Beware the Dangers of Job Jumping

“Persistence is to the character of man as carbon is to steel.”
– Napoleon Hill

After serving in World War II, my grandfather started working for an electric company. He retired from that very same electric company 40 years later. Was it the perfect job? Of course not. But that’s just what you did back then – you got a job and stuck with it.

Things are different today. Maybe too different. Employees now feel entitled to near-perfect working conditions, regular raises, and constant praise. As a result, I’m seeing more and more resumes with brief job tenures (1-2 years), especially among twentysomethings. (According to government data — which can always be trusted — the average job tenure for a Millennial is a shocking 18 months!) And the reasons I’m hearing for why people leave one job for another are often trivial.

Hiring managers are noticing this trend and are shying away from considering such candidates. After all, why would an organization want to hire an employee who will only be around for a year or two?

If you are in a position to mentor up-and-coming talent, please encourage them to show some commitment and fortitude, and not to jump from job to job with the frequency of a cheap ham radio. And if you’re considering jumping ship without a great reason, remember that it often takes years to contribute significantly to a project or organization. You’ll have a better chance of having an impact on social change if you stick around for a while and make things happen.

Claire Kittle is Executive Director of Talent Market, a leading career placement site for the liberty movement.