Job Hopping for Broader HR Exposure: Career Growth or Risky Move?

Hi Everyone, :D

Well, this is a very practical and contemporary topic today. On one hand, organizations look forward to recruiting individuals who have exposure to the whole gamut of HR activities like Recruitment, Training, Performance Appraisal, Statutory Compliances, Organizational Behavior, and OD. However, only very selective companies have all these processes in place. Therefore, not every HR person has exposure to all of these areas. From a futuristic point of view, individuals might decide to quit their current company to gain better exposure somewhere else. But the company where one is applying might consider the person a job hopper. In reality, don't you all feel that it is better to work for a short span in a company rather than gaining less exposure and experience? People leave for better career prospects and growth, so why do employers treat it as frequent job hopping? Isn't it obvious that every HR professional needs exposure in all HR processes initially to reach a better career level (with or without specialization in a particular HR area) in the long run?

Let's debate on this... Share your views with me.

Job Hopping for Better Exposure - Beneficial or Detrimental :mellow: [b]

Hi,

Excess of anything is BAD!

A rolling stone gathers no moss!!

For professionals, job hopping cannot be good or bad per se.

When you pass out of the institute where you are trained to be an HR person, all you have is (perhaps) knowledge up to a point. You have the theory under your belt. Real life where to use theories is yet far away.

Organizations provide that platform that facilitates your application of knowledge and theory to real-life situations. A theory is a general statement that describes an approach to deal with a situation, and knowledge is static unless used. The reality is dynamic and perpetually in a state of flux.

What makes for success is that unknown factor (skills) that makes the knowledge and theory WORK in a real-life situation. Organizations provide opportunities to acquire and hone these skills.

Therefore, when you join one employment and change to a better-paying job without having added value to that job, you have simply wasted your and that organization's time and resources. Neither have you added value to the organization nor to yourself even if you get a better-paying job.

Unless you stay long enough in a particular job, deal with problems, create new realities, stay long enough to defend your achievements and enrich both yourself and the organization you should not change. In a dearth of professionals, it may be possible to get better-paying jobs, but if you have not been able to GROW professionally, sooner than you think you will find yourself to be inadequate to handle even relatively simple situations. I have seen these things happening to otherwise well-meaning senior professionals in the trade.

Growth along the hierarchy, along the emolument scales, and professionally are different matters. Each is possible without the active support of the others, but if the professional base is unsound every other growth will remain shaky and tentative. One has to decide what are his priorities in life and act accordingly. For real growth, a sound conceptual base and dynamic knowledge are essential.

I have nothing against job hopping as such, but I find changing employment for Career (professional) growth more interesting. On a sound foundation, the growth is sustained, stable, satisfying.

Mindful changes, keeping the above matters in mind, may not be bad after all!

Regards,

Samvedan
January 3, 2007

I think it's a question of balance.

On some level, I blame HR because it does not address the issue of all-round development.

Barely 1 in 10 companies do job rotation of its junior employees. So if you were hired for induction, you will almost never get to do anything else for the next 3 years. HR heads must consider a job rotation every 1.5 - 2 years as it keeps employees motivated, brings a new perspective to the job, and ensures that no work is at the mercy of one person.

The need for change does arise. But if the reason for changing is merely exposure, speak to your manager before deciding to leave. He may be able to help you, and have patience in this; give him at least 3 - 4 months. You may be able to eliminate at least one job change.

I also think it's a question of adding value to the job. When a company hires you, it is looking at the return on investment. Do you have the ability, 3 years of experience - only then do you deserve that. So look at what value you can add and then consider a job change. No company will hire because the candidate wants to explore other areas of HR.

Hi Paulami,

I agree with you that job hopping is a serious problem to take care of.

Dr. GopalaKrishnan has written this article on the same topic; I hope you find some answers in it.

The grass isn't always greener on the other side!

Moving from one job to another should be done only for the right reasons.

It's yet another day at the office. As I logged on to the marketing and advertising sites for the latest updates, as usual, I found the headlines dominated by 'who's moving from one company to another after a short stint, and I wondered, why are so many people leaving one job for another?

Is it passé now to work with just one company for a sufficiently long period? Whenever I ask this question to people who leave a company, the answers I get are: "Oh, I am getting a 200% hike in salary"; "Well, I am jumping three levels in my designation"; "Well, they are going to send me abroad in six months."

Then, I look around at all the people who are considered successful today and who have reached the top - be it a media agency, an advertising agency, or a company. I find that most of these people are the ones who have stuck to the company, grounded their heels, and worked their way to the top. And, as I look around for people who changed their jobs constantly, I find they have stagnated at some level, in obscurity!

In this absolutely ruthless, dynamic, and competitive environment, there are still no shortcuts to success or to making money. The only thing that continues to pay, as earlier, is loyalty and hard work. Yes, it pays!

Sometimes immediately, sometimes after a lot of time. But, it does pay.

Does this mean that one should stick to an organization and wait for that golden moment? Of course not. After a long stint, there always comes a time for moving in most organizations, but it is important to move for the right reasons, rather than superficial ones, like money, designation, or an overseas trip.

Remember, no company recruits for charity. More often than not, when you are offered an unseemly hike in salary or designation that is disproportionate to what that company offers its current employees, there is always unseen bait attached.

The result? You will, in the long term, have reached exactly the same levels or maybe lower levels than what you would have in your current company.

A lot of people leave an organization because they are "unhappy". What is this so-called unhappiness? I have been working for donkey's years, and there has never been a day when I am not unhappy about something in my work environment - boss, rude colleague, fussy clients, etc.

Unhappiness in a workplace, to a large extent, is transient. If you look hard enough, there is always something to be unhappy about. But, more importantly, do I come to work to be "happy" in the truest sense?

If I think hard, the answer is "No".

Happiness is something you find with family, friends, maybe a close circle of colleagues who have become friends.

What you come to work for is to earn, build a reputation, satisfy your ambitions, be appreciated for your work ethics, face challenges, and get the job done. So, the next time you are tempted to move, ask yourself why you are moving and what you are moving into?

Some questions are:

- Am I ready and capable of handling the new responsibility? If yes, what could be the possible reasons my current company has not offered me the same responsibility?

- Who are the people who currently handle this responsibility in the current and new company? Am I as good as the best among them?

- As the new job offer has a different profile, why have I not given the current company the option to offer me this profile?

- Why is the new company offering me the job? Do they want me for my skills, or is there an ulterior motive?

An honest answer to these will eventually decide where you go in your career - to the top of the pile in the long term (at the cost of short-term blips) or to become another average employee who gets lost with time in the wilderness?

"DESERVE BEFORE YOU DESIRE" - Dr. Gopalkrishnan, Chairman TATA Sons.

Hope you will find some answers in this article.

Cheers,

Archna

Hi Archa,

That was a really great article. Please keep sending such stuff. I think professionals like me, who have just started their careers or are in their initial career years, must read this to understand the values of hard work and loyalty. Actually, today's scenario is such that 80% of the corporate world wants success through the shortest possible route, and they get lost. It is a sorry state today, as I feel most people become sycophants. What is most disheartening is that nowadays, people want to secure their own jobs at the cost of others and put other employees in a problem. On top of that, it's an irony that people even get promoted for all the wrong reasons.

Thanks a lot for this article. It has really enlightened me.

Hi Paulami,

Thank you very much for the appreciation. I have been posting articles for a long time in this forum, but then I thought, why not give time and space to newcomers and slow down a bit. I'm really glad that people like you have started some really important discussions on this forum and have inspired me to post again.

Thanks a lot and keep sharing.

Cheers,
Archna

My two bits on this topic.......

There are quite a few reasons for job hopping, some of which are:

- Better pay
- Better benefits
- Manager
- Learning opportunity
- Developmental step
- Growth
- Work/Life balance
- Overseas opportunity
- Better brand
- Personal reasons

The list goes on........

But surprisingly, and contrary to our thinking, pay is not always the major factor for job hopping. Depending on where you are in your career life, your reasons will vary. But one thing is for sure, gone are the days when people would work for one company their entire life. Privatization of the industries and shrinking of the world are the two prime reasons for this.

As mentioned by everyone, job hopping in moderation is good. In the current scenario, especially in the IT companies, individuals switch jobs in a few months. This is becoming an acceptable norm these days, but if you remember the slump in 2001-03 when the dot coms bombed. The monthly job hoppers are the first ones to get canned.

My personal opinion is that when joining a company, join with your eyes open and stay there for a minimum of two years (especially if you are in HR, Fin, or any other support field). Two years is the minimum time you need to show your potential to the company and do some good work, as well as learn from your company.

Regards

Prachi