Is Job Hopping Within the Same Company Bad? Learn the Advantages and Disadvantages

Quick Take

Everyone wants their careers to be challenging and interesting right? Instead of looking to company after company to reach your goals, is it possible to laterally hop to a position where you already work? Businesses love loyal employees so is using only one organization for success your best bet?

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For the eager asking if job hopping within the same company is bad, there are some pros and cons to consider. As a business owner, I do enjoy interviewing the eager who boast about how they’ll be running my business more efficiently in no time! It might make me chuckle (a little) but most business owners can spot a top achiever right off the bat. Still making change after change may not be in your best interest or mine.

If you’re way ahead of the game when it comes to ideas and innovation, changing jobs in one company can be a good thing for your career; however, let’s take a more in depth look at the real advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

Some of the advantages of changing positions in the same company include:

Better Resume – When and if you do decide it’s time to make a change, the positions you’ve held make a difference on your resume. For example, if you change from sales associate to assistant sales manager to general manager, it not only says a lot about how well you seek out goals and achieve them but also the skill sets you possess.

Long-Term Benefits – As I pointed out earlier, business owners want loyal employees who are productive. Staying with one company means you’ll gain a larger retirement account, be eligible for more benefits such as longer vacation time and other rewards companies offer for long-term achievements.

Leadership – New employees and co-workers will look to you as the company expert. They’ll seek advice and look to you as a mentor as you’ve worked in many departments and upper management will also notice how employees view you. Becoming a leader with one company offers many rewards and avails you other opportunities such as connecting with peers on the same level—something you can’t do if you continually job hop from one company to another.

Salary – This by far has be the largest reason to laterally hop with one company. Most companies do offer annual increases, merit raises and incentive rewards you’ll be eligible for with longer tenure.

Disadvantages

Along with the pros, there are also some cons including:

Talent – Some supervisors may look at your cross-position hops as a negative, meaning you don’t like the job you’re in, don’t have the skill sets, are bored or simply have no idea what career path you want to take .

Co-Workers – Believe it or not, there will be some co-workers who dislike your hopping within the company. If you jump too quickly without a chance to show what you can bring to the job you currently hold, co-workers relying on you will become frustrated as your replacement needs training.

Departmental Problems – If you switch from customer service to sales, most likely both supervisors know one another and, if you leave your customer service supervisors in the dust, in effect you are burning a bridge. Supervisors do talk—expect your old boss to share the not so great attributes about you.

Complacency – If you don’t enjoy the positions you hop to but take them anyway when offered, you may not put forth your best effort and become unproductive and complacent in your new position. Make sure the job you are reaching for is one you will enjoy and is in an area where you know you’ll excel.

Tips for Doing It Right

Tips for Climbing the Ladder

Before you begin your goal to stay with one company, even if that means hopping from one department or position to another, here are some tips to guarantee the positions you want, you’ll get.

Resume Updates – Each time you change positions, make sure you update your resume with prior positions, skills and achievements—be specific. If you saved one department thousands or improved sales outputs, mention these achievements.

Human Resources – Make yourself well known in the personnel or HR department. Try to make connections with managers and those who post jobs internally—perhaps you’ll get a heads up on upcoming positions.

Exit Gracefully – When moving from one position to the next, especially if you’ll be working with a different group of people, thank the co-workers for the time you’ve all worked together and let them know how you’ll still be around if questions about your former job arises or to help train a newbie.

Be a Learner – We as people are constantly learning. Take advantage of every training opportunity or continuing education benefit offered to you in each new position. If you do decide to eventually leave the company, these can be invaluable for obtaining a new job.

Job hopping from one department to another can be a good thing, if done correctly. Avoid mistakes and make use of the advantages your employer offers if you decide to stay on but don’t just make a lateral change because you think it’s the best choice; if you don’t give one career position a chance and cross-hop you may be sorry once you do. Finally, job hopping within the same company without training your replacement will not only be difficult for the department you’re leaving, you may also lose some professional respect of your peers. Don’t move too quickly and provide ample notice to your supervisor before changing positions.