As for the “shortage” of skilled workers – that is hogwash. It is amazing how people will flock to your company for jobs when you actually offer a competitive salary.

Having been a loan officer, I can definitely tell you that you don’t get a “comfortable” with a client portfolio before a year or so. That’s when most clients will feel comfortable enough around you to call you up first instead of your competitor and offer you their business.

So yes, job hopping has its advantages, but it seems to me like it’s better suited to occupations where your technical knowledge plays a larger part in your performance than your interpersonal skills.

That being said, employers don’t want to spend the time training someone who isn’t going to be around, and if your resume reflects job-hopping, they may not want to take a chance on you.

One way around this? Look for jobs through a temp agency… you can try out different “careers”, but your resume shows you working for the same company for an extended period of time. As long as you job-hop through the approved channels, you can gain all of the benefits without being stuck with the stigma :)

I agree, I think job hopping in this market should only be done if you already have a new job lined up.

I agree that job hopping and all is very good for improving yourself (you do get to taste several things and learn SO much…and you can bring a lot to the table), but it seems like the older generations who are making all the hiring decisions are traditional, and they won’t take someone who job hops, however good or smart they are.

So guys, just beware!!

The best thing you can do early in your career is move around a lot so you can figure out what you’e good at and what you like. If you compare people who job hop with people who don’t, people who job hop build their network faster, build their skill set faster, and are more engaged in their work.As someone who hires people for a high-tech company on a regular basis, let me tell you that nothing is more damaging on a resume than someone who switches jobs every year or two. Most high-tech firms I’ve worked at and work with are looking to hire with a 5+ year window for employment, and we’re not going to waste our time training somebody who’s only going to stick around for a year.

Here’s a word of advice for those looking to build a career: listen to hiring managers and people who’ve been in the industry for awhile and have input on hiring decisions–not freelance writers who don’t actually HOLD a job.