Is Job Hopping the Norm for Nurses?

[westieluv]

Just curious. I have been seeking a new job over the past week or so because the job I am currently in requires me to work 14-17 hours a day, plus take on call some nights after that. I can't reconcile myself to doing this, both for my patients and myself. However, I have worked at this job for only about fifteen months, and I was at my previous job for just about the same amount of time, due to my hours being changed and not being conducive to my family needs at the time. I have been an RN for over 20 years and have a lot of varied experience under my belt, so that should surely help in my search for a better position.

As I have been seeking work, I have been feeling kind of ashamed at having been at these positions for such a relatively short period of time, so I have been reading some resumes' of other RNs in my area on Indeed.com just to see how I compare. What I have been finding is that the vast majority of them seem to have job hopped. I'm talking about working six months here, eight months there, etc. Some of these nurses have four or five employers listed just in the past five years!

I'm just wondering if I am too worried about my recent track record in terms of longevity in a position, and if potential employers would be more willing to overlook it due to my years of varied experience and the fact that so many other applicants have job hopped way more than I have.

Do you think that job hopping has become the norm for a large number of nurses? Do you see this in your workplace? I'm just curious.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

I have been at my current workplace for approximately four years. This is the longest stretch of time I've worked at any place.

I have been a nurse for eight years. In that time I've held several full-time jobs and multiple PRN gigs. I'll remain at my current workplace as long as my needs for a reasonable work environment and steady compensation are being met. Otherwise, I will not hesitate to seek work elsewhere.

I've realized that the grass is not always greener on the other side. I've also realized that, as someone with a malcontent personality, I'll never be happy doing the same thing for too long, so I anticipate a few more job hops during my career.

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

While I wouldn't say that job hopping looks good on a resume right now (it definitely does not), it is a generational thing. What I mean is that the days of people staying at one job for 20, 30 or more years are fading away. Lives change so fast these days and jobs change right along with them. Jobs dont offer incentives the way they used to, and the cultures change too. People born in the millennial era tend to get more bored at a job they are at too long and want a change, whereas Baby Boomers tend to be more loyal. There are exceptions to the rule of course but there's no denying that times have changed. Staying at a job these days for more than 5 years particularly in nursing is starting to be quite unusual.

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[SubSippi]

I think it is becoming the norm, but I don't think it's due to personality qualities of the younger generations.

A PP said that baby boomers might be more loyal, and I don't doubt that's true in many instances. But I'd like to point out that many of our administrators are in that generation, and don't seem to have much loyalty to their employees.

Employers now don't seem to offer many benefits to those who stay in one position for years and years. Raises hardly ever happen, and I often hear people say that the only way to really get paid for your work experience is to go from hospital to hospital.

If there's not incentive to stay, then why pass up a more interesting opportunity elsewhere? Young people now are also waiting longer to get married and have children, and without those sort of responsibilities I think it's easier to make big changes as far as a career goes.

[~PedsRN~, BSN, RN]

I feel like it's the norm.... I have been on my unit since I became a nurse, and honestly can't imagine working elsewhere. But in my short time there (three years), I have seen so many nurses come and go. The grass is always greener?????

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

What I should have said is that Baby Boomers tend to be more loyal "to their employers" ... yes. To their employees, likely a whole other story .... I also did point out that there are exceptions to the rules, but I'd be hard pressed to find a millennial in this day and age who is planning to or will actually stay at their present job for the next 30 years. I'm a Generation X'er, and I don't even believe that's me. A Baby Boomer I work with stresses out about calling in sick because she is worried that the unit will be short a nurse. Our later generations for the most part dont give it a second thought.

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[Caffeine_IV]

I don't know if it is normal but I don't find it unusual. There aren't any incentives to stay for 10+ years...they may give you a pin and a mention in the monthly newsletter.

Of course if you find a position you like with minimal or tolerable crap, most are inclined to stay.

I stayed on a crap job because I enjoyed my coworkers. Had a baby and came back and 4 of them were gone with 2 more planning to retire. I left as soon as I got a position elsewhere.

[TU RN, DNP, CRNA]

Seeing young nurses flee a workplace because they aren't natural fits for the specialty or culture is one thing. Seeing experienced nurses of 10-20 years leaving the unit (on which they spent the better half of their adult lives) because they've slowly been eroded and mistreated from every direction until burnout is downright demoralizing.

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

I've been a nurse for 7 years. I've had 3 jobs. The first I was at for 4 1/2 years, the second I did PRN for a year and a half (along with my current job) and my current job I've been at for 2 1/2 years.

That's more employers than my mother has worked for in the 40 years she's been a teacher. It's true it's generational. My father spent his entire career with the same company (technically, it got bought out several times but he didn't change jobs), my Uncle's been with the same company for his whole career, etc. I can't imagine staying put for that long. I don't intend on staying in my current job forever. Change can be a good thing. Too much change, of course, will make you look like a job hopper. If you spend less than 2 years at a job, you risk being labeled as such.

[NurseCard, ADN]

I've been a job hopper. I stayed at my first nursing job for seven years altogether. Left that job in 2006 and since that time I've had seven different jobs. I've left all of those jobs for various reasons but actually went into most of them with the intention of staying indefinitely.

I don't think it's unusual, especially with nurses, but I definitely do not think it looks good on a resume. Definitely not.

[VivaLasViejas, ASN, RN]

I've had 7 jobs in the past 6 years, including one that lasted for 2 1/2 years. Part of my issues with holding onto jobs are a low tolerance for being treated like crap, the rest have to do with a general restlessness and boredom that creep in a couple of years into a job. I've finally given up on the idea of the "forever job" that I looked for during my entire career, and am now looking outside of nursing for something I can tolerate for awhile.

It doesn't help that the only thing I really want to do for the rest of my life is write. It's all I ever have wanted to do, but of course I've got to eat and pay rent. Nursing was good to me financially; not so good for me mentally and emotionally, which is another reason I've had such a tough time hanging onto jobs.

[sistrmoon, BSN, RN]

I've been in my job for 6 years and seen much turnover. So it's not the norm for me but does seem to be for everyone else! We have a handful of people there 10-15 years.