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Times are rapidly changing and people seem to be changing alongside the times. It’s not a new thing these days that people hardly maintain their jobs for a long period of time, unlike two decades ago when people stayed as long as 30 years in a particular job and company. Changing jobs frequently which is called Job hopping has been a recent trend. People have many reasons why they choose to change jobs from skill acquisition to monetary reasons, whichever be the case, changing jobs frequently has its advantages and disadvantages.

 

Reasons why people change jobs frequently

1. The changing structure of work: Employers seek employees who can work and get it done.
2. Salary freezes and unemployment: this one is serious. Salary structures are changing constantly and when employees feel that they are not been given what they deserve, they move, looking for something better.
3. Searching for new challenges: well, we have come to times when people love being adventurous, especially the young ones. They want to try new things and challenge them. Some people change jobs frequently for the sake of challenging themselves or being adventurous.

 

Pros or advantages of changing jobs frequently :

1. You develop new skills: when people start new jobs, they are constantly on their toes because they have to learn the new working environment, adapt to it, meet new people, and learn new routines, new instructions, and accountability structures. Changing jobs help you have new experiences and adapt to different work organizational structure.
2. You’ll earn more money: remaining in the same company or organization may make pay increase slow or it may not happen at all. But changing jobs may make your pay package change if the employers find your skills very attractive.
3. You can use your specific set of skills: changing jobs frequently means the individual is going for what they like and this allows them to use your specific skills as you will be doing what you are interested in.
4. Makes working more interesting: Because you can try different roles in different environments, working becomes more exciting, interesting, and adventurous. It also allows you to test until you find out what job suits you best.
5. You will learn how to adapt: there are so many unknowns in the world of work considering the technological advancements and employees love people with a wide range of experiences and are willing to plunge into the unknown. Changing jobs makes adapt to changing policies and job structures. This makes you valuable to organizations that value mobile workers.
6. You are in control of your career: changing jobs frequently boosts your independence and confidence in your skills and abilities. You own your career, doing what you desire to do, not waiting for employers. You are in charge of your career success and failures.
7. You create new relationships: changing jobs frequently is hard because you will have to leave the people who you may have started caring about but it’s also good because you will get to make new friends, and meet new clients and this may be important for the future of your career. Changing jobs is a good way to earn better pay.
8. Better chances for promotion: New employees get higher responsibilities and higher pay than old employees. So if you are thinking of having a major shift in your career and your current job isn’t allowing you to accomplish this, a change of job is advisable.

 

Cons or disadvantages of changing jobs frequently :

1. You might acquire an unwanted reputation and have less job security: changing jobs frequently make you lack job security. Employers may not be confident in hiring you because you have a track record of changing jobs. When the organization wants to downsize, they may consider you strongly because of your reputation. One of the things that happen when you are employed is that you are trained and training requires money. The employer considering that you may leave after a few months or years may not want to make such an investment and so won’t hire you.
2. You will often have a probation period: Most organizations put their new employees on probation for some time before they are fully accepted. If you don’t do work to meet their standards during this probationary period, you can be fired easily. If fired and you don’t have enough to keep you till you get a new job, you may be stranded.
3. You may end up unemployed: Not everyone is lucky to get a job as soon as they quit their old job. Changing jobs is not as easy as people think it is.
4. Changing jobs can be stressful: changing to new jobs requires learning new things for a limited period of time. This may cause you to experience burnout or frustration.
5. Financial risks related to career changes: quitting your job has financial risks attached to it. While looking to get a new job, you will have to face spending without a source of income and this may last for a long period of time before you get a new job.
6. You will have to prove yourself all the time: your experience is awesome but every organization will want you to prove that before you are established. Constantly having to prove yourself is stressful. Staying in a previous company might be better if you have a good reputation there.

Many organizations see those who change jobs frequently as a disadvantage to them. They see job hoppers(people who change jobs frequently) as people who do not add anything to the progress of the organization. If the company you apply for values loyalty, you will not be respected by them. Though also, there are companies that like people who adapt easily to changes and have lots of experience. You should look out for companies like this if you change jobs frequently.

 

What factors do l consider when switching a job?

Health insurance – make inquiries about the health insurance of the organization, especially if it’s a small organization.

Room for Advancement – if you are looking for an organization where to spend a long time then this is a point to look into. You can’t remain stagnant, so you must know if there are training packages, promotion possibilities, and better pay. And this is possible with huge organizations compared to smaller organizations.

Company culture – even though you are adventurous, you must consider this. Job satisfaction is determined by the working environment. Research to know how people act in the company and know if you can handle it. This is all dependent on what you looking for actually.

Company Stability – Research the organization, and ask questions because you don’t want to be laid off a couple of months or weeks later after quitting your job. Except, if you are willing to take the risk, then no problem, make sure you have an emergency fund prepared.

You have to consider the technological advancements of the organization – As adventurous as you are, you have to consider the level of technological advancement to know if you can meet up with the demands.

Labor laws- Every country has labor laws. You must consider the labor laws of your country before switching so that you don’t get sued for violating the law. Some countries like America have a limit of 5years while Britain has a limit of 9 years before one can switch jobs. Find out.

Career Advice, Job Search Tips