Here is why you should switch jobs more frequently

The days of staying with the same\ncompany from graduation to retirement are over. More recently, people are\nchanging jobs quite regularly. Workers born between 1957 and 1964, for example,\nheld an average of 11.9 jobs between the ages of 18\nto 50, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Whilst,\nyounger workers are more eager to switch jobs frequently. When the global\nstaffing firm Robert Half polled professionals of all ages with college\ndegrees, they found that 64 percent think that changing roles every few years can be beneficial.

\n\n

According to more research by the\nUniversity of Phoenix on job switching, they found that

\n\n

The survey also revealed that the\nmost common reasons for changing jobs include inadequate financial\ncompensation, exhaustion, lack of upward mobility, and loss of enthusiasm.

\n\n

The Job-Hopper's Report: Where are all the\njob-hoppers going to? looked at job switching trends in America. It found that:

\n\n

• The\n job switching rate is highest in the administrative and support services\n and accommodation and food services industries, and lowest in utilities,\n education and health services, and manufacturing.
• Workers\n usually leave their industries when they switch jobs, but the rate they\n jump to other industries hasn’t changed much in the past decade. 
• In\n a tight job market, employers increasingly are hiring job seekers who are\n already working, as well as those who lack credentials previously\n demanded, such as a college degree. 
• Also,\n employers are adjusting recruitment strategies by offering more generous\n pay and benefits.

\n\n\n

How\noften to change your job

\n\n

HR professional, resume writer and career\ncoach Jessie West stands by the one-year guideline. She proffers that\nyou should at least commit to one year in your position before looking\nelsewhere or pursuing other positions within the company. This is because all\ncompanies operate within a fiscal year and it is almost impossible to learn all\nthere is to learn about the company in a shorter time frame.  Staying at\nyour job for just a few months also leads to the assumption that you are not\ncommitted to your professional development and that you have a hard time coping\nwith new challenges.

\n\n

Victoria Sawtelle, community\nmanager at Uptowork, recommends at least two to three\nyears of experience within a particular field before moving on to something\nnew. She adds, “Most employers want a few years of experience if you plan to\nmove up in either position or pay scale.” Employers will be more inclined to\noffer you a higher-level position once you’ve established yourself as a\nqualified professional in whichever line of work you’ve chosen.

\n\n

Why\nSwitching Jobs Often Is A Good Idea

\n\n

According\nto Liz Ryan, a former Fortune 500 HR Senior Vice President and contributor for\nForbes, the following are all good reasons why you should switch jobs often:

\n\n\n

1. When you stay in the\nsame organization, you gradually lose touch with the outside world. Your field\nof vision constricts and you begin to focus on internal priorities (who's up\nand who's down politically your next position, and your current goals) rather\nthan focusing on the larger world outside your company's walls. One of the biggest\ndangers of staying a job too long is that you fall behind what is happening in\nyour industry and the wide world beyond it.
2. Unless your company is\ngrowing very fast -- experiencing thirty percent annual growth or more -- it is\ndifficult or impossible to give yourself the new experiences, new challenges,\nand range of muscle-building activities you will naturally encounter by changing\njobs.
3. When you change jobs\noften, you never get out of open-and-curious mode. You'll accumulate new\nlearning (and just as important, a comfort level with ""incompetence"")\nmuch faster by throwing yourself into new-job territory more often.
4. Every time you change\njobs, you get to (and have to) re-establish your value. Every time you change\njobs you get to redefine yourself on your own terms. You can rationalize the\ndecision to stay in your previous role any number of ways, but the truth is\nthat the only thing you will ever have to sell to an employer or client is your\nexpertise, and the only way to grow that is to grab every new learning\nopportunity you see.
5. The more often you\nchange jobs, the more comfortable you will become interviewing and negotiating.
6. When you change jobs\nmore frequently, you'll learn to evaluate employers as much as they evaluate\nyou.
7. When you stay put in\none job for a long time, you can begin to perform your job mechanically. Your\nsupply of new ideas will begin to diminish and then die out. You need fresh\n""glasses"" to keep a channel open to the collective consciousness or\nwherever your best ideas come from
8. The more companies you\nwork for, the more your reputation in your business community can grow. The\nmore companies you work for, the more people you will know. The more companies\nyou work for, the more comfortable you will be walking into new business\nsituations and figuring out what's important.
9. The longer you stay in\none company -- even if you change jobs internally -- the more set and solid\nyour box will become. The more often and more fearlessly you step out of your\ncomfort zone, the more your comfort zone will expand. If you don't actively\nenlarge your comfort zone all the time, you will become your own worst enemy.\nYou will start to believe that you are your job title. You won't see your own\nvast possibilities.

\n\n\n

Why Switching Jobs Is A Bad Idea

\n\n

There\nare 2 sides to every coin and whilst we have looked at the advantages of\nfrequent job switching, we need to also look at the disadvantages.

\n\n\n

1. Your Jobs Are All Over The\nPlace

\n\n

You want your work history to paint a clear picture of you as a\nprofessional. Your CV should tell a story, even if it doesn’t show a linear\nprogression up the corporate ladder. If you’ve spent most of your career\njumping from one unrelated gig to another, that could send up a red flag that\nyou’re still trying to figure out who you are and what you want professionally.\n

\n\n\n

2. There’s No Clear Forward Movement

\n\n

Ideally, you should change jobs because you’ve come into a better\nopportunity. Perhaps a new job pays more, or it comes with a better title. If\nthat kind of forward movement isn’t clear on your resume, it could be taken as\na bad sign by hiring managers. The problem occurs when every job change is a\nlateral move or step back. Your job history should show advancement within an\norganization and/or industry. Otherwise, your job hopping past could work\nagainst you in the future.

\n\n\n

3. You Lack Passion For Your Work

\n\n

Your employment history should show that you’ve been working toward\nfinding your way. It should indicate that you’re passionate about something, a\ncause, an industry, or a type of technology. If your resume makes it seem like\nyou’ve simply been trying to land as high-paying a job as you can get,\nemployers might assume that’s your primary focus.

\n\n\n

4. You Hold Jobs For Months Not Years

\n\n

Job hopping is fine if it’s done for the right reasons and in the right\nway. But, it’s hard to justify job changes when they are super frequent. It’s one\nthing to change jobs every few years to earn more money, learn new skills, or\ntake on a fresh challenge. A resume that shows job changes every few months\nisn’t sending that message. If you tend to stay at jobs for less than a year, a\nprospective employer will expect you to do the same with them.

\n\n\n

5. You Seem Short-Sighted

\n\n

You should treat your career more like a marathon than a sprint.\nSometimes, job hoppers aim for short-term gains rather than long-term goals.\nBut, doing so could damage your career. For example, maybe your resume shows\nyou’ve worked with a few different failed start-ups. Or, maybe you’ve gotten\ninvolved with organizations that don’t have the best reputations. Companies\ndon’t like seeing an employment history that demonstrates this type of career\napproach. Steadiness and consistent progress are better. It shows an employer\nthat you know how to work hard on a sustained basis.

\n\n

Conclusion

\n\n

The truth is, however, that job-hopping has become\nmore of a necessity than ever before. More college graduates enter the\nworkforce each year hoping to land their dream job in the industry they’ve just\nspent four years learning about, and it’s not quite as easy as it used to be.

\n\n

As a result, millennials have to settle for jobs\nthey believe will get them one step closer to their goals; they accept jobs\noutside of their desired field based on availability and financial need. For\nthese reasons, it’s become less alarming for young professionals to change jobs\nmore often.

\n\n