According to a recent CareerBuilder survey, “1 in 4 workers have had 5-plus jobs by the age of 35. Older workers however, have job-hopped far less; just 1 in 5 of those 55 and older have held 10-plus jobs in their lifetime.”

Has the stigma around job-hopping changed? In short, yes. Job-hopping no longer has the same sting when hiring managers see it on a resumé. Employers now see some good traits in a job-hopper — more than half of employers (53%) say job-hoppers tend to have a wide range of expertise and can adapt quickly (51%). (CareerBuilder, 2014)

CareerBuilder found that more than half (55%) of employers surveyed said they have hired a job-hopper, and nearly 1 in 3 (32%) said they expect workers to job-hop. Want to know more about what employers think about these well-rounded, flexible workers?

• Job-Hopping is becoming expected: Nearly half (45%) of employers that hire new college grads don’t expect them to stay with the organization for more than two years, whereas only a quarter (27%) expect them to stick around for five years or more.
• Some job-hoppers are more acceptable than others: More than 2 in 5 employers say job-hopping is less acceptable when workers hit their 30s, and nearly a third (28%) say it’s less acceptable after workers cross the 40-mark.
• The IT industry has the most job-hoppers: The top industries for job-hopping are IT (42%), leisure & hospitality (41%), transportation (37%), retail (36%), and manufacturing (32%).

Placers’ President, Chris Burkhard says, “this is exactly what the pundits predicted and now it’s coming true. There is a gap between what employers want and what the market offers and now employers are catching up in their understanding of what it means to have a rise of the contingent workforce.”

So, young grasshopper, if you’re still in the percentage of people that have not hired a job-hopper or don’t believe job-hoppers are quality candidates – know that it’s no longer the norm to discount job-hoppers as you hunt for qualified candidates for your open positions.

Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net