Survey: Retailers expect, avoid job-hoppers

Chicago – In many cases retailers have to come to expect “job-hoppers” who frequently change jobs, but in many cases they also avoid them. More than half of 182 retail hiring managers and human resource professionals (54%) polled in a recent CareerBuilder survey said they have hired a job-hopper and more than one-third (36%) said they have come to expect workers to job-hop.



However, more than four-in-10 (44%) said they will dismiss a job-hopper’s application outright. Fifty-five percent of retail employers said that job-hopping becomes less acceptable when a worker reaches his/her early to mid-30s (ages 30 or 35). Twenty-seven percent find job-hopping less acceptable after the age of 40.



Employers expect a higher rate of job-hopping among younger workers who are still trying to find a footing for their long-term career. When hiring a new college graduate, 51% expect the new hire to stay with the organization for two years or less, while just more than one in four (27%) expect new college grads to stay five years or longer.



“Retailers are split on the issue of job-hopping. While there is some acknowledgement that job-hopping is an industry fact-of-life, most employers still want to hire workers who can commit for at least a couple of years,” said Rob Morris, director of WorkInRetail.com. “Between saving on training costs and the increased efficiencies of a well-tenured staff, it pays to focus on retention efforts. Offering promising employees incentives and clearly-laid out career paths are often the best way to achieve those results.”