When to move..

Think of marriage, homeownership, and employment. Undoubtedly the three most sacrosanct pacts a working professional makes. Yet, how many times does she change her jobs, home, or spouse. The first 2 changes – house and jobs – happen proactively as upgrades. May be one, two or 3 houses people live in across their lifetimes and jobs? At the drop of a hat. Finding out why jobs get switched so casually and not homes and definitely not spouses/partners, is not the purpose of this write up but to discuss when and why should you look for an opportunity outside.

1. Let’s go back to our B-school jargon. If neither job enrichment (new skills, more responsibility) nor job enlargement (same skills, more responsibility).

• Nothing wrong in doing the same job over the years but you should be worried if you have stopped getting better at it. Your skills are valuable but not making a proportionate impact on the company fortunes making you more and more dispensable. In some mature economies like Germany or Japan, people tend to work on some very basic building blocks of a business for 30-35 even 40 years. They keep getting better at it and hence retain their value for the employer. They don’t want to do something else.
• You are seeking variety and your organization has stopped offering that variety. You are not getting better either.
• Alignment issues with your boss – Is it your ego or incompatibility that’s derailing the alignment?
• Declining fortunes of the industry sector or the organization – Have you made attempts to rectify it?
• Market value – You get paid as per demand supply dynamics. Unlikely that your organization is short-changing you. If you are valuable, the organization will make sure to retain you. And even if you wish to change your job for higher salary, there is only that much increase any new employer will offer. There are other ways to evaluate your market worth and increasing it with your existing employer.

So why do candidates change jobs? Actually, they don’t. There is demand for candidates’ skills which they simply monetize. Is it wrong to change jobs frequently. Heck, no. As long as the company recruiting you doesn’t have a problem, how is that a problem. But in the long term, when you are applying for an executive position, the 2–3-year stints will not be looked upon kindly. You will not even be on t the list.

If you are frequently changing jobs, be extremely good at what you do and work as a freelancer.

Please remember that when you give any of the above reasons, there will be further probing by the interviewer. For example if you say, there are alignment issues with you and your boss, the interviewer will ask you about the efforts taken by you for alignment. The interviewer will start with an hypothesis that your interpersonal skills are questionable and will ask probing questions around the same.

Move jobs. Sure. But make sure it is for the right reason.