It is always said that “Only Change is Constant”. True!! Well all of us must agree with the statement in our day to day lives. In this fast moving world we need to change as per the trend. But is that true for our jobs as well? Is changing the job frequently or even after a gap of an year or so good for the job profile? Well different people might be having different perspectives on the same. And ofcourse we must also take into consideration the fact that the environment of the workplace along with grasping a better opportunity at the right time also plays an important role in deciding the stability of an employee.
For example, staying in one job forever has totally become a path towards committing suicide when you know that you only live once. At the beginning of one’s career, it is nearly impossible to find something right without trying a couple of options. After that, you will experience more personal growth from changing jobs frequently than staying in one job for extended periods of time. And if you change jobs frequently you build an adaptable skill set and a wide network which are the keys to being able to find a job whenever you need to.
Before starting with my idea about changing the job I would like to share that I changed my first job after starting with my carrier in just one month. The reason was inappropriate job profile as per my qualification, unhealthy environment and a better opportunity which came in front of me at that time which influenced me to take that decision.
To understand what all can be the reasons for changing the jobs frequently let’s take an example of a well established organization and a start-up organization.
a. Where employees in an established organization get additional perks along with their annual income, in a startup it is hard to survive in the initial years as the organization struggles for settling up in the market.
b. Where in an established organization, employees feel contented with the work environment as the same has been evolved over number of years and research among the employee group and the best suited plans and organizational structures have been set up in the organization, a start-up again struggles for setting up a best suited organizational structure which again leads to dissatisfaction among the employees.
Reasons could be many and end results may vary from situation to situation. But this is in case of an organizational structure i.e. an established organization and a start-up but what about the firms or organizations which are doing well in the market and are in the process of evolving with the change in market or trend. Well in such an organization again at some point the work environment could matter but in any of the above cases mental stability of the employee is also important.
Mental stability of the employee totally depends on the area and scope of work of the employee. Be it a start – up or a middle level organization or a renowned well established one, if the concern gets the desired level of scope and interest at the workplace, stability can never be an issue. Here we need to take into consideration one more factor and that is the satisfaction in terms of monetary gains. Well I believe money is bound to come when you have that desired level of competency and appropriate skills. Furthermore factors like timings, location, unchallenging job profile, inability to stand the higher management or immediate boss handle etc could be another reason for frequently switching the jobs or say after a period of time. And the biggest reason for switching the job is a better opportunity.
But here the question arises that how good is the change for the long term growth. Well I believe when you join an organization the first six months is just for knowing your profile and getting settled into the same. After that you start taking care of your responsibilities and start taking initiatives at the work place and after an year the employer gets the basic idea of your core competencies. This is what I am talking about general employees. Ofcourse exceptions could be there. But while speaking generally stability do play an important role for your long term growth. I have seen many resumes being rejected only on the basis of frequency of switching their jobs. I agree that for landing into a good job sometimes you need to change certain jobs frequently but due importance should be given to the fact that stability of the mindset is an important factor at the workplace.
Further adding to the reasons for mobility is your need for satisfaction in terms of pecuniary benefits which you might get after frequent change or shift. But again the truth remains the same that in certain organizations while selecting you for a particular position your stability would be a major concern and before or even if the employer hires you than after that as well you will be looked with suspicious eyes that you might shift anytime. Rest ofcourse it depends on your skills that how you can convince your future manager or employer to hire you despite of changing jobs frequently.
CS Nisha Sharma
CAclubindia
