have hired a job-hopper while 32 percent of all employers said they expect workers to job hop. The survey was composed of a representative sample of 2,138 hiring managers and HR professionals and 3,022 full-time, private sector workers across industries and company sizes.

“More workers are pursuing opportunities with various companies to expose themselves to a wider range of experiences, build their skill sets, or take a step up the ladder in pay or title,” said Rosemary Haefner, vice president of Human Resources at CareerBuilder. “While building up a wealth of experience is a good thing, make sure that you’re staying with a company long enough to make an impact and provide a return on the investment they’ve made in you. Employers may be more understanding of job-hopping today, but most employers are still more likely to hire the candidate who has a pattern of longer tenure with organizations.”

The survey found that, by the age of 35, one-quarter of workers have held at least five jobs, while 20 percent of workers aged 55 and older have held at least 10 jobs. Employers are showing more acceptance of job hoppers but still have variable expectations based on the age of a given candidate. More than 40 percent of employers said that job-hopping is less acceptable after the mid-30s and 28 percent found is less acceptable after the age of 40.

There is a higher expectation of job hopping among younger workers trying to settle into their long-term career. Nearly half of employers expect new college graduates to stay with their organization for no more than two years. Just over one-quarter of employers expect new college grads to stay for at least five years. The information technology industry has the largest percentage of employers (42 percent) expecting workers to job hop. The remainder of the top five industries in this category includes leisure & hospitality (41 percent), transportation (37 percent), retail (36 percent), and manufacturing (32 percent).

By Joshua Bjerke