Navigating the Job Landscape: Long-Term Roles or Hopping the Job Market – Wants and Needs of Today's Job Seekers
- by Daniel Bakir
- Estimated Read Time: 5 minutes
Seeking Job Frequently or Pursuing Long-term Career? Preferences of Today's Job Hunters Revealed - Job history: constantly changing roles versus long-term employment?
As the world of work changes with digitalization and artificial intelligence, traditional job structures are shifting rapidly. To thrive in this evolving landscape, understanding the modern job seeker’s desires and attitudes is crucial. Softgarden, a recruiting platform, surveyed 5475 individuals to delve into the work preferences and priorities of the current job market.
The results decipher a mixed picture: while long-term job security is valued by most, applicants are also eager to adapt to changes. Let’s explore the essential findings:
1. Job Security or Wanderlust – Which is the winner?
A substantial 96% of the surveyed respondents regard long-term job security as "important" or "very important." Only a meager 4% hold little regard for it. However, when asked about their preferred job stability model, the result is fascinating:
- Classic Lifelong Employer (28%): A minority opts for loyalty to a single employer through their working life.
- Occasional Job Changes (52%): More respondents prefer stable conditions with job changes every 5-10 years.
- Frequent Job-Hopping (19%): One in five individuals embraces job-hopping, taking advantage of opportunities as they recur.
Differences in job security preferences are influenced by factors such as education and employment status.
2. Ready to Settle for Less for More Security?
The survey reveals that 55% of respondents would forgo a part of their salary in favor of long-term employment. Some even accept up to 10% or more pay cuts for greater job security. This said, women and individuals with lower educational backgrounds are less willing to compromise on their income.
3. Pack Your Bags and Move for a New Adventure – Or Stay Put?
The willingness to relocate varies greatly among individuals. About half of the respondents firmly oppose changing cities, while 48% would adapt for a new job. The trend indicates a growing readiness to move, considering only 47% rejected a move in last year's survey. Men, younger people, and academics are more likely to shift locations.
4. Embracing Change in Personal and Professional Realms
In this era of profound change, 75% of respondents expect their jobs to dramatically alter within the next five years. Over 90% demonstrate an openness to adapting to new job duties and enrolling in further education. An impressive 63% would explore new industries, and 67% could envision a new career entirely. However, only one in three would prefer more frequent job changes. Simultaneously, there's a desire to grow within the same organization.
5. Enhancing Skills – The Responsibility of Employers and Individuals
Survey respondents expressed a preference for their employer to invest in their training, with 53% considering it "very important" and another 41% viewing it as "important" for job longevity. Intriguingly, when given a choice between higher wages and further training, the majority opted for the latter. Providing more vacation time or work hours for education also fell in favor of further training, demonstrating the impressive significance of learning opportunities in the current job market.
6. Employers – Partners in Professional Growth
The results suggest that job seekers view themselves and employers as equal stakeholders in their professional development. To retain employees, investing in further education and skills training appears to be an essential strategy in the competition for talented candidates.
- Job stability
- Job-hopping
- Relocation
- Artificial intelligence
- Digitalization
- Labor market
Additional Insights:
The current job market reveals a notable shift in job seeker preferences, with a growing emphasis on long-term employment over frequent job changes (job-hopping). The rapid pace of technological change, including digitalization and AI, encourages workers to prioritize continuous learning and upskilling to remain competitive.
In addition, the cooling job market promotes stability as a more attractive option, reducing the perceived benefits of job-hopping. Personal factors such as health, caregiving, and family responsibilities are becoming more prominent influences on work decisions.
Younger workers are prioritizing work/life balance over career advancement, reflecting a shift in values. In such a landscape, employers recognizing these changes and offering career development opportunities within their organizations can more effectively attract and retain top talent.
- In the rapidly changing job market influenced by technology such as digitalization and artificial intelligence, job security is highly valued, with 96% of surveyed respondents viewing long-term job security as important or very important.
- Despite the desire for job security, a significant number of job seekers are open to job changes every 5-10 years (52%) or even frequent job-hopping (19%), demonstrating their adaptability and willingness to seize new opportunities.
