How often you need to change jobs

What’s wrong with changing jobs often?

Regular changes are not unequivocally bad. They broaden your horizons: a person who changes employers often adapts to new business processes faster. Any company appreciates that.

It is believed that the more often a person changes jobs, the more stress-resistant he becomes. The specialist develops high adaptability, as such an employee has several times joined new teams and worked in companies with different specifics.

On the other hand, frequent changes of work do not allow you to fully immerse yourself in business processes. Productivity, proper understanding of the situation and decision-making suffer from this.

What to be afraid of: Employers in large companies perceive frequent job changes as instability. They have a suspicion that the employee could not cope with the responsibility and was therefore fired from his previous jobs, and no one needs an inconsistent and problematic employee. Therefore, periods of work of less than a year on the resume may be the reason why the applicant is not called for an interview: if there were reasons for the dismissal beyond your control, mention it in the resume or explain it to the new employer at the interview.

How not to “overstay”?

The main advantage of working long hours in one place is stability. It is beneficial not only for the specialist, but also for the employer. Some positions value employees who have worked for many years and know everything about the company.

A candidate who has worked in the company for a long time has more opportunities for promotion. He knows the specifics of the job, the structure of the company and understands how to get results. Such a candidate is considered a stable and loyal employee and is valued in the labor market

What to be afraid of:

The longer a person stays in the company, the harder it is for him to change jobs. An employee who has worked in one place for 5-10 years may not understand their abilities and face serious stress when looking for a new employer. It is much harder for such a person to adjust to the new environment and initiate the change himself. An experienced candidate may seem inflexible, locked into one corporate structure. It will take a long time for him to get used to the ways of a new company and he will have to be retrained, and employers are not always ready for that.

More for students

It’s normal for students to work short hours. Not everyone can fully work during their studies, and students find part-time jobs or internships in order to get experience and a small salary as early as possible. They can work for 2-6 months if they combine work and study. It is a logical approach: it will not confuse the employer, and will be perceived as an advantage. If we talk about humanitarian specialties, many companies are inclined to take on starting positions of young professionals, selecting them by personal competences, and teach practical skills on the spot. An employer may perceive work during studies as activity and desire to be independent. In this case, it does not matter in what field this experience was gained.

What to Be Wary of: A quick exit from your first permanent job will be a wake-up call for future employers. They carefully assess the risks of leaving quickly, given the characteristics of young people, who are more mobile and prone to frequent changes in life. If “jumps” from job to job have already been in the candidate’s past after graduation, they are more likely to be perceived negatively. Employers can understand – a lot of effort, time, and money is invested in young professionals at first, and you need to eliminate the risk that these investments will be made in vain. The ideal period of work in the first place after graduation is at least two years.

The problem of a young employee is that they do not hire many people without experience, and you have to gain experience at the first company that invites you. Often the first job turns out to be uninteresting or unpromising, and the young employee wants to quit as soon as possible. That is why it is better to get the first experience while studying.