37% Of Recruiters Say Job Hopping Is A Red Flag In 2024—But Is It?

We all know the quickest way to get a raise is job hopping. But experts don’t agree on the benefits of jumping from one job to another. The younger Gen Zers have no qualms with job hopping if they believe their health and wellness needs are not met. In April of this year, I wrote for Forbes.com that some experts believe job hopping can be a powerful career move when conducted in a strategic way. But a recent study concludes that hiring managers say job hopping is a red flag.

Job Hopping As A Red Flag

According to a recent LinkedIn survey of 1,024 hiring managers, 54% say they want candidates who are committed to learning and upskilling. Almost half (48%) report that they give extra consideration to candidates who can start as soon as possible and 40% to candidates who are willing to work in the office full time.

The study also found that there are aspects on resumes that are off-putting for hiring managers as well. More than a third (37%) say that noticing a candidate has frequently changed jobs might be a deal breaker for them. Hiring managers seem to interpret that job hopping opposes all the positive things they look for in a job candidate: commitment to learning and upskilling. Plus, 34% see a work history that lacks direction might cause them to pause before moving forward.

Gallup cites that 48% of U.S. employees are seeking new roles. And job-hopping has become a defining feature of modern career paths, according to Resume Genius career expert, Eva Chan. Although job transitions can help fast-track your career, when conducted mindlessly without careful consideration, they can become red flags.

Strategic And Mindful Job Hopping

But there’s another side to this story. Traditionally, millions of American workers have stayed in dead-end careers and jobs they hate, partly because their job security was on shaky ground. Another reason is that recruiters in the past discouraged workers from job-hopping because it was looked upon as unstable and irresponsible.

Not to mention that the stress of job hunting often leads to additional mental health stressors for applicants. But as layoffs increase and workplace worry and anxiety reach an all-time high, more job hunters are finding that taking the leap can be more rewarding than staying neatly tucked inside their comfort zones.

When conducted in a strategic way, Chan insists that job-hopping can be a benefit for job seekers.“Job-hopping, when done right, can be a powerhouse move for your career,” she told me by email. “Opt for strategic job changes that enhance your career path, not just your next paycheck. This foresight prevents future setbacks and ensures that each move contributes to your long-term success.”

If you have a resume that reflects jumping from job to job, it doesn’t have to doom your chances to land the job. There are ways to make your job hopping experiences work for you, instead of against you and to show recruiters and hiring managers you’re still right for the role.

Chan cites five key strategies for purposeful and mindful job hopping:

1- Conduct a career assessment.

2- Strategically time your job transitions.

3- Be tactful when framing your job-hopping experiences.

4- Highlight your adaptability to employers.

5- Take note of how different companies view job-hopping.

And Chan isn’t alone in her assessment. Once in the job interview, everything rides on how you frame your job hopping—similar to how you would display a career break on your resume. It’s all about the “why,” according to LinkedIn career expert Drew McCaskill, who advises that you be prepared to give the recruiter your “why” to explain the reasons for a scattered resume.

If you’ve jumped around between industries or had short stints at some roles, McCaskill suggests that you not apologize but instead say, “Here’s what I got from each one of those experiences that makes me really good for this role now,” adding that you should “explain it like it’s an asset.”

Dr. Marais Bester, senior consultant at SHL, agrees that job hopping is the best way to diversify your skillset and protect your employability. “Job-hopping is on the rise as professionals seek new skills and opportunities to get ahead in their careers, but organizations risk missing top talent by focusing too much on highly specialized or technical skills and experience on CVs,” he observes. “Our research shows that assessing candidates on durable, behavioral skills—including critical thinking, collaboration and adaptability—more accurately predicts an individual’s performance and potential at work.”

Bester believes that professionals are job-hopping to gain new learning experiences and to protect their employability in a fast-changing market. He contends that to stay competitive, employers need to shift towards a skills-first approach by hiring for behavioral skills to expand talent pools and maturing their careers strategy through targeting development programs.

“For many employees, learning skills can be a quick experience, further developing themselves for their next role,” Bester concludes. “In many instances, employees can only advance in their career by job hopping and they shouldn’t be turned away for that.”