CCG Strategies Q&A Blog: To-the-Point Answers to Common Leadership and Management Consulting Questions
Is Job Hopping Bad?
It's a common question that many business professionals ask.
We're going to answer in less than 30 seconds.
Short Answer: Job Hopping is perfectly acceptable. It's the only way to grow your salary faster than inflation or year-end salary increases. As you evolve your skills, move into positions that match your evolution.
Long Answer: Job Hopping used to be "bad". Employers saw a "job hopper" as an unreliable employee who wouldn't stick with the company through its stretch goals.
Today, job hopping is the only way to make more money at the same rate as the economy or better.
Current research indicates that professionals who move jobs every 2-3 years will outearn their counterparts drastically. A recent study by the Pew Research Center shares that 60% of professionals who changed jobs reported a salary increase.
The only way to survive this economic climate is to collect valuable skills and leverage those skills for better-paying jobs.
Even accepting a lateral job offer at an external firm will yield a higher salary. The most recent ADP study found that employees who stayed at their current jobs typically received a 5.3% pay increase. However, when employees switched jobs, they were likely to receive a 9% salary increase.
If you want to make more money, you will need to be willing to make job movements.