Job hopping is no longer looked down upon by millennials. The act is slowly losing its social stigma and major companies are surprisingly welcoming of those who job hop. As a Singapore recruitment agency, we also believe in hiring job hunting millennials.
Long gone are the days where employees looked at job hoppers as nothing but a fickle minded, money hungry demographic. Are you curious to find out why? We've rounded up the top 5 reasons to hire a job hopper in Singapore. Read on to find out more!
1. Candidate’s Hunger for New Challenges
Job hopping is not just common amongst millennials. It is also a common trend found among younger employees across four generations (i.e. Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z).
One reason for this could be the younger employee’s hunger for new challenges - and constant way to upskill themselves. In other words, you’ll be hiring skilled employees with an insatiable hunger for learning.
The key to finding this out is through the candidate’s resume. Does the resume reflect your candidate’s vast experience in different industries as well as companies with varying brands and cultures? If the answer is yes then you can benefit from the candidate’s fresh new perspectives - which could be beneficial to your company.
2. It’s Easier to Network
Thanks to the candidate’s vast experience in a variety of different industries, they’ll have access to a variety of different names that could be beneficial to you. Networking is made easier if you have an employee who has already built a foundation of trust as well as a working relationship with a professional you’re itching to connect to.
3. They’re Wise
Wisdom comes with experience. Following this knowledge, someone who has moved up and about in an attempt to better their career track will have acquired wisdom. With wisdom, these employees are aware of what they want and don’t want out of their career. These are the employees who will consider progress in terms of achievements, not just their length in an office. Their experience also provides these employees with the ability to look for signs that indicate success. They’re battle-scarred and knowledgeable despite their young age.
So what exactly do these job-hopping millennials want? The answer lies in our previous article, “What Do Millennials Want from Their Workplace”? In short, these eager to learn employees are looking to make an impact with a meaningful career, constant opportunities to train and upskill themselves, as well as a great company and brand values to name a few.
4. They’re Flexible and Adaptable
Granted that these are two traits that these job hoppers have learned throughout the course of their changing career. Flexibility may be scored by some employers as they show the candidate's fickle-minded nature but we embrace it here at BGC.
Flexible and adaptable candidates are people who are open to trends. This allows for experimentation and the possibility of new and improved changes to happen in a rigid workplace. Whilst adaptable employees are able to tackle unforeseen circumstances head-on with confidence.
5. They Take Risks Head-On
Despite the recent change in attitudes surrounding job switching, job-hopping is still risky today. This shows that job hoppers are risk-takers, which can be a beneficial trait depending on the nature of the job they're applying for and the company. One way to weed out bad job hoppers from those talented is by asking the candidate these questions:
Have they had any voluntary experience?
Their reasons (if any) for jumping from job to job
The skills, both technical and soft skills that they've acquired from their various positions
These would provide you with a complete picture of the candidate, allowing you to decide if you would hire them for your company. There you have it, 5 reasons to consider employing career butterflies. Considering the benefits of hiring career butterflies, it is no surprise that job-hopping is slowly losing its negative stigma.
A 2016 survey conducted revealed that 51% of Singaporean employees have worked for their current company for less than two years. In addition, the survey also found that 78% of employees in Singapore have worked for their company for less than four years. In today's landscape, careers are no longer the straightforward paths they once were. To the modern employee, job-hopping and career switching is a tool either used to upskill themselves for their dream career or as a stepping stone to finding their next career.
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