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Learning to stick a landingJob jumpers: Coming down
(IDG) -- Has the dot-com meltdown grounded the prospects of "jumpers?" For many young IT professionals, job hopping has been the fastest way to boost a career and/or salary. But with options going south because of a slowing economy and a loosening IT labor market, there's some question as to whether jumpers will now stay put -- or keep moving.
Paul Ziv is an experienced jumper who says he's beginning to see a change. Ziv, a Web content developer for Atlanta-based ComputerJobs.com, says he believes current economic conditions are causing some jumpers to rethink career decisions. "Job choices are no longer based on emotions and excitement," he says. "Market conditions are considered, too. "People (are taking) more of an analytical approach to how they look at their job and their career as opposed to a more 'feelings' approach. People may now be more inclined to stay or even switch jobs based on company performance and market conditions, as opposed to salary discontent or the opportunity for more stock options."  'Job-hopping has zero survival value'Another jumper, Lisa Jenkins, a lead software engineer for a large Midwestern telecommunications company, says she believes professional opportunity and career growth are still the primary motivating factors for jumpers.
"Companies talk about career development but implement 'functional progression'" -- the practice of assigning a worker to a job path that benefits the company but may not be what the employee wants. This, says Jenkins, "may make for a more organized corporation, but for a person with many interests, varied skills, and experiences, that kind of 'structure' is very limiting." For now, Jenkins says she has the challenges she needs. "If I found a company that encouraged me to move around and learn new skills and that saw its employees as something more than just warm bodies or whipping boards ... I'd never leave. Right now, my current employer is the place to be. But whether or not it will be the place to be in five years remains to be seen." Technical recruiters and human-resources managers see jumping in a different light: the unsettled economy and a looming power shift. "In Seattle, ground zero for the dot-goners, job hopping has zero survival value today," says Kathi Jones, director of employee central at Aventail, an extranet services provider. "The market in almost every technical area is saturated. Companies know it, recruiters know it, and candidates know it. People with jobs feel fortunate and are simply staying put." John Sullivan says he sees a new twist. "With the meltdown of the Net and the rise in unemployment, we'll see a return to punishing job hoppers. That's mostly because when the power shifts back to human resources, HR people with no power seem to get off on deciding what is acceptable," says Sullivan, professor and director of human resources management at San Francisco State University. But such punishment -- if it's there -- and current market conditions won't stop job hoppers, he adds.  'Much better off'Since Ziv started his career as a systems administrator, he has racked up six full-time jobs in five years. And he's unrepentant. "Today I am much better off for all that job hopping," he says. "There's no way I'd be making as much money, have as much experience or enjoy as much responsibility, had I stuck with one job."
Ziv's resumé may read like a train schedule, but an arc of logic runs through it. After two years at Kennesaw State University, he worked part-time as a bench technician repairing computers. Then he was offered a full-time job as a desktop specialist and left his full-time studies. Ziv says he anticipates staying with his current employer, ComputerJobs.com, as long as the job stays challenging and rewarding. Despite economic conditions, he recommends that anyone stuck in an unrewarding job move on. "Usually those factors -- not being happy -- have a hard time being masked at work and come through in performance," he says. "It is much easier to look for a job that would be more rewarding at your own pace than to be laid off and be in a fire drill for any job during an economic slowdown." But Ziv also advises caution. "My experienced colleagues within the IT industry are now more cautious [about jumping] companies. Furthermore, companies are being more discerning in both the skill fit as well as the personality fit. "I think the candidate side is now making sure to join a well-funded operation with good growth strategy and a company that the employee can see staying at longer term. "In the past, I believe, there was a lot of comfort in knowing that if you did not like your current gig, you could throw your resumé up on a board, make a couple of calls, and find a new job in days. Now there is bit more research going into the company they want to work for."
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