Three Irreplaceable Strengths You May Not Realize About “Job Hoppers” - And Why We Need to De-stigmatize that Label

I’ve faced it. Many of the smartest, most dedicated workers I know have faced it. And I know people who will face it soon enough. It’s time we get real about why we’re so quick to dismiss resumes that relay irreplaceable talent due to short tenures, and take time to understand the value that each candidate brings to the table – often learning some of the most difficult lessons, overcoming incredible challenges, and accelerating their personal and career growth during big times of transition.

As a Millennial (those born between 1977 to 1997), I’ve had the “average” 4-year tenure and quite a wonderful employment experience within that, I’ve fallen in the middle with 2-year tenures, and then powered my way through a series of “shorter” tenures of one year or less.

According to Forbes, “Talent acquisition managers… make a valid case for their wariness of resumes filled with 1-2-year stints. They question such applicants' motivation, skill level, engagement on the-job and ability to get along with other colleagues.” What research hasn’t looked at is the reasoning behind abrupt departures – whether it be to pursue a new opportunity to grow a different skill set, take time to care for a sick family member, economic layoffs, and the list goes on.

After a decade of employment, does it make hiring managers who aren’t as intimately familiar with our work rather skeptical about our capabilities? Sure, and that’s understandable. But with brevity and honesty (a quality that we should always, always respectfully honor), there’s nothing more valuable to your time and the hiring manager’s time to address it and move on to how you are uniquely qualified to help the organization, their clients and teams solve real challenges.

Here are Three Reasons why Genuine “Job Hoppers” Have the Most Potential:

1)     We’ve learned trial by fire at an accelerated pace: What may take 5, 10, 15 years to experience and fight through, we’ve been faced with situations that struck the match sooner than expected. Yes, we have 5, 10, and 15 more years in our careers to learn so much more: and are eager to do so with the strong mentorship and guidance of today’s leaders. But our backbones are stronger than they appear. Should we sense trouble at an organization or with a business, we also are not going to jump ship because we’re afraid – fear is no longer an emotion that owns us. We stick through it all until the bitter end. And we've also learned very quickly from strong, intelligent mentors who have taken us under their wing: and we're even more grateful for those with decades more of experience.

2)     We’re nimble, adaptable, and think more quickly on our feet: In my industry, the way we do communications for our healthcare clients is not what it was last year, or even two years before that. Enter the rapidly-evolving political climate, fractured healthcare pricing and trust system, and your company is going to need leaders who have jumped into each new opportunity head-first from day one. There’s no longer a grace period for new employees – especially senior hires, like myself at the VP level. We get the industry, we’re quick to respond with insightful POVs and adapt to changing personality and working dynamics because we have had no other choice but to learn (by example, and by doing). And in doing so, we've become more attuned to the needs of our clients and are able to better set them up for success.

3)     We bring humanity back to the workplace and uphold our vows to be advocates to our team: Somewhere along the way, the road to humanity hit an earthquake. Budgets and numbers and the bottom line and the final “hitting send” became the priority in some instances. We see that, because we’ve cycled through as many companies as needed to see that the truest, strongest value lies in one concept: people before profit, and people before anything else. We take that to heart. We fight for our teams, we stand by them when things get rough, and we do everything right by them. They are human beings, just as we are – and we can’t think of anything worse than a group of demotivated, unhappy and needlessly frazzled team members. From a bottom line standpoint, productive and fulfilled team members who truly connect to the passion of our clients’ work and our industry, and do so with our mentorship, are the ones who will help us retain and grow the work that makes us wake up and say, “Today, I’m excited about going into the office.”

There you have it. We are of course all entitled to uphold our own beliefs, though as someone who has also made hiring decisions, my hope is that we can see the value in accelerated learning for those who truly embody that.

Because, your home could be their next long-term home: and you could end up making one of the best hiring decisions of your tenure.