Job hopping season is on the horizon

March 8, 2017 2 mins read
job-hopping

Soon after Spring Festival, people are actually job-hopping more frequently.

According to incomplete statistics, nearly 40% of employees will choose to quit in March and April. Many choose to update their resumes during this period and take the initiative to look at job ads to seek new opportunities. "Golden March, Silver Four" is not only the active season of recruitment, but the employee turnover peak for many enterprises.

The reasons why employees choose to seek opportunities after Spring Festival are broadly divided into the following categories.

- Many companies will pay the annual bonus after Spring Festival, so many employees tend to resign after they get their bonus.

-While setting the performance indicators for the new year, many sales teams tend to set high targets, giving employees more pressure, sometimes even unrealistic targets, which is more difficult to achieve especially during a slower economy in China.

- The promotion mechanism being not perfect is also one of the reasons for employees to quit. Most companies will promote a number of outstanding staff at the end of each year and some employees who have not been promoted begin to take the initiative to look outside because of no promotion.

In the face of job hopping, candidates should be more cautious to avoid regretting changing jobs. Firstly, try to look at other things than salary. Due to the higher living cost, salary becomes a key factor in driving people to change jobs. As a result, the anxiety related to it will make us ignore the hidden capita in our occupations like ability improvement, resource accumulation and development space, resulting in lack of any growth or progression. Even when you can have a good short-term development, you will suffer a greater loss on the long run if there is a ceiling to it. As to this situation, it is recommended to think about your long term plan.

Second, think about the most genuine motivation of "job-hopping". Is it a mood or emotion because of a work related situation, promotion policy, dissatisfaction with income or other resources, or just a feeling that “the grass always looks greener on the other side of the fence”? As to this situation, it is advisable to reflect on where you stand and identify your own weaknesses and strengths and to focus more clearly on your career goals.

Finally, maintain an effective network of interpersonal relationships and maintain an active attitude of your social circles. Paying more attention to business updates of professional social networks and making a few reliable headhunter friends are effective ways to obtain market information. Thus, you can have more information sources when judging whether a career opportunity is good actually the right one for you.

Marlon Mai's picture
Marlon Mai
Managing Director, Greater China
mmai@morganmckinley.com