The Pros and Cons of Job-Hopping

Michael A. Campion

08-10-2026

Job-hopping is defined as a relatively high frequency of voluntary and interorganizational job changes. While there are many good reasons for changing jobs quickly, like a new opportunity, chances of moving up, reducing job dissatisfaction or simply trying to get a good start on your career, many people worry that seeking a new job after only a short period working for their current employer will be viewed negatively.

Although employers and potential employees worry about the impact of job-hopping, there is surprisingly little scientific research on the topic. Along with coauthors from the University of Iowa College of Business — PhD student Jake Harrison and Associate Professor Emily D. Campion, who led the project, as well as Henry B. Tippie Research Professor of Management Chad Van Iddekinge — I recently conducted one of the first comprehensive scientific studies on the subject to be published in a top journal. Carter Gibson and Andrew Barsa from HiredView, a hiring consulting firm, supplied some of the real-world data.

The initial study included asking a large sample of hiring managers for their interpretations of job-hopping and conducting an experiment that measured hiring ratings of a large sample of hiring managers to resumes that differed in job-hopping. Next, two real-world field studies examined the outcomes of job-hopping on subsequent job performance and turnover in 70,000 applicants in two large organizations.

Our first real-world study looked at the consequences of hiring job-hoppers among 30,000 applicants for sales jobs in a telecommunications company. We found that hiring managers consistently rated job-hopping applicants lower, and that this occurred, in part, through lower expected commitment and performance. Career progression weakened the relationships somewhat. Most importantly, job hopping resulted in fewer job offers, higher turnover and lower job performance in real-world organizations.

The study showed that controlling career progression and occupational change reduce the impact of job-hopping because they are potentially good explanations. However, applicants in the job-hopping category still received significantly lower evaluations -- almost a point on a 5-point scale.

In addition, the study found they were 19% less likely to receive a job offer. That study also found job-hoppers were 16% more likely to turn over. The higher turnover was both voluntary (likely due to lower commitment) and involuntary (likely due to poor performance).

Job hoppers also had lower job performance in terms of sales. The difference was over $800 per month, which was meaningful among these low-paid jobs and the substantial number of employees.

The second real-world study examined 37,000 applicants for retail store managers. Again, they were less likely to be hired by 40%. Job-hoppers also had a 53% higher turnover rate. While it was both voluntary and involuntary, the effect was significantly higher for involuntary (likely performance related). Job-hopping managers also had lower job performance if hired.

That study also showed that job-hopping information added meaningfully to the prediction of job performance beyond a well-developed set of hiring tests that measured judgment, problem solving and personality.

Some variables in the study reduced or increased the impact of job hopping. These lead to several considerations for applicants vying for a job who have the appearance of job-hopping in their resumes:

• Less than two years between positions is always interpreted as job-hopping.
• The same number of jobs for more experienced candidates is less likely to be perceived as job-hopping because job-hopping is based on the number of jobs relative to the amount of time.
• Applicants early in their careers are expected to hop between jobs more because they are trying to find a good position.
• If applicants move up in successive jobs suggesting career progression, that is viewed much less negatively.
• Changing career fields is viewed as greater evidence of job-hopping.
• Job-hopping is viewed more positively when it increases the applicant’s range of skills, produces high-potential candidates, or is understandable for other reasons such as family relocation or layoffs.

Together, these studies show that job-hoppers are penalized and the penalty is warranted, but there may be factors that can weaken the impact. Job candidates should think carefully about job-hopping because it may influence their prospects of getting other jobs in the future. It is especially important to always have good explanations for why you changed each job because you will certainly be asked in the hiring interviews.