Hoppers find jobs elusive despite boom

Naresh Trivedi (name changed) has a colourful record. In the last six-and-a-half years, the IT engineer has jumped three jobs, chasing better opportunities and more money.

Now, when he is desperate to get out of his present organisation as soon as possible due to a spat with his manager, prospective employers seem to be eluding him.

Trivedi has approached three firms in Bangalore, but all have given him the standard, “we will get back to you,” reply, but haven’t reverted since the last 10 weeks.

Trivedi says he was given vague answers that although his total experience matched their requirement criteria, his profile would have to be weighed and watched since he has not worked for very long with any of his previous employers.

Hiring may be on the rise, but the likes of Trivedi with a history of changing jobs at a drop of a hat, are finding it quite a task to get a job.

“This is happening across levels. Employers are hesitating from taking in individuals who haven’t spent enough time with previous employers. Jobs may be back, but it’s still an employers’ market, rather than an employees’ market as was the case three years ago,” says Ronesh Puri, managing director of Executive Access, an executive search firm.

According to Babuji Abraham, head, people function, Bangalore-based IT firm MindTree Consulting, when there is extremely high demand for talent then anyone and everyone stands a chance to get a job. “But during a period of stability, when hiring is need-based, job hoppers are not given top preference.”

Sunil Goel, director, GlobalHunt India, an executive search firm, says companies have a definite plan in mind when adding to their manpower costs so that they can train new hires and get them to execute specific projects; and hence look for those who are likely to stay for longer durations.

“All firms are adopting a conservative approach when it comes to hiring. Thus those with track records of jumping jobs every 2-3 years are at a sure disadvantage,” says Puri.

Nandita Gurjar, senior vice-president and head, human resources, Infosys Technologies, which has a hiring plan of 36,000 for 2010-11, says, “As we look for stability and value creation, we don’t prefer taking those with less than 3 years experience with a particular firm.”

If an applicant has scaled up considerably during his tenure and is aiming for a job change with career elevation in mind, rather than just entitlements, he becomes more attractive, says Gopalji Mehrotra, head, HR, Zensar Technologies.

“But it is important to find out the reason for frequent change in jobs,” says Abraham.
Mehrotra says depending on the reason for change, Zensar, which is planning to hire about 1,200 people till March, prefers hiring people with a steady record of sticking to companies.

Abraham says MindTree, which plans to recruit 3,500 this year, is conservative when it comes to taking in job hoppers.