Most of us have met someone who frequently switches jobs over a relatively short period of time. Evidence would suggest that such behavior seems to be more prevalent among millennials. According to a 2016 Deloitte study, 2 out of 3 Filipino millennials are likely to have left their employer by their fourth year. But job hoppers can be found in any demographic, not only among those within the millennial bracket.
Regardless of which demographic they belong to, it’s a wonder they still get jobs, unless one considers the reality that sometimes employers are desperately in need of certain skills that they’re willing to hire job hoppers that possess those skills.
Apart from that, today’s recruiters have an understandable fear of considering job hoppers as serious candidates. They’re a nightmare for anyone trying to minimize attrition rates. And it’s not really that often that the company has difficulty finding the people they need that they’re willing to give job hoppers a chance.
But hiring such people doesn’t have to be driven by desperation. And the fear of them doesn’t have to exist, in certain scenarios. The truth is, job hoppers possess specific qualities that can make them valuable members of any organization: (1) they’re realistic when dealing with their expectations of the company, and (2) they will not settle for less than their goals.
Job hoppers are realistic. They know and accept that on their own, they are unlikely to change the way things are done. They acknowledge their incapability to make the company conform to their exact preferences. Some may see this as being defeatist, but it must be noted that job hoppers with this attitude are more considerate of the way that the current company culture may already be a perfect fit for everyone. If they insist on having things changed, everyone else could be affected. Rather than causing such a significant disturbance, they just choose to remove themselves from the equation. They know that there are other organizations with cultures that will suit them.
Job hoppers also know what they want, and will not settle for anything less. They have clear ideas of what they want to achieve, and will not compromise them in favor of an employer’s objectives. While this is a guarantee that a job hopper will leave a company they disagree with at some point, this also indicates that such an individual will stay with a company whose goals are aligned with their own. The intensity with which they want to pursue their goals is what drives them to not waste time with employers who don’t have the same motivations, and to remain loyal to companies that have the same vision and mission.
So how do you take advantage of these qualities? Certainly, these kinds of job hoppers are best employed by organizations whose cultures and objectives are compatible with theirs. Identifying the goals and motivations of a job hopper will require diligent screening. Try to really understand where the candidate is coming from. It’s a process that will likely yield few viable candidates in terms of retention, but every once in a while there will be some who match the qualifications of the vacant position and the company’s culture and goals. Those are keepers, because the very things that would cause them to worsen attrition in other companies are also the same things that will make them loyal to you.
So before you toss a job hopper’s resumé into the shredder, remember: you may just be the organization she or he is looking for. Don’t waste whatever she or he can bring to the table.