AMY GALLO: Have you heard any of these before?
Always be looking for another job,
but stay in your job for at least two years.
It's not worth it to stay in a job if you're unhappy,
but don't leave your job unless you've
got another one lined up.
There is a lot of advice on switching jobs out there,
and a lot of it is conflicting.
On top of that, the pandemic has changed a lot about the way
we work, and that advice may be outdated.
So in today's world, what should you
do when it comes to switching jobs?
I'm here to unpack some of that advice and separate myth
from facts.
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Fact or myth?
You should always be looking for your next job.
Let's start by cracking into this old chestnut.
We've all seen the flurry of headlines
around the Great Resignation or the Great Reshuffling,
and at this moment, job seekers seem
to have the upper hand over employers.
But that's likely to change as the economy does.
Should you perpetually be this close to switching jobs, always
on the hunt for something better?
The answer differs depending on the industry or the region
or what's going on with the economy,
but research suggests it's OK to be a little less antsy.
One poll found that one in five workers who had quit their job
wished they had stayed in their old position,
and only a quarter of job switchers
said they were satisfied enough to stay in their new positions.
Another study found that 3/4 of people
reported that they found the position or the company
was very different from what they
were led to believe with half wanting
to get their old jobs back.
So there's no guarantee that your next job will be better
than your current one.
Also, you want to be happy, right, not constantly restless.
So if you're not on the job hunt because maybe you
like your current position, perhaps
in spite of a few imperfections which all jobs have,
that's actually a great situation to be in.
It's important you keep learning new skills.
Get outside your comfort zone and improve your job
in whatever ways you can.
But if you can do all of those things within your current role
or within your current company, then
don't worry about always being on the hunt for something new.
As the research shows, new isn't always better.
But let's say you truly are unhappy in your role
and you do want to switch jobs.
That brings us to another common piece of advice.
Fact or myth?
You should stay at your job for at least two years
because moving around a lot looks bad on a resume.
So you want to switch jobs, but you're
worried because you've only been at your current one
for a short time.
If you don't stay for two years, are you
just wrecking your resume?
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The short answer-- no.
Short stints don't always hurt a resume especially these days.
According to author and HR expert John Sullivan,
employers have accepted the fact that brief periods
of employment are just part of modern life.
In fact, people are most likely to leave their jobs
after their first, second, or third work anniversaries.
Millennials are especially prone to short stays with 70% of them
quitting within two years.
And hiring managers and recruiters
realize there are a lot of good reasons
people might leave their jobs after just a short time
especially with what's going on in the job
market in the past few years.
That being said, you should avoid jumping around
if you can, not because it'll ruin any future job
prospects but because of the emotional drain on you.
It can be hard to keep starting again, finding
your way in a new place and new location,
making new work friends, re-proving yourself
to a new boss.
It's exhausting, but just to reiterate,
if you are ready to jump, a short stint probably
won't hurt your resume.
Fact or myth?
You should never leave your job until you
have the next one lined up.
This is a tricky one.
Part of the logic is that potential employers
hate seeing unexplained gaps on your resume.
Apparently, you're supposed to work non-stop
without a break for your entire life.
Yikes.
Is this good advice?
Not really.
It's just not always realistic.
For example, you may need to relocate because
of your partner's job or quit to take care of a family member.
Or you may just need a break because you're burnt out.
According to career coach Priscilla Lehman,
there are two scenarios in which you
should leave even if you don't have another job lined up--
when you believe something illegal or unethical
is going on at work or when your job is negatively affecting
your physical or mental health.
Of course, financial considerations
come into play here, too.
You may not be able to leave your job without first nailing
down another source of income.
The good news here is that gaps in job history
just aren't the sticking points they once were.
This was the case before the pandemic,
but it's even more true now partly because it's so common.
A lot of people have resume gaps now
whether it's because of pandemic-related job losses
or other life circumstances.
So if you can swing a period of unemployment
and you believe leaving your current job is the best move,
go for it.
Fact or myth?
You should never make a lateral move.
I'm sure you've heard this one before.
A job switch just isn't worth it if it
doesn't come with a shinier title,
more responsibility, and a huge raise, right?
Think again.
This may have been the model for career growth in the 1980s,
but given how flat most organizations are
these days with fewer levels in the hierarchy,
there's often nowhere for you to go in your current company
or a new one.
Instead, focus on finding interesting
work even if it's only a lateral move.
Research proves that above a certain base amount,
more money and a better title don't make people happier.
So instead of more money, more prestige, more responsibility,
try swapping in more important values like more autonomy, more
mastery, more purpose, more balance.
A job that gives you these things
may be worth switching for.
Fact or myth?
You shouldn't quit your job until your current employer
gives you a counteroffer.
If you're a valuable employee, smart managers
will try to convince you to stay.
Counteroffers from your current company
often come with flattery and promises of even better
conditions, but be careful.
This can backfire for you and the company.
Author and talent expert Claudio Fernandez Arroyo says remember,
there was a reason you started to look
for a job in the first place, and that reason
is unlikely to change even with an attractive counteroffer.
He says that recruiters have observed,
at least pre-pandemic, that half of those
who accept counteroffers re-initiate their job
search within 90 days, and 80% leave anyway or are terminated
within six to 12 months.
That should tell you something.
Of course, be willing to hear out your employer
if they want to make a counteroffer, but keep in mind
the reasons you wanted to leave in the first place.
You want to make a sound decision
and analyze both alternatives.
Which one, staying or leaving, will give you
what you want in the future?
OK, let's review.
Here are pieces of advice about job switching.
Are they helpful, or are they miss?
As we've seen, it's a little bit of both.
First, always be looking for your next job.
Actually, if you're happy in your job with room to grow,
that's a good situation.
There's no guarantee that the next job would be better.
Second, stay at your job for at least two years.
The truth is a short stint won't hurt your resume,
but do consider the emotional drain of job hopping too much.
Third, never leave your job until you
have the next one lined up.
These days, gaps aren't the big deal they once were.
In fact, there are several situations
where you should leave your job whether or not
you have another lined up.
Fourth, never make a lateral move.
A more nuanced piece of advice would
be to focus on jobs that give you more autonomy,
mastery, purpose, or balance rather than simply better title
and pay.
And fifth, don't quit your job before your current employer
makes a counteroffer.
Not a bad idea, but it can backfire
if you do end up sticking around and the problem
that made you look for a new job in the first place
hasn't gone away.
Thanks for watching.
All of these strategies I've talked about today
are based on HBR articles, and they're
linked in the description.
Do you have a great piece of advice about switching jobs,
or is there a topic you want to see us cover in the future?
Comment below.
Bye for now.
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