Real stability is a myth
I have a secret. Well, not so much a secret but a fact about myself I thought was a secret – I crave stability especially in my career. Apparently everyone already knows this. I want the perfect job and for me that means it will be challenging, 
pay well, will be at a company I believe in and that I will work with and for smart and ambitious yet nice people. But most of all it means I want a job where I can stay at the company for ever. I am envious of the people who have worked for a company for 20, 30 or even 40 years. When I hear about someone retiring from GE after 40 years of service I think “wow that is awesome”. But this just doesn’t exist anymore (not in the world of mass layoffs and corporate mergers) and somehow despite my longing for a long term career at one company I keep moving around. Since graduating college in 2005 I’ve had four jobs and while I want to find a place where I can stay for a long time (for me that might be 3 years) I realize that moving from job to job can be a good thing.
When you enter a new job you bring with you all the skills you’ve obtained throughout your career. When you are young and trying to build your career you need to build your skills and there is no better way to develop a diverse skill set than to try different jobs and often times this means at different companies. This is why some great companies like Gilbane and IBM offer management training programs. They allow you to try different jobs and to build your skill set while remaining at one company. But most companies aren’t looking for long term employees anymore. Instead they need an employee who is productive at their job now. So you take a job at a company, work hard, learn new things and then move on to a job that is a little more challenging, that pays more and where you can learn more. There is nothing wrong with this. In fact it will help you develop a better career.
But what about all those warnings about job hopping? Well, yes, if you leave a job every 6 months at some point employers are going to look at you as a flight risk. But at the beginning of your career when you have the most to learn most employers will accept that you’ve had 4 jobs in 5 years. As job hopping becomes more and more common for younger workers employers will be even more willing to accept this. At some point you’ll have to keep jobs for longer than a year but to be honest I am not sure when that point is. Perhaps it is when the learning curve starts to straighten out and you won’t learn that much more at a new job. Perhaps it is when you decide you need more stability. Perhaps it is when you are at a company you really enjoy and you can see yourself there for a long time. Or, perhaps it is when you decide you want to have kids, I’m sure it is easier to have children and a career when you’ve been at one company for some time (you’ll be able to get more flexibility if you’ve already proven to be a great employee). The point is only you will know when it is time to slow down your ‘job hopping’ and look for long term jobs that will benefit your career.
October 14th, 2009 at 1:08 PM
I don’t think there is such thing as a reliable job. I cant see a reason why not to jump into a new job offer if it means more money, and aligns with your career goals… the sad part is that most people have no goals….
October 14th, 2009 at 5:04 PM
At the risk of sounding too preachy, the challenge is that “in the world of mass layoffs and corporate mergers”, job hoppers are most likely to be cut first, all other things being equal.
I’m not suggesting that you never leave a job, but loyalty in business isn’t dead yet (for companies or their employees).
I know, I’m just an old fogie who doesn’t understand this generation. But the combination of smarts, hard work, ambition and loyalty is extremely powerful – and one that any smart manager will value and reward.
And finding the right job is a difficult endeavor, but don’t expect your job to be perfect. That doesn’t exist.
2 cents from an old crow
October 14th, 2009 at 5:18 PM
@Meredith. I agree that job hopping isn’t ideal and I do realize that seniority plays a part in who is and isn’t cut, but my point is we shouldn’t stay at a job simply out of loyalty. I believe you owe your company your best efforts and loyalty as long as you work there, but once your job no longer offers you room to grow or an ability to learn, or if your job makes you unhappy you should leave. What I really want is a job where I can keep learning, be challenged and do interesting work. As long as I have that I’ll never leave (because as I said I want stability) Like I said, I am not sure when job hoping becomes a determent rather than a help to your career, but I would think it is somewhere around the 5 year mark. Entry level jobs can only offer so much in the way of learning opportunities. Oh and you are worried about sounding preachy to the person who has the gall to write a blog about career advice? I love to hear all viewpoints especially when I respect the commenter.
October 15th, 2009 at 4:29 PM
@Jessica – thanks. I agree that people shouldn’t stay in a job that makes them unhappy just for the sake of loyalty. I do raise my eyebrows at too many jobs in too few years though, because even if there are perfectly valid reasons for all that moving around, at a minimum, I have to question whether the employee is a good judge of what job/company is a good fit for them.
October 19th, 2009 at 9:43 AM
One of my Corporate Idols (Jack Welch) was a lifer at GE – and a good one at that.
However, from my personal experience you are less vulnerable if you switch jobs frequently. Someone that knows how to find a job in the good times may be in a better position to find a job in the bad times than someone that doesn’t know how to find a job at all!
Many people (not all) who stay with the same company for a long time develop a very narrowly focused set of skills and subject matter expertise. After many years, they are trapped – their skills are only highly valuable to a very small set of companies that share the same market-space. (Unless they do a slight career change and maybe have to opt for some paycut).
I have seen many lifers being fired from big companies and they find themselves out of luck. They do not even know how to go to an interview and sell themselves – they haven’t practiced in all these years. They may not have updated the skills the market wants (only the ones the big company asked them to update).