The Good and Bad Stuff On Job Hopping
A valid strategy for career progression?
Hey, fellow Leader 🚀,
I am Artur and welcome to my weekly newsletter. I am focusing on topics like Project Management, Innovation, Leadership, and a bit of Entrepreneurship. I am always open to suggestions for new topics. Feel free to reach me on Substack and share my newsletter if it helps you in any way.
In a coffee shop somewhere in Central Europe, a conversation arose about how long someone should stay at the same company. The central idea discussed was that staying at a company for many years could lead to career stagnation. Often, people seen as “company dinosaurs” are regarded as difficult professionals and end up in leadership roles with little skill, as if companies value commitment more than actual competence. When applying for new jobs, these “dinosaurs” might face challenges finding new opportunities, since recruiters might assume they are unable to adapt to different roles in other companies. In this article, I will share my thoughts on this subject as an IT Manager and Recruiter, and hopefully offer some strategies for mitigation.
The Good Stuff About Job Hopping in Short Cycles (1-2 years)
For IT Developers, changing jobs every 1 to 2 years significantly enhances technical skills and provides exposure to diverse environments. These varieties of challenges and situations encountered enrich a developer's technical capabilities. IT Software Development relies heavily on Knowledge Management, emphasizing continuous learning within a specific domain. Practical experience and a portfolio of diverse projects are highly valuable assets for an IT Developer. For Managers, the optimal job tenure depends on their area of expertise. Project Managers who complete projects within a year often naturally transition to new companies upon project completion. They are assigned a "mission", and once it's accomplished, they seek new projects. Similar to Software Developers, this frequent change exposes IT Project Managers to a wider range of scenarios and allows them to manage multiple projects within a shorter timeframe. This provides a huge advantage compared to a manager who remains at the same company for a decade and is limited by the projects the company initiates.
Let’s talk about compensation.
However, the elephant in the room regarding the advantages of frequent job hopping is salary compensation. When a company launches a new department or initiates a project, securing the right talent is crucial for smooth execution. Consequently, salaries for new and critical roles tend to be highly competitive. Therefore, one might expect that an individual who has changed companies five times in the past decade would have a higher compensation than someone who has remained with the same company for that period. Right? Well, it depends.
In a previous Atomic Monday, I shared one interesting article that covered salary progression in these kinds of situations. The study made by Signal Fire concluded that lateral moves (job switching) could accelerate career progression.
By comparing this data with time-at-company, it seems that promotions come faster when paired with movement between jobs or companies. Strategic lateral moves, particularly into specialized or high-growth areas, can accelerate the path to leadership. For example, an engineer moving into a startup to gain experience in fast-paced environments can leverage this experience to transition into leadership roles in larger organizations.
While frequent job changes can potentially lead to higher compensation and faster career advancement, my observations in various projects and the broader IT sector suggest a more nuanced reality. I believe the critical factor is "specialization". In emerging fields like AI, where experienced professionals are scarce, rapid career progression is common. This aligns with my experience in Robotic Process Automation (RPA), where qualified individuals were extremely difficult to find, and those who possessed the necessary skills quickly ascended to leadership roles.
The Hidden Truths About Switching Jobs Rapidly
IT leadership is fundamentally a position of building trust. Even experienced leaders may find their authority and autonomy diminished when transitioning to a new company, compared to their previous role. This is primarily because “casting error” or poor hiring decisions in leadership positions can significantly impact IT software teams and other stakeholders. Let’s imagine the possibility that recruiting a new IT Manager for a specific mission, could be the source of increased team attrition, and by adding new processes and bureaucracy, the new Manager could actively hinder the team’s delivery. Rectifying such issues is highly complex. Therefore, it's common for a new IT leader's authority and autonomy to gradually increase as trust is established. This explains why it's highly improbable for a Senior IT Developer with no prior leadership experience to secure a leadership position at a new company. In most instances where such situations have been reported to me, and upon closer look, the role proved to be more of a “fashion statement” than a genuine leadership position. Managing projects and people requires a distinct skill set, making a direct transition without prior people management experience highly unlikely. Even with experienced individuals, such a move is risky; attempting it with someone lacking experience is a fool’s game. Therefore, the transition from Developer to Leader is more likely to occur within the same company.
What about outsourcing?
An intrinsic part of the IT ecosystem, with all the good and bad reasons around it, is the IT outsourcing world. It offers the benefit of readily accessing highly experienced Software Engineers, some with decades of expertise, for specific projects. In such cases, concerns about their career progression are minimized, as they typically transition to new projects at different companies upon completion. However, this model often hinders promotional opportunities for individuals who have spent extensive periods in the "body shop" environment. So many times I heard great IT professionals complaining about their lives, that are never stable, because of the constant moving around between projects. In one of my teams, I had the privilege of working with an exceptional Senior SQL Developer who had worked his entire career in the IT outsourcing world. During his tenure with my team, which was one of the few with a sustained, long-term engagement, he finally experienced stability and inquired about potential career advancement. After decades of experience, he finally found himself in a position where he could pursue professional growth. Unfortunately, the reality is that career advancement within a company typically requires a significant period of tenure, often two to three years, for opportunities to materialize.
A consistently short tenure at multiple companies, typically one to two years, can negatively impact a candidate's CV. This pattern may be perceived as a sign of instability, a "mercenary mindset", or other not-very-positive adjectives while analyzing a candidate’s CV. The unfortunate reality is that these perceptions may be inaccurate. When launching a new team a few years ago, my colleagues who were experienced recruiters from a different country, rejected several CVs that I considered highly promising. Upon asking for more details about the rejections, I discovered their primary concern was the candidate's history of changing employers three, four, or five times within a one-to-two-year timeframe. Regrettably, the nature of IT outsourcing creates this situation naturally, and it’s not the fault of the IT professional. It's simply a consequence of the market structure.
A final note.
In any case, it's crucial to approach each situation with discernment and avoid generalizations. Both long-term and short-term employment strategies present advantages and disadvantages. Some IT professionals might lack access to a more stable role, that could allow the needed time for some sort of career progression. However, what seems to be the reality (excluding the outsourcing world), is that sticking in a company for a longer period (3+ years) is highly beneficial for career progression.
That’s it. If you find this post useful please share it with your friends or colleagues who might be interested in this topic. If you would like to see a different angle, suggest in the comments or send me a message.
Cheers,
Artur