What Type of Job-Hopper Are You?

I thought this story about the different types of job hopper made for interesting reading on LinkedIn earlier today. The author of the article feels she’s in the third category. Maybe, but I find successful people who are earning well are typically happy and reluctant to move. Many fall into a fourth category which is No Imminent Promotion or Progress. This sort of job hopper could be an excellent performer but they’re working within a strong team or there’s at least one person ahead of them in the pecking order or their boss, who’s position represents the next promotion, doesn’t look to be moving on any time soon. Unfortunately the majority do seem to fall into the first category with a minority in the second. Those in the first category simply aren’t good at what they do. It takes a few years to realise this but there’s definately a more fulfilling career for them out there.

The never-satisfied wanderer. This sort of job-hopper is the one who just can’t find the right fit. He moves from job to job, looking for something he may not ever find. Sure, he may get more money and he’s obviously doing something right because he keeps getting hired at higher salary rates. But the right sort of challenge, autonomy or job fit feels elusive. Many people in this category are likely in the wrong career field–that is, their career or the culture of it is a bad fit for their personality, even if it is a fit for their skill set–or they may have an entrepreneurial zeal that’s yet to be tapped. That was the case for Caleb Forbes, who landed his first post-university job at an Australian advertising agency at the age of 20. He bounced from to job for six years before starting his own company.

The must-hopper. Let’s face it: the economy around the world hasn’t been all that great for job stability over the last five years or so. That has led many people who liked their work and their employer to, well, find themselves out of work. A Monster.com column out of the United Kingdom explains it this way: “What sets essential hoppers apart is the fact that the majority of their moves would have been out of their control.” These days, plenty of job-hoppers fall into this category. They’ve been laid off, pushed into an untenable situation when others are laid off or the like.

The go-getter. You know that coworker who is always getting calls from recruiters and headhunters? The one you’re sure is paid more than her colleagues because she came from a competitor and has a proven track record of turning flagging teams around or boosting sales? She’s in demand because she has a career path behind her dotted with successes and strategic moves that have both given her new skills and new challenges and opportunities to prove what she can do. As these job-hoppers move along in a career, they do more and more homework on a potential employer, to make sure the fit is strong. And they don’t stay long when it isn’t. A friend once described such people as “career rock stars–in demand and always employable.”

What Type of Job-Hopper Are You? | LinkedIn.