How often can you change jobs for more money? The rules of 'job-hopping.'

You’ve been successful your occupation for a fewer years now, and your wage hasn’t budged. Your thoughts crook to the privation ads.

Changing jobs for a higher income is simply a time-honored tradition. Switch jobs excessively galore times, however, and you hazard being labeled a job-hopper.

With that reddish emblem successful mind, we posed a question to respective vocation experts: How often tin you safely alteration employers, if your extremity is to gain much money?

American workers look little loyal to their companies today than successful the recent past. The median idiosyncratic had a occupation tenure of 3.9 years in 2024, according to federal data, the lowest fig for worker tenure since 2002.

The typical active jobseeker has been successful their current job for roughly two years and 3 months, according to Indeed, the employment website.

“The occupation marketplace close present is simply a batch much fluid,” said Priya Rathod, workplace trends exertion astatine Indeed.

Salaries are rising for galore workers who stay successful their jobs, but possibly not arsenic swiftly arsenic they would like.

The mean leader planned to award pay increases totaling 3.5% successful 2026, according to an October survey of 1,000 organizations by Mercer, a human resources consultant.

With ostentation hovering astatine an yearly complaint betwixt 2% and 3%, a 3.5% wage raise is fundamentally flat.

One mode to raise your pay, of course, is to land a higher-paying job.

Corporate recruiters are deluged with job letters. The fig of applications filed connected LinkedIn roseate 45% betwixt 2024 and 2025, The New York Times reports. AI has made it easier to apply.

Changing jobs tin get you a higher salary. But if you alteration jobs excessively frequently, you could beryllium seen arsenic "job-hopping."

But erstwhile does job-hunting go job-hopping?

The word is “often defined arsenic staying successful roles for a small little than 2 years,” Rathod said.

Matthew Bidwell, a absorption prof astatine the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, agrees: “If you’re systematically successful jobs little than 2 to 3 years, they commencement to get nervous.”

For imaginable employers, job-hopping tin beryllium a reddish flag. It suggests 1 of 2 things, Bidwell said: “Either it’s due to the fact that you’re incompetent, and you support getting edged out, oregon you person precise itchy feet.”

Employers don’t like turnover. It takes clip and wealth to train a replacement: the equivalent of 1 oregon 2 years’ salary, Bidwell said.

“That means I don’t privation to prosecute you if you permission aft 1 oregon 2 years,” helium added.

Yet, the stigma associated with job-hopping whitethorn beryllium fading.

The stigma associated with job-hopping whitethorn beryllium fading.

American workplace civilization utilized to worth loyalty, a taxable embodied in the pension, a status savings conveyance that rewarded workers for agelong tenure. But those sensibilities person changed.

“Attitudes person shifted drastically successful the past 20 years,” said Christine Sundry, subordinate manager of the vocation halfway astatine Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College. “Career paths contiguous aren’t needfully linear.”

Young adults emerge from college today with much debt, Sundry said, and under contiguous unit to onshore a precocious salary.

The distant enactment gyration of the COVID-19 epoch simplified the logistics of changing jobs.

“Job-hopping became thing precise superior a fewer years ago,” said Jasmine Escalera, a vocation adept at the networking site Bold.

Recent corporate layoffs may embolden workers to circulate their resumes.

“The occupation seeker doesn’t consciousness that they person to beryllium loyal, due to the fact that the institution isn’t being loyal,” Sundry said.

Changing jobs each twelvemonth oregon 2 doesn’t needfully equate to job-hopping, experts say.

Among twenty-somethings, immoderate job-hopping is expected. Older workers mightiness beryllium expected to enactment enactment longer.

“I deliberation a batch depends connected your job, and connected your age,” Bidwell said. “Changing jobs each twelvemonth successful your early- to mid-20s isn’t apt to beryllium a problem. Over the years, if you support doing it, it does commencement to rise eyebrows.”

If you do job-hop, vocation experts say, beryllium acceptable to explicate your decision in aboriginal occupation interviews.

“What matters much than however often you power jobs is whether each determination makes consciousness and, much importantly, whether it tin beryllium explained to a imaginable employer,” Rathod said.

If you don’t privation to explicate your job-hopping to future employers, past see alternatives. Here are a few:

Negotiate higher pay 

Most American workers study that they didn’t inquire for a higher salary than they were offered when they took their existent job, Pew Research reports. A higher wage becomes important, occupation experts say, if you don’t get meaningful raises successful the years to come.

Ask for a raise

Most American workers consciousness they’re entitled to a wage raise, but galore balk astatine asking for one, according to a 2023 survey from the site B2B Reviews. Employees say they’re not sure how to ask, fearfulness rejection oregon interest astir occupation security.

Clearly, a idiosyncratic who doesn’t inquire for a rise is little apt to get one.

Ask for a promotion

Better still, vocation experts say, inquire for a promotion.

“The different mode radical rise their wages is changing jobs wrong companies,” Bidwell said. “The bully happening astir getting promoted is, you get a pay raise, and you besides get bumped into a higher wage band.”

With a promotion, you become eligible for higher-paying jobs astatine different companies, arsenic well.

Leverage a occupation connection for a raise

One mode to transportation an leader to connection a rise oregon promotion, vocation experts say, is to say you’ve been offered different job. But the strategy is risky, and it tin backfire.

If your institution rewards you with higher wage for rejecting different offer, your colleagues whitethorn “look astatine you arsenic a small spot disloyal,” Bidwell said. “And if I deliberation you’re halfway retired the door, however overmuch americium I going to put successful you?”

This nonfiction primitively appeared connected USA TODAY: How often tin you alteration jobs for much money?