Job hopping

[annieboo444]

I am bit of a job hopper. I have been a RN for 5 years now. My first job only lasted 6 months. It was a horrid med surg job. My second job lasted 2.5 years at pretty good hospital on a tele floor. Then i took a case manager position for a better schedule. I was there almost 2 years. My current job I started in December, but am not happy at all. I am nurse coordinator for CT surgery. I took it for better pay. The job is so boring too much of a desk job and the company culture is horrible. It was not the description I got at the interview. They put my cell phone number on my business cards. I never agreed to be on call 24/7. I am so tempted to start applying at jobs, but don't want hop just yet. I don't want to put I was here for less than a year. I regret leaving my last job so bad. Should I stay at least a year or should I start applying. I don't want to ruin my resume\job history. But if I can get hired at another job and possibly it better than what does it matter? What are your thoughts on this?

[Matthew RN, MSN]

First suggestion would be to quite looking at yourself as a "job hopper". Working at a job for 2.5 years and another for 2 years does show the ability to stay at a job.

As you are aware the fact that this will be your second job where you stay less than a year could be a red flag when looking for jobs in the future. You do become less hirable if people think you won't stay long. Ways to mitigate this while still leaving this job would be a "promotion" within the same company, or another good explanation for leaving the job (don't include boring, took this job for the money etc.).

Some of your issues at this job look solvable, such as the business cards, probably a simple conversation stating your preference for only having your office number on them.

[Workitinurfava, BSN, RN]

I decided to not do case management because the case-load was insane and I didn't want to be on-call. It looked like the nurses were working all day in their M-F schedule. It was nuts. If you left it wouldn't be too much of a hit on your resume because at one of your most recent jobs, you stayed for 2.5 years.

[guest464345]

I've never understood the preoccupation with job hopping among nurses. Teachers, PTs, social workers, pharmacists, ....they all seem to change jobs without worrying about being branded as flakes. In my previous two careers I never once heard the phrase "job hopper" used.

It's a common theme from nursing school that doesn't seem to play out in real life (also "risking your license".....look at BON discipline records in your state! No one is losing their license for running late on a 30-patient med pass. People lose their licenses for DUIs, for posting meth photos on social media, for stealing stuff at work....but I digress).

Your ability to change jobs depends on a) what's open, and b) the applicants you're competing with. If it's a market with a lot of competition for a few open positions, sure, a manager might only choose someone who sticks around for 10 years, or someone with an inside connection. But generally it's a question of how in-demand your skill set is....for instance in my area if you're an experienced OR nurse right now, you could probably show up to interviews with visible horns and a tail, breathing fire, and still have no problem .

If you can get a better job, and if you act professionally in giving notice....why not be happy? You're employed at will, not on a contract with a specific time commitment, right? If your employer thought you weren't a good fit, or they had to factor in some changed circumstance of budget or staffing, it'd surely be "thank you and goodbye." You get to do the same thing.