Letters to the Editor
-
Job-hopping isn't the worst thing you could do
Depending on what you do, two-year stints might not be at all bad. I've held six jobs since I finished grad school in 2001 and each of them represented a definite step forward in my career (beginning with lowly office jobs and working my way first into my area of interest, then into my chosen role, then into positions with more responsibilities and higher salary).
If you aren't getting a tangible benefit from every move, think long and hard about making the decision to leave your current job, weighing the positives and negatives. Leaving for a more exciting job, a more prestigious company, or a much higher salary is great. Leaving just to rid yourself of your tiresome coworkers is not, because they don't get any less tiresome at the company down the block. Seniority is not vitally important, but it's valuable, and you have to be careful not to throw it away needlessly.
Also, make a point of learning from experience: ask detailed questions when you interview at new places. Not only is it a good tactic for impressing hiring managers (I asked for what I thought was an absurdly high starting salary at my current job, but I'd so wowed them that they gave it to me without blinking), but it gives you some idea of whether you'll just run into the same problems again.