Bouncing around

A corporate world that once frowned upon multiple jobs listed on a young person's resume is changing face. There no longer seems to be an unspoken statute calling for individuals to remain in their jobs, regardless of their sacrifices. What was once considered taboo is becoming more accepted across the board.

They are called "Millennials" and according to a CBS News report, there are 80 million of them. These perennial job hoppers, born between 1980 and 1995, are pushing aging baby boomers out of their seats and climbing in.

Unlike their parents' generation, these workers know there are plenty of jobs on the market and don't hesitate to move onto something bigger and better.

Jason Bandermann currently works as a referral service manager for Saint Francis Medical Center, acting as a liaison between the hospital and area businesses. The 27-year-old graduated from Southeast Missouri State University with a degree in secondary education and had taught math at Central Junior High before moving to the private sector.

"I had the opportunity to go into business, weighed my options, and went that way," he says. "There wasn't really a negative aspect to teaching that made me do that, it was more about the opportunity that was presented to me."

Nolan Brunnworth is a St. Louis career specialist for Southeast Missouri State University's Outreach Office in Chesterfield, Mo. He typically sees recent graduates, though occasionally gets alumni who graduated 10 to 20 plus years ago, usually because they have been laid off or want to start a new career. Brunnworth's job is to help Southeast graduates find employment or internships in or around the St. Louis area.

He says recently people have been coming in from the mortgage industry that did well in their career, but have been let go or the writing is on the wall. They want to see what else they can do with their finance degree.

"I usually see the trends in the economy firsthand," he says. Folks who have been laid off go to him to "re-evaluate their options."

The older Southeast graduates who visit him usually want to combine their years of work experience with their education to find a new career path.

Some of the younger graduates are just looking to move on and move up.

"A lot of people are just a few years out and reach what I call a plateau, and are looking for a completely new type of job," he says. "We call those career transitioners."

This often refers to people who got that first job from a small employer and have reached what they feel is their highest potential at that particular job.

Bandermann says he has quite a few jobs listed on his resume, but each time he has switched jobs it has improved his situation and his family's situation.

"Each time I've gained responsibility and knowledge," he says. "I've brought diverse experiences and been able to better myself with each change that I make."

He does say frequent job hopping can appear like an employee is "unloyal," or doesn't have the determination to "stick it out," but that it mainly depends on the person. "It's something that should be highlighted in the interview process," Bandermann says. "Contact previous employers and talk to them about what kind of employee that person was."

Brunnworth explains that many graduates with broad degrees can make pretty significant, and frequent, career changes, but that it can be a double-edged sword. "They could completely change their job if they see a good fit with their transferable job skills."

But how do businesses fair from all this leap frogging from one position to the next?

"It does sometimes hurt the smaller businesses," Brunnworth says. "The larger employers sometimes have more sophistication in their career pathing." As in, larger corporations will often meet with a human resources department and lay out plans to retain talent. The smaller business don't always have the resources to do that so when an employee no longer feels challenged, they will move on.

Bandermann says he has a couple of friends who have stayed in one career, but most are like him. They have stayed in the area but switched a lot, bettering themselves with each career move.

"In the past maybe people were more content staying in one position and advancing at a later date. Now people want to move up as quick as possible. I've seen that with a lot of friends and peers. Most have three different jobs on their resume and are less than 30 years old," he says.