What Hong Kong bosses really think of job hoppers

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Job hopping within the finance and accounting industry is no longer a hindrance to being offered a job. A survey commissioned by Robert Half shows Hong Kong’s CFOs  would consider someone who has made an average of five job changes within a 10-year period to be a job hopper, however six in 10 (60%) say they would be willing to hire a candidate who has a history of job hopping.

Job hopping is overwhelmingly more prevalent among Hong Kong’s Millennials as almost nine in 10 (87%) Hong Kong CFOs think Millennial-aged finance workers are job hoppers. This compares to only little over one in three (36%) CFOs think Hong Kong’s Generation X workers in finance and accounting are job hoppers and less than one in four (24%) consider Baby Boomer professionals to be job hoppers.

The positives of job hopping

The positive consequences of job hopping for employees, as identified by Hong Kong CFOs, include: higher salary progression (47%), ability to learn faster (35%), ability to learn more skills (35%), opportunities to expand network (25%), and more experience in different industries (24%).

Adam Johnston, managing director of Robert Half Hong Kong said: “Contrary to popular belief, many employers are not discounting candidates who have had several jobs over the past few years. Hong Kong is experiencing a generational shift in attitudes where job hopping is slowly losing its negative stigma within the finance and accounting industry, with Millennial finance and accounting workers quick to embrace the benefits of changing jobs frequently.”

The negatives of job hopping

Hong Kong’s finance leaders have identified the negative consequences of job hoppers as: missing out on promotions (45%), lack of job security (39%), missing out on job opportunities (31%), missing out on being part of a team (24%) and missing out on professional development (19%).

“While changing jobs on a regular basis has become more common in Hong Kong’s workforce, employers shouldn’t disregard the red flags job hopping could raise when hiring. Too many jobs in a short amount of time can be seen as a lack of career stability which could earn job hoppers a reputation for being disloyal, and hiring managers may consider this a negative investment when balanced with the costs of hiring. Indeed, changing jobs every few years might be the right strategy for many workers but, like any decision in a person’s career, it’s about getting the balance right and changing jobs for the right reason,” concluded Johnston.

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