Is Job Hopping Good For Your Career?

Over the course of your career, one of the difficult decisions you’ll have to make time and time again is whether or not to change job. Knowing how often you should job hop can be a very personal choice, depending a lot on your specific field, the skills you’re trying to develop, and the companies you’re working for.

With that said, there is some general guidance that it’s good to follow if you want to build a really impressive career. 

What Is Job Hopping?

Put simply, job hopping is the practice of changing jobs on a regular basis as a strategy for boosting your career. To a certain extent, anyone who’s looking to advance in their field will job hop every now and then – unless, that is, they have a company who are willing to consistently offer them promotion.

In recent years, however, discourse around job hopping has begun to evolve. There’s a general perception – rightly or wrongly – that many people entering the job market have very little loyalty to their companies compared to what might have been expected in years gone by.

The reasons for this are long and complicated but largely fall down to a combination of changing attitudes and expectations both for employers and employees. Companies are less willing to take risks on inexperienced staff. Younger staff members may be more skeptical of the idea that an employer cares about them beyond the basic quid pro quo of an employment contract.

You could spend all day debating the reasons behind this change in attitudes but the practical upshot is that those who want to get ahead in their careers often have to be willing to shop around. But some worry that this lack of loyalty may be sending a bad message to employers, particularly when it comes to their CV.

Do Employers Dislike Job Hopping?

Yes… and, then again no.

The thing about job hopping is that it can signal to an employer that you’re not particularly committed to any one role but more interested in maximising your income. On the other hand this is fairly commonplace in 2025.

The reality is that most employers are fully aware that competent staff won’t stick around indefinitely without reasonable pay increases. Some will even be looking to bring in junior staff to slowly rise through the ranks of the company although, admittedly, this is becoming increasingly rare in almost all fields.

The bottom line is, however, that while employers are unlikely to see job hopping as a positive, they’re also not going to be too bothered so long as you don’t seem to do it too often. But how often is too often?

How Often Should You Job Hop?

In general, you should expect to spend a minimum of one year in a role before moving on to new employment. Of course, that’s not to say you should turn down a great offer if you’re given one but, at very least, a year shows that you worked in a place long enough to really know the ins and outs of the job.

As an average, it’s usually good to spend around three to five years in a role. From a company point of view, this shows that you’re almost certainly worth the investment of hiring and, from a skills perspective, this gives you a chance to really make the most of each job.

With that said, there’s really no such thing as a bad time to be on the lookout for better paying roles. If an employer can see that you went from £30K to £50k for example, they’d have to be fairly harsh to judge you for not taking that opportunity.

Don’t Let Your CV Become The Boss of You

We’ve said before that you shouldn’t turn down a great opportunity just because you’re afraid that a little job hopping might damage your CV but now we really want to double down on that point.

When it comes to broad strokes career decisions, many people often worry how their choices will affect their CV. This is particularly true when it comes to employment gaps but it can also be the case with job hopping.

In reality, most employers won’t let this type of thing get in the way of hiring an otherwise great candidate, even if it does give them pause for thought. In fact, if they’re worried about it at all, they’ll often ask, giving you the perfect opportunity to explain your situation.

Furthermore, it’s almost never a good idea to let your CV be the reason you stay in a job that makes you miserable. If you dislike your current employment and you have an opportunity to work somewhere you’d prefer, then you’ll be far better off taking that opportunity than stressing over what a few dates on a piece of paper might say about you.