Frequent Switches : Good or Bad ?
To the People who have made / are making frequent job switches ( say each year or so ), What’s your salary progression and any issues you might think you run into in the future
I wish to know the pros/cons of frequently switching jobs. I am in a dilemma, there are posts here and there that say don't switch frequently and then there are posts that nobody cares about frequent job switches, as you are a dev.
Let's discuss ladies & gents✍️
Imagine you are the Hiring manager looking for a Tech Lead who is having 8-10 years of experience.
He/She has already switched 6-7 companies in the period of 9 years. Will you consider that person working for you?
I personally won’t.
This has happened in front of me, I mean LITERALLY. My manager and lead were sitting right next to me shortlisting CVs to fill in another lead position and one candidate had switched somewhere around 4 companies in the last 5 years. Instantly rejected.
Is there a way like, what if the person just skips 1-2 companies and adds their years in another company. This will reduce the number of switches right.
Best to do at least 2 years in a company before switching. That's considered normal in early days of your career. Anything less than that is a red flag
Even in early careers as well? As pay is lower in the early years, can't we switch for better fast?
Too many switches early on is a red flag. If 2 years is too much to stay in one place then there are some issues with the candidate for sure (called a flight risk).
Have personally rejected multiple cvs due to switches every 9-15 months
This is more for people who are looking for VP/ CEO or leadership positions in any company, switching frequently loses the network which you have built in the country over long term and the sponsorships from leaders for growth. Career is all about understanding the power centers on the company and understanding and navigating them to reach top and that is very difficult if you switch companies frequently
Depends very much on how frequent it is For me the average duration has been 1.5 years - and it’s worked out really well
It helped figure out what I like or don’t like in my early career: large company vs small company, early stage vs growth stage, growth vs sales roles
And my increments with each change was quite high
That said, I’m not too sure if the increments would continue in the current market. I would switch if my work and work culture sucks, or if there’s an opportunity I can’t stop thinking about.
Well, I think <1 year is certainly problematic, because everyone knows that it takes a few months to really learn about how the company works. If someone is leaving within 10 months from joining, then they already started looking 7 months from joining. Reasons to do can be many: getting more money, not adapting to the people or culture, not mature enough to tolerate some of the bullshit that will happen at all workplaces, thereby feeling the need for a change. Some wants change just for the sake of change.
However, there are those people who'd like to see a project through - it is these people who have real good stories to share. They take pride in creating an impact and it takes a bit of time to do that. We respect such people. However, we are all doing this for money and no company will correct your salary to the extent an external offer would. Staying for too long doesn't make sense these days. People who stick for too long at companies significantly underearn than those who switch more.
I believe 1.5 years is the sweet spot here. I have respect those who switch around 1.5-2 years. I tend to think those who stay for longer than 2 years are those (1) who lack agency in life to look for jobs even when they know they should quit and switch (2) they really don't understand how this game works.
You'll see some posts here saying they'd not consider candidates who switch too soon - pure, sizzling crap. It's some psyops by HRs to make people stay longer at shitty companies that underpays. Non-HR folks who are advocating this: there is more ideology or projecting their own inadequacy to get lot of jobs easily onto a career prescription. Companies hire candidates who switch frequently too all the time. It won't make you unhireable because the ocean is pretty big, plenty of fishes.
There's no reason to stay at companies that suck for even a month more than necessary. You could suck balls as a candidate even if you have stayed at companies for 3+ years. (..contd.)
You could be a fantastic candidate, who knows their worth, who won't brook bullshit.
As long as the recruiter finds you a competent and decent (read, don't have obvious attitude issues), they're likely to conclude that probably it's not the candidate that's the problem, it was the company.
Everyone understands these days that shitty companies exists, shitty bosses exists. They're everywhere, it's the good companies and good bosses that are rare. They'd especially understand why you left too soon, if you did. You can always gracefully say the culture couldn't sit well with them and I believe in taking quick measures to correct things.
However, as you cross 30, start entering upper middle management - your game changes a bit. Relationships start to matter, politics start to matter, culture starts to matter a lot more. You'd already start earning well that you no longer switch for a for some easy short term hike. You'd like some peace of mind, some stability, work at a company that has a decent culture (read, will reward you fairly for good work and won't give you inhuman pressure). When you find a such a company, you tend to stick around for 3-4 years, or even more.
I'm 31, so can't really comment about how it is for the late 30s or 40s folks out there. Would love to learn about their perspective.
To the People who have made / are making frequent job switches ( say each year or so ), What’s your salary progression and any issues you might think you run into in the future
I have switched 4 companies in 5 years. It allowed me to increase my earning as a marketer.
There were pertinent reasons for switches, I was not solely responsible for these switches.
How will this impact my career?
Thoughts?
How frequent should we be switching jobs?
As many a times we encounter situation where HR interrogate about multiple career advice. HOWEVER IT IS MANDATORY TO SWITCH JOB FOR FINANCIAL GROWTH.