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In the past 10 years my all-time record for staying at a job is 18 months. My average stay is 14 months. And after switching jobs 12 times, I’ve learned to tell when it’s time for me to start planning my next move.
To enlighten you, here are my top 10 telling signs:
(in my next post I plan to share with you how I’ve left every job – for the exception of 1 – in very friendly terms with my employers and colleagues)
How can you tell that it’s time to start planning your exit strategy?
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I'm curious how you explain your career transitions to future employers. As a former recruiter, this kind of resume would be a red flag to me.
If you can find a job that let's you do something new everyday, then you've got it made.
Having said that, you seem like my 5-year-old, who jumps from toy to toy, and leaves them scattered all over the floor. Of course, he has an excuse; he's 5.
Hallelujah! I'm not the only one who suffers from boredom at work! I've been out of college for two years and have held different full time jobs in that time.
I left my first job because it was a temporary placeholder that I endured until I found my current job.
I'm planning to leave my current job because I've found that a lack of fair management, micromanagement, and unfair bias has left me feeling underappreciated and demoralized.
I don't just jump from job to job out of necessity, but out of the desire to find that perfect fit. I get the feeling that your fit is to keep moving. A good friend's mother once indulged her own job-hopping past, and expressed that at each job she learned just a little bit more about who she was and what she really wanted in life. I hope that's what your experiences are bringing to you as well.
I am curious what you get from a job in just a year? Do you think an average of 14 months in a job is sufficient to learn/play, experiment, contribute and grow?
Breanne,
You make a valid point and it's one that some of my employers have brought up during interviews. I've learned to handle the question of longevity and loyalty by making my future employers look at the big picture. First I acknowledge their concern and then I make them focus on my track record which includes delivering above average results. For example, in my most recent role, under my management, the company's client portfolio quadrupled. In a prior role I opened accounts that my predecessors didn't even bother to pursue. So in my mind, although switching jobs at the rate that I have might seem self-serving on the outside, I feel at peace with it because I know, hand in heart, that I've added value to my employers even if they aren't able to have me for life. In the end, it boils down to how confident a candidate feels about their career decisions. If the candidate is not at peace with their switching, then that will come across during interviews - and potentially as you point out it will be a red flag. In my case I can prove to them (and to me) that I am an asset so I'm able to address the question of loyalty and longevity quite comfortably. In my mind that's what has a made a difference - and that's why I continue to get hired.
Silvana
Maya,
I believe that it's quite personal what each individual gets from a job. In my case, I've approached my career very much how I have approached the businesses that I've owned and sold. So just as there's a time to buy and sell a business - and there are no set rules - there's also a time to let go of a job. In my mind switching jobs has boiled down to a business decision. For example, in the past 5 years the 3 times that I've switched jobs I've landed jobs that pay 30% or more than my previous one. In my mind that's a pretty good return - when the average yearly pay raise in the Australian market is 4%. During that same time I also increased my responsibilities - from marketing coordinator to national manager. In the end, what each person deems 'sufficient' is up to what they deem important. So figuring out what's important to you is perhaps the most important piece of information that you can have BEFORE you start a job. In my case I've worked with a 5 year plan that guides my career decisions. My plan is what has helped me answer 'how long is long enough.'
Silvana
I learned a lot about myself in my first job, but it wasn't until my second job that I was able to apply it to something worth doing.
I think part of the learning is the transition. When I left my first job, I was way too comfortable. And when I jumped into the next, my world turned upside down. It was total chaos for about 8 months before I got a grip. But when I did, I felt like I took the best parts of my previous job, applied them to my second and now have so many new opportunities to embrace and learn from.
Here's the problem I have with a number of job-hoppers: They can tell me all about the great projects they were involved in, but they can't tell me the effects of what they've worked on, because they didn't stay long enough to either finish the project or see the results.
As for career opportunity costs, it's inevitable, no matter what you do. Getting older is a opportunity cost unto itself.
Silvana,
Thank you for the explanation. I get your perspective now. I have had 4 jobs in 10 years but when I think about it I have constantly reinvented myself in every job and have had to do that within a year on every job. I moved positions within companies, capitalizing on the reputation I had built. And when I felt I had stopped learning and growing I quit. Like Ryan says, I had a lot of learning in the transition and built up a great network as well.
I have found that switching jobs is often beneficial for both the employee and the employer. You get to make your contributions to the company, then when you leave your employer is able to hire someone else who will probably make even more contributions. You get variety, and your employer gets variety. As long as the break is amiable and done at an appropriate time (ie not in the middle of a big project), you deserve to go out and look for your dream job. Every employer knows that a happy employee is a productive employee, and you can't be happy if you're miserable!
Speaking of switching jobs, how about some tips for getting jobs? Say, in an industry that you have no experience in whatsoever. I am finishing uni end of this year but I have very little (by that I mean VERY little) industry experience. What are the things I must do for myself to improve my competitiveness in the job marke? Obviously an impeccable academic transcript is a bit too late! dizi izle film izle
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