Is being a job hopper an actual problem? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I'm a midlevel who recently lateraled to a new firm. I thought I had juice in me still but I just don't. The firm/group is BUSY, absolutely no ramp up period and I realized on a random Wednesday at 11:30 pm I don't have it in me anymore.

Anyway, I was at my first firm for ~2.5 years, moved to a new city, was at 2nd firm for ~1.5 years and been at this firm for a few months. I'm actively thinking I need to GTFO and go in-house, but some of my friends are telling me it's a bad idea to look now because I'll be seen as a chronic job hopper and I may be blowing a chance to join a company because I'll be in their "system" for 1 year+ after I get rejected. Which is something I hadn't really considered - but that may be a fair point.

I personally think if I get a good in-house opportunity, screw it, go for it. But I've been told I may not even be given the opportunity given how little I've worked at current firm.

[Buglaw]

I'm a midlevel who recently lateraled to a new firm. I thought I had juice in me still but I just don't. The firm/group is BUSY, absolutely no ramp up period and I realized on a random Wednesday at 11:30 pm I don't have it in me anymore.

Anyway, I was at my first firm for ~2.5 years, moved to a new city, was at 2nd firm for ~1.5 years and been at this firm for a few months. I'm actively thinking I need to GTFO and go in-house, but some of my friends are telling me it's a bad idea to look now because I'll be seen as a chronic job hopper and I may be blowing a chance to join a company because I'll be in their "system" for 1 year+ after I get rejected. Which is something I hadn't really considered - but that may be a fair point.

I personally think if I get a good in-house opportunity, screw it, go for it. But I've been told I may not even be given the opportunity given how little I've worked at current firm.

I mean, its obviously not a great look on your resume to keep switching jobs every 1-2 years. But, I don't see why you should put off looking for an in-house job. They can be hard to find. Might as well start now.

[Anonymous User]

I tried to go in-house after a few months at my third firm and faced a lot of skepticism from interviewers. One even called someone at my prior firm to ask if I was any good; he assumed I was a mediocre attorney for having moved around so much.

That said, I wouldn't hold off if a good opportunity comes along. Just be prepared to explain each of your career moves and your reasons for wanting to leave now.

I'm not aware of any companies' prohibitions on reapplying within a year, though some companies do have policies on re-applicants. I think Facebook says no more than three applications every 90 days, and Amazon says you can't apply within six months after being rejected in an interview (but not if you're never selected for an interview). Seems hard to imagine applying now would hurt you down the road, especially if you make a favorable impression but nevertheless lose to someone more qualified, which isn't unusual.

[johndhi]

It's fine. Just come up with a good answer if they ask.

[Anonymous User]

Anon because I had a similar problem.

Yes, it hurts to be a job hopper. I’ve been at my current firm for 3-4 years so people have stopped asking questions, but when I first got here, people wondered why I hopped around so much. It wasn’t even an interesting story (Firm #1 to clerkship to Firm #2 in a different city to current firm for practice area), yet some in-house interviewers still thought it might be a reflection of my work product. Just grit your teeth and give it another year or two. It’ll save you a good amount of headache