Work Matters

I found out through chance that a former colleague of mine had changed jobs. She joined my old company in early 2010 and was a looker. However, I realized that she was only just that because she did not do the work she was tasked to do. I made it a point to highlight to my supervisor, the glaring absence of work done. His  response that she "did not know she has to do them".

The way I observed, she spent most of the time doing close to nothing, because the productivity charts did not raise an inch. In the end, that female colleague left my old company within 6 months for a new job at ABC Co, just as about they were to fire her. 6 months into ABC, she has left XYZ Co.

What struck me immediately was how someone could easily change jobs within a span of 2-3 years. I knew she told me that she was working as a financial adviser after leaving the university. The spent 6 months with my then company, which was in the media industry. After that, she moved to a transport company before arriving at her current position as a market researcher.

I related to my friend yesterday and he praised that colleague. He said that he admired people who can quit their job without being confirmed into the position for they do not see a job fit. I told him that I agree with his point, but he heard wrongly, because in my example, the former colleague tweedled her thumbs and did nothing else. Maybe some facebook and online shopping.

In my opinion, while I dislike my former colleague for her lack of work ethic, it is the company that hired her, despite knowing that she changes jobs rather frequently that puzzles me. The benefit of the doubt could be that my former colleague is very good at interviews (male interviewer perhaps). She could say that the job description did not match what was done, or that she did the job as a stop gap measure. Or maybe for her qualifications and the salary she was asking for a very low salary, edging her from the other

But from an organizational perspective, hiring a job hopper - defined as changing two permanent jobs within  a year - carries the risk that she will again leave the job soon. The organization would then have to incur costs in searching for a new candidate. Also, if you hire a candidate who does not seem to have a clear progression as to where he or she is going, it may imply that the candidate lacks focus and passion in what he or she is doing. I believe that if a candidate does not have passion, much less a work ethic, then the organization would not be able to harness the revenue or productivity gains that was suppose to come with the hiring.

What are your views on job hopping from either side of the interview table?