It wasn’t that long ago that people would leave college or school and get an job within the IT jobs market. You then stay in that job until the day they retire. In the 1980’s in Ireland, people were lucky to have a job and they appreciated every second of it. So, they didn’t want to chance leaving. Average tenure (one employer) in a job in the 1980s was over 10 years and that figure.  In the 60s and 70s it was even higher, but people tended to be happier in their work when compared to today. They were satisfied with there income, happy to live modest lifestyle in in lots of ways happy. Now these are not sector specific but general figures.

Now fast forward to today. That tenure figure around the EU remains over 10 years. The US labour market is a lot more fluid at just over 4 years. The Software Engineering job market average tenure is closer to 3 years. So, I asked myself why? Fair to say security of tenure is not such a problem for those seeking IT jobs in Dublin.

Here are 5 reasons why people job hop in the IT sector:

  1. Money, it’s the easiest way to get a pay rise
  2. Consistently unhappy with the job itself
  3. Fast-tracked their career. With each move,
  4. Gain greater experience and acquired deeper skills
  5. The jobs market is so attractive

All 5 of these reasons would be considered a selfish approach to a career, no thought of the employer, client or task that was originally set out. It’s not so long ago that this job movement would have been stigmatised, the individual considered bad at there job or a troublemaker, I think its fair to say these stereotypes are a little outdated. Over the past few years loyalty in companies is also somewhat questionable. You only have to look at the redundancies and loss of IT jobs in Dublin but across the world, that when the stock market barks for more company profits some of those people who help get the company where it is are the ones who suffer.Java engineer code test or it jobs

Lately it’s the younger generation. Those only out of college a few years are the ones making the moves bringing down that average. “US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that not only do employees aged under 34 change jobs a lot. An average of 1.3 years for employees aged 20 to 24 as of January 2020. Not a lot has changed as we approach January 2023 versus 4.9 years for those aged 35 to 44. They’re doing so more often: so median tenure continues to shrinking certainly since 2010.”

So, what does all this job-hopping look like in the eye of a Recruiter?

I pride myself on having the ability to attract and retain top talent and have delivered said talent for over 20 years. One thing that scares me is if I see someone with lot of jobs in a short period of time, for example 3 jobs in 18 months. If I am trying to build a software team, let’s say a team of Java Engineers into a scaling exciting technology company. The technology is complex and can take 3-4 months to ramp up. Let’s now say that said Java Engineer was earning 80,000, so that 4 months ramp up cost in salary alone 26,666.

On top of that there are Recruitment, Admin, Equipment costs etc.  Let’s fast forward to the 4th month and the Java Engineer is doing their job and becoming productive and starting to show signs it’s a good investment for the business.  If someone has had an average tenure of 6 months per role. As a Recruiter am I likely to take the risk? That is perhaps the big question someone with that record should consider. Now there are of course arguments that the individual was contracting and making an impact from day one. All good. There is also the argument that the Engineer simply didn’t settle. The way I see if the risk is still there.

It is clear to see that those who do job hop, again sticking with the IT jobs market tend to be higher paid that similar level Engineers. That can also put off an employer, but it can also say that that Engineer is better at there job as they have experienced different environments, technology etc. Our testing system wouldn’t back that claim up, but there is an argument to be had.

Agreeing to stay in a role and not job hop in the it jobs market

What are the top 5 risks to job hopping?

  1. Eventually out pricing yourself from an exciting opportunity
  2. Being perceived as a risk to a potential employer
  3. Being perceived as a troublemaker or someone not willing to compromise
  4. Making it difficult to build up a solid work history, making it hard to demonstrate your true value
  5. Future leadership opportunities as you will be seen as someone who leaves during the difficult times.

There are pro’s and cons to job hopping, there always will be. But when its time to take your career seriously, sometimes seeking the quick promotion is not always going to get you where you want to get in the long run. I would always advise people to take care in what job they go for and do the research. Do see a related post here that goes into more detail on Software Engineers. If you are considering a potential change in career, or ant to discuss the topic more, do check us out here