Employers would like you to believe that
job-hoppers’ resumes are automatically delivered to the paper
shredder. Why, how convenient. Looks like you’re going to have to
work for them forever, accepting pay increments that can’t keep
pace with inflation.
While running off to a new company every 6
months isn’t going to do you any favours, the employment landscape
is changing. Gone are the days when people worked for a company all
their lives. Beyond a certain point (every 2 to 3 years) it’s
probably wise to change jobs.
Eunice, the CEO of recruitment
firm Career
Shine, says, “2 to 3 years would be a good time to leave. In
the first year, most people are still adapting to the culture and
learning new things. After 2 years, if you are still not
progressing within the company, then it may be a good time to
leave, since you are encountering stagnant growth.”
However, if you’ve stayed less than 2 years at
both of your last two jobs, Eunice advises staying in your current
job for at least 3 years to avoid being labelled a job hopper.
“People are changing jobs quite often
nowadays, so even those who change jobs every 2 years are
considered acceptable by employers and not really at a
disadvantage. But those who stay less than 2 years in every job
will be labelled job hoppers,” she says.
If you look like a serial job hopper on paper
because you have been forced out of jobs due to circumstances out
of your control, you might want to state your reasons for leaving
on your resume, Eunice advises.
“Some acceptable reasons to put on your resume
include being retrenched or taking up a 6 month contract job. A 6
month job looks bad on your resume but if you state that it was a
contract position, most employers will not hold it against
you.”
“In general, anyone who stays in one company
for 5 years will be deemed by employers as one with a good
employment history, and it wouldn’t be advisable to stay longer
unless they really like the company,” she says.
Here are some reasons why it might be time for
you to quit, too.
While workers in some industries get yearly
salary hikes as generous as 10% to 30%, the average increment
is between 3% to 6%. That’s just an average, though, and
it means many workers are getting increments that fall short. In
fact, I have friends who’ve gone years without an increment, slowly
watching their earning capacity get eroded by inflation.
On the other hand, changing jobs can get you
an increment of around 20%, earning you a salary you would have to
work around 5 years to achieve if you stayed in the same
company
Eunice says, “It is safe to say there will be
at least a 10% to 15% increase in salary if you’re moving within
the industry and your experience still counts. 20% is realistic and
30% is not unheard of.” In addition, she warns, “Some companies
don’t have the policy of giving out annual increments, so it’s
unwise to stay for too long in such workplaces.”
30-year-old bank executive Marissa has been
working for foreign banks for 8 years. In that time, she has worked
at three different banks. At one of the banks, she also had to send
in an application for a 2-year-long overseas post, and then reapply
to come back to Singapore, receiving a pay hike both times. In all,
she has received 5 pay hikes just by changing jobs. “I usually will
not move unless I am able to negotiate a 30% increment,” she
says.
A promotion doesn’t always come with a
significant increase in salary, but it can give you more bargaining
power when you interview for your next job.
However, at some companies, promotions are few
and far between. If you’ve been in the same post for years and your
peers in other companies are all being promoted ahead of you,
that’s a good sign you’ll be able to secure a promotion by changing
jobs and making the move to another employer.
Yvette, a 37-year-old lawyer who worked at a
particular firm for 5 years, laments that it was only in her
9th year of practice that she was
promoted to senior associate. “The firm had a number of associates
with more than 8 years of experience but they just couldn’t be
bothered to promote any of us.” Law firms generally promote their
associates to senior associate after 3-4 years.
For Larry, a
30-year-old entrepreneur, his 5-year stint in the workforce saw
him progress from being a web designer to an assistant project
manager thanks to frequently changing jobs. “I realised that if I
remained a web designer forever my pay would be capped at a certain
amount, so I tried to learn as much as I could at each job in order
to broaden my job scope in the next job.”
If you have the necessary experience but your company
is plagued by structural or management problems that make a
promotion unlikely in the near future, jumping ship might be able
to give you a push to the top.
When you’re the new kid on the block, you get to go
through the exciting (or painful) experience of getting to know
everyone at the office.
But after a few years on the job, you no longer have
that open mind you used to have about the people around you. You
know whom you like and whom you’d prefer not to be around. And, if
you work in an SME and there’s no new blood, your professional
network stagnates.
Changing jobs and moving to a new company every few
years is a good idea as your network will get the chance to grow
steadily. With more industry contacts, future job opportunities
won’t be so difficult to scout out.
Karen, a 33-year-old bank executive, has worked in
almost 10 different banks since she entered the industry 10 years
ago. The longest time she’s ever spent in a job is 3 years.
While we don’t recommend job-hopping as frequently as
Karen, she does think her industry contacts have benefitted her. “I
used to rely heavily on recruiters to help me find jobs, but in the
past few years many of my former colleagues have tipped me off to
job opportunities in their companies.
If you’re one of the many unhappy
Singaporeans who feel like going to work each day is like
walking to the gallows, maybe you just haven’t found the right job
yet.
Granted, due to the unhealthy work
culture in Singapore, it’s not going to be easy, and it
might take several years before you find a company that suits
you.
For Bertha, a 28-year-old lawyer, it took 4 years and 4
different law firms before she finally found one that suited
her.
“I’ve been verbally abused by partners for not staying
in the office overnight, been made to wait in the office for my
boss late at night while he was out drinking at Boat Quay and had
to listen to sexist comments that would not be tolerated in a more
liberal society. But I love my current firm and I’m glad I moved
around as much as I did in order to find them instead of forcing
myself to stay at my previous firms. I intend to stay here for a
long time.”
In fact, Eunice warns against remaining for too long in
any job with an unhealthy work environment. “A healthy working
environment is important for one to be productive,” she says,
recalling candidates with a history of going on MC a lot because
they dreaded going to work.
(Some names have been changed to protect the
identity of the respondents.)
How long did you
stay in your last job and why? Let us know in the
comments!
The post 4 Reasons You
Shouldn’t Stay in Your Current Job for More than 3
Yearsappeared first on the MoneySmart
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