Everybody wants to hire a superstar to join their team. Nobody wants to hire a “job hopper,” so to speak, but everybody wants a superstar to “hop” from another company to theirs.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to why companies should NOT automatically reject what they consider to be “job hoppers.”
The fact of the matter is that times have changed—and so have hiring conditions. These days, the reason a superstar “hops” from job to job might be the fact they love a challenge and they get easily bored. When that’s the case, and they’re no longer engaged in their position, they look elsewhere for greener (and more challenging) pastures.
The days of working your entire career at one company and retiring with a gold watch are long gone. That’s just not the reality of the marketplace any longer.
Why might you want to hire somebody you would have otherwise rejected as being a “job hopper”?
- As mentioned above, they love a challenge, which means they’ll love whatever challenge you give to them.
- If they challenge themselves, chances are good that they’ll also challenge their co-workers and colleagues and help push them to greater heights of achievement.
- They won’t get “comfortable,” like some long-tenured employees are apt to do. Instead, they’re constantly moving forward in their quest for more challenges.
- You can consider hiring the person on a contract basis first, and then decide whether or not you’d like to bring them onboard as a direct-hire employee.
As an employer, what should you do when you come across candidates you might consider to be “job hoppers”?
- If they possess all the skills that you desire, don’t automatically reject them due to their tendency to change jobs.
- Give them a chance to explain their track record of “job hopping.”
- Ask if they would be open to working on a contract basis.
Don’t dismiss a “job hopper” without first determining whether or not they could help you. You never know . . . they could turn out to be your next great superstar employee!