A friend recently asked me abt changing job and the best answer to give when the interviewer asked for the reason for her to change job. I was browsing through a magazine then found the followings quite useful. May help in the interview or decision making whether to change job or not.
Reasons to support job hopping
- Promotion – an offer you can't refuse has come along which will help you move significantly in your career.
- Enhancement- adding on to your skills, experience, mastery, maturity and personal satisfaction., job hopping to brush up your skills, improve your wok knowledge and to obtain cross-culture exposure shows ambition and your need for constant improvement.
- Challenge – refresh your passion by looking for new challenges. Frequent change keeps your learning curve high and your challenges fresh.
- Job nature – if you do consulting work on a project basis, it is expected that you will switch jobs fairly often.
- Obstacles- to overcome situations such as a hostile boss, demotion, relocation of business or a significant decrease in pay, etc. is there such a thing as a 'good time' to job hop? There is no specific time-frame. A “good time” means as long as it takes to learn something and contribute something back to your company. Generally, a minimum of two years is pretty acceptable to most employers.
Some reasons to avoid changing jobs:
- Money – sure, moving to a new job is the fastest way to get a pay rise. But jumping from job to job for the sole purpose of monetary gain is a big mistake. If increasing your salary is your only incentive for job hopping, you'll end up dissatisfied in the long-term.
- Change of environment – this could raise the distinct belief in the employer's mind that yoy are unlikely to be stable with the company. If you are tired of big-city life and have moved to a small town to work, what will happen when the bright lights beckon again?
- Problems at work – teamwork is one of the most important aspects of wok. Employers want to hire people whom they believe will get along with others. Since people spend countless hours with each other at work, employers do not want to hire people who are likely to have personality conflicts.
- Peer pressure - Just because your colleagues or friends have found something better, it doesn't mean you must follow suit! Again, know exactly what you intend to get our of every job change.
The pros
- Pay increase – you could probably negotiate a 15-20 percent salary increase with a new company compared with the average 3-5 percent you'll get annually if you stay put.
- Networking – you will be able to build a professional network much faster than if you stay in one position for a long time-frame learning new skills – doing different jobs also means building a more diverse skills-set. You will become more versatile, employable and marketable.
- Getting out of your comfort zone – ignite and maintain your passion by meeting new challenges.
- Discovering your true interests - moving around can help you figure out early in your career what you really want to do .
- Greater value – a job history showing several work experiences can be very attractive to an employer. It reflects your vast experiences of working under different systems, structures and management styles. People who move from company to company are like bees collecting pollen who will share their knowledge with each new employer.
The cons
- Double-edged – you may gain something in a new position, but you may also have to give something up. For examples, taking on a managerial position may make it difficult for you to go back to a core line job., sometimes moving upward may jeopardize your ability to return to your original career path.
- Limited learning - if you job-hop too often, you learn nothing substantial – the proverbial “jack of all trades, master of none”
- Missed opportunities – jumping ship without giving your employer a chance to show you what's available may put you in a worse position later on. Maybe you're not getting a promotion now simply because you are new and must earn your stripes. But instead of giving it more time to see what is the future holds, you leave3 for another position.
- Creating a poor impression – you may seen as unstable, disloyal, immature, lacking a career plan or unable to work a part of a team most companies prefer to invest in people who see their career goals aligned with those of the company . Job-hoppers are unlikely to see their career pth beyond the next year.
Consider the signals you are sending to your potential employer if you job hop too often,. Ask yourself :”if I am a manager who am I more likely to invest training time and money on?” someone who shows a tendency to job hop or someone who is more stable?” companies are ore likely to invest in people who are more stable. The reason is simple: they are able to contribute to the company. It is a win-win situation. If you are constantly job hopping, you are sending signal that you are not ready to commit.
So bear this in mind, the grass may look greener on the other side, but make sure it is not weeds you are seeing!
