Nursing Leaders – Just Because You Can Change Jobs, Doesn’t Mean You Should
Just because you can change jobs, doesn’t mean you should.
Strange coming from a recruiter right? Nursing leaders have always been in demand by employers (some years more than others) but that doesn’t mean you should accept every job offer that comes your way. As a recruiter who reviews hundreds of resumes a week, I commonly see resumes of candidates that change jobs every year to every other year. Sure, candidates make job changes for advancement or expanded roles, but this shouldn’t be the status-quo. For good or bad, quality employers and quality recruiters tend to pass on candidates with jumpy backgrounds. The message this sends is “I’m never happy and always looking for something better”.
So, is there a magic number of years that you should stay with an employer?
Probably not, but it is optimal to have longer lengths of employment mixed with those shorter lengths in order to show future employers that “Yes, I can be a long term employee.” Candidates can have wonderful credentials, but ultimately the time and money spent in their education can be wasted by their lack of patience in carefully navigating their careers. So, what’s the message? The message is this: Don’t underestimate the perception of frequent job changes and the message it sends to a potential employer.
About the Author
Sheryl is an Executive Recruiter with the Healthcare Practice of hireneXus. She has extensive recruiting and human resources experience in the healthcare field and, prior to hireneXus, spent 5 years with one of the top health systems in Pennsylvania. She holds a BS in Journalism from the University of Colorado in Boulder and has her PHR certification.