The fact that we live in a candidate-driven market is undeniable. People have more choice than ever before when it comes to their careers, and this is one of the many reasons why finding the perfect candidate has become increasingly difficult. Yet, there are times when we discover the right person for the job and they’re almost automatically shown to the door for one simple reason: they’re a 'job-hopper'.
Today, new competitors and disruptive forces can emerge from any direction. As a result, the success of your business largely relies on the people you employ. With that in mind, can your organisation really afford to close its doors to great talent?
Understanding Job-Hopping
New Zealand’s workforce is changing: staff turnover is on the rise whilst tenure is falling. Millennials have an average tenure of fewer than three years and soon, they’ll be the largest generation in our workforce. The result? 'Job-hopping' is going to become more widespread.
It’s important to note that 'job-hopping' should still be considered a red flag in a lot of situations, but not an immediate deal breaker. If a candidate left a role after 18 months, it could have been because they were offered an opportunity that they simply couldn’t miss. However, if someone held three roles for six, three and then four months respectively, then this point to a potential issue.
The problem with rejecting people solely based on their CV career history is that first impressions can be misleading. Whilst your first thought may be that they’re not that committed to their line of work, what you don’t know is that they joined a company that was liquidated six months later, then took a role that didn’t provide the progression it promised. Whilst there will always be cases where candidates might try to hide poor performance or boredom behind excuses, most people have reasonable explanations.
How to Find Great Candidates
When you’re hiring, the goal should always be to find the right fit. To ensure your business isn’t unknowingly turning away the perfect candidate, the key is to take a detailed look at the reasons behind why people leave their previous employers. A quick and easy way to do that is by phone.
By organising quick screening calls, you’re giving the candidate the chance to tell their story and yourself the opportunity to find out what’s really important to them. Is the candidate being transparent around their reasons for departing? Have they had a clear path of career progression? Are they truly interested in a permanent, long-term position?
If the answer is yes to those three questions but you’re still in doubt about their loyalty, then you have other tools at your disposal to ascertain their potential risk. For example, checking both their professional and personal references can be an excellent method of finding this clarity.
Summary
For many, 'job-hopping' is becoming a normality. The workforce is changing and it’s crucial that your business changes with it. Of course, engaging a recruitment partner can help you to rest easy knowing that every candidate you review has been hand-picked for your organisation’s needs. To find out how Beyond Recruitment can help your permanent, temporary and contracting recruitment needs today, get in touch.
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