Every executive search firm battles the same issue with their clients “the candidate is a job hopper”. We are on board with that, we don’t like to hire job hoppers at JMJ Phillip either. If you’re looking for a slightly better pay day every 2 years or you simply couldn’t cut it and keep getting bounced out of your job then you’re not for us.
But over the years we have come to realize that it’s not always the candidates fault and the general idea that employers are immaculate is simply ridiculous. Often candidates get hired and are never told the full story, because if they had the full story they would never take the job! Companies holding their cards close is nothing new, but imagine if you took a job and found this out in the first 6 months that: (this is a sampling of true stories)..
• We have 45 days of cash flow and our biggest customer is suing us
• We have been in a turnaround situation for over 18 months
• We went live on SAP and it was a failed implementation
• We lost a government contract so we will being having layoffs
• Job sold in the interview did not end up being the job you signed up for
• Company is an acquisition target and will be bought
• Pay, bonuses and incentives were not as promised
• Manufacturing is moving to Mexico
• Manufacturing is moving to Asia
• Plant is closing, everything is moving to another plant
For every job hopper, you have someone that has had legitimate reasons for moving around. If someone worked for 2 bankrupt companies in the last 5 years, how do you blame them for being a hopper? Meanwhile your seeking that guy that spent 12 years at one company thinking they are the rock solid person you need to hire and here are some lessons learned from that.
• Long tenure can be a sign of complacency
• Long tenure could mean the work environment was relaxed where poor employees have the opportunity to have long careers
• Lack of diversity leads to “this is how I did it at my old company”
One last note that may surprise you: Those that had long tenures often end up having more than 3 jobs in a short period time.
Now it’s not always the case, but you will see someone that had a 8 year run, and a 6 year run, then have 3 or 4 jobs over the next 6 years. So while you’re seeking the ideal candidate based on tenure you’re letting some top candidates pass through your fingertips because you didn’t want to invest 20 minutes talking to them to learn about why they had the career changes they did.
Now at JMJ Phillip we already have that discussion before we send you the candidate, but before you are quick to say “pass”, step back for a moment and think about how many bad employers you have worked for, it may make you give someone with amazing talent a chance that you wouldn’t have otherwise.