Let me add some context to this post.
I will soon be starting my 4th role in the 4 years that I have been working as a Software Engineer. I believe that my reasons for leaving each position are valid and, so far, have not regretted any of the decisions that I have made.
That being said, I am aware I have changed role much more often than anyone else I know. Taking that a step further, during a recent interview I was asked about why I have been in so many different roles during my short career. So it is obviously something that interviewers are picking up on.
On the other hand, after talking to various people I know in tech, they all say the same sort of things. All centering around "it's normal nowadays to change role quite frequently". But, what I ask how long they have been in their role. The answer is always 4+ years or even, that they have worked in a single role for their whole career.
That brings me to my questions.
- How often do you think is too often to be changing job?
- How often have you changed job and what effect do you think it has had on your career?
- If you have interviewed potential candidates who have changed role frequently, did it effect your perception of them, whether positive or negative?
- Finally does our perception of how we view jobs depend on our age?
Let me know your opinions in the comments!
Latest comments (24)
thanks for starting this converation--i'm now learning coding precisely to have a little more job-hopping flexibility, so its good to see all these perspectives on how to do it right :)
4 jobs in 4 years on IT would be seen as a yellow flag for any HR person sourcing candidates for a position. Then it would be really up to the hiring manager. But definitely, as you have noticed, it is something it will be spotted.
It's natural to question this when hiring. Soon you will progress on your career and you will have to hire. Then, if you get a resume from a young person that has been 4 jobs in 4 years, you will be asking yourself the same question, is he going to leave on a year?
There are many valid reasons to leave jobs frequently. Even boredom is a valid reason. Without knowing your actual reasons, personally, if I find myself changing often, I would consider whether I should be contracting instead of going permanent.
I can tell about my experience.. I have switched 3 companies in 5 years.
1st > I was in a company having 10000 employees, I was not convinced with my role provided and work was more of filling excel sheets in the name of testing. I learned programming and I tried hard to switch and I switched . (2 years)
2nd > I was in a company having 1000 employees. The environment was awesome, I learnt a lot. Pay was not super great. An employee of that company moved to a startup and he pulled me into Developer role. I couldn't miss out the opportunity (1.5 years)
3rd > This company had 100 employees. Very good culture like previous one. And I had very nice mentors. one fine day acquisition happened, and the company culture totally changed , and many people left the company (1.5 years)
Now I am in a startup created by the same people who left the 3rd company. the startup is small (10 people) and I am enjoying it.
Change jobs when:
Stick to a job longer when:
In my own career my approach has been: "when in doubt, switch jobs" and it has worked really well for me.
In the UK, contractors tend to have had lots of roles, often staying as little as 3 months at time. For permies, I would like to hope they would be willing to stay for more then a year.
I think less than 1 year at a job consistently will look bad on your resume (or CV), especially all those less than 1 year jobs is at different companies.
For most developers, it takes average of 3 month to become productive on a new code base.
From a hiring manager perspective, they'll think two things:
of course, if it is internships, it is expected every 3 to 6 month. that is ok.
Personally, anything more frequent than every two years would raise an eyebrow (not fatally, it's just a bit odd). Unless someone's a contractor.
Speaking of contractors, if you don't like staying in one place all that long why aren't you contracting?
As always: it all depends.
I have spent 4 years in my previous job and didn't get into my comfort zone at all. Until the very last day I was learning and trying new stuffs. So now you might ask why did I get a new job. I went for it as a personal challenge. New country, new life, new product, new... I wanted to try it all.
I honestly think that if you stay something less than 2 years on a job is because the company just not suits you and you have the opportunity to work somewhere else. Because if the company suits you I'm pretty sure you'll have enough challenges and develop yourself in 2 years.
Going back to your questions:
Sounds like you had a nice position and I hope you are enjoying your new one just as much 😄
If you can explain your reasoning and you haven't burned bridges there is no minimum amount of time. I know someone who left a role after 2 months without issue. However, if it's a pattern then I might start to raise my eyebrows a bit.
Hiring is all about telling your story, whatever that story is. If it includes short stints in a variety of roles then that's your narrative.
I think it also helps when I explain during interviews, was that I left one position so I could move to a different town.
Absolutely. There are a number of reasons for leaving a job, many of them completely non-controversial. That's why there is no hard and fast rule.