Earlier this year, the Boston Globe published an article on the habit of job hopping by 20-somethings. In “Job hopping an option for young people,” author Penelope Trunk made her argument that the best thing a Gen Y working professional could do early in his career is to move around, a lot, so he could figure out what he likes among other things.

When I first read this advice it seemed backward. It’s not in line with what my college career counselors preached. And it’s certainly the opposite of what my parents drilled into me when I was first starting out as a young grad. But… that was over a decade ago.

Experience issued a press release today covering our June 2008 “Life After College” study, which surveyed hundreds of young alumni who use the Experience Network to help manage their careers. We learned many interesting things in analyzing the results. Most notably, what Penelope wrote about last spring held true in our research: generally speaking, we found that Gen Y is always on the job hunt even when they’re happily employed.

Here’s a breakdown of what we found at a high level:

• 70% of young grads reported they left their first job within two years of their joining
• 43% of Gen Y are not in the career they expected to be in after college, either because they couldn’t find a job, or another opportunity presented itself
• 60% are currently looking for another job or career, despite the fact that 57% indicated that they are also happy at their current job
• 74% of recent graduates are in a career that aligns with their college major

Let’s face it… job hopping is not going to go away. But employers can be proactive and reduce Gen Y attrition rates by tailoring a few common practices to accommodate the needs of entry-level employees, including:

• Setting realistic expectations (sharing what it’s really like to work at a company, forgoing the polished corporate speak)
• Embracing new forms of direct communication (incorporating instant messaging, text messaging and other interactive media into daily communications)
• Promoting lifestyle benefits (bringing young employees together for meetings and training sessions that marry entertainment and learning; allow work-at-home flexibility, etc.)

What else are you doing to retain the Gen Y talent you’ve worked so hard to bring on board?