Job-hopping sheds negative stigma in Singapore

Employees with itchy feet not always ‘disloyal’, acknowledges employers

BY Nurhuda Syed 04 Mar 2019

More than half of Singapore employers (56%) would be willing to hire a candidate who has a history of job hopping, based on a new study.

While frequent job changes in a short time span can give hiring managers cause for concern, Singaporean employers understand there are also advantages linked to job hopping.

They acknowledge the positives consequences for employees, such as:

higher salary progression (64%)
more experience in different industries (43%)
ability to learn faster (35%)
resilience to change (32%)
learning more skills (31%)

Yet switching jobs on a regular basis can also have significant downfalls, found Robert Half. Employers pointed out points like missing out on promotions (43%), lack of job security (43%), missing out on professional development (39%), missing out on job opportunities (39%), and less influence on company strategy/policy (33%).

“Despite the fact that job hopping has become more common in the finance and accounting industry, hiring managers should still be cautious when considering job hoppers for a vacant role,” said Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, managing director at Robert Half Singapore.

“Frequent employment changes over a short span of time can raise red flags, and potentially earn the employee a reputation for being disloyal. Employers need to balance the costs of the recruitment process against a candidate who may be seen as disloyal and end up leaving after a short period of time.

“This doesn’t suggest that job hopping should be disregarded entirely, but like any career move, changing jobs must have happened for the right reason.”

Employers consider someone who has made an average of four job changes within a 10-year period to be a job hopper. Job hopping is overwhelmingly more prevalent among Singapore’s millennials and almost two-thirds (63%) of employers think young workers are job hoppers.