He’s a job-hopper! A journeyman! These used to be stigmas, but that’s starting to change. Our economy that never seems to sleep no longer likes the idea of someone staying in the same chair for more than about 3 years. In fact, many tech companies following Google’s lead, and make employees shift into new areas every two or three years. The idea being to hire smart/adaptable people and keep them constantly curious and engaged. Never stagnant. And just about every industry now is following tech’s lead. Disrupting the old system.

What does this mean for my resume?

It means that companies might not rule you out as quickly if you seem to have bounced around a bit. Always be prepared to explain why you’ve moved around and how the trajectory has shaped you into the perfect candidate. But don’t sweat the stigma too much and don’t stay in a position where you’re not happy just to avoid the stigma. The stigma has moved on.

What does this mean for companies?

What about all that money it costs to train people? Well there’s still that. If the learning curve of the position is much steeper, then losing people after three years could hurt the effort. But in terms of employee productivity, when the learning curve plateaus, you’ll likely see a dip. Motivation can head south and fatigue set in. It gets to the point where it’s time for a change.

Skillsets can be learned, but enthusiasm has to be generated. And this enthusiasm fuels productivity or so goes the thinking today. Capitalism demands the free flow of goods and services to where they are needed, and the flow of talent has never been more free or moved so quickly. For workers, that means the chairs have to shift around with greater speed.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.