How short of a stint is considered 'job hopping'?
How long does one have to stay at a job to not be considered 'job hopping?' I have uncles who are relatively old school and tell me that any tenure less than 3 years is considered a red flag. But I also know people who tell me that as long as it's been at least 1 year it's fine to start looking. My friend gave me some interesting advice- he told me to let the market decide if my tenure has been too short (Meaning if I'm able to get interviews at other companies then my tenure has been long enough). I'm curious what everyone's opinion about this is.
My specific situation- started at MBB post undergrad as a business analyst, had a rough experience so I bounced to a F500 corp Strat role after slightly less than 1.5 years at MBB. I've been at my current role for slightly less than a year now and I'm doing well (Good reviews, enjoy the work enough, pay is solid), but I don't think this is the type of work I want to do long term. While I'm enjoying my role and learning a lot of soft-skills, I would prefer to be in more of an analytically-focused position (SQL, Power BI, Tableau, heavier excel modeling, etc...).
Since I'm pretty content right now, I'm not actively looking to jump ship. But I'm thinking that after bonus in December (Would put me at ~1.5 years in the current role), I might start looking. Would this be too many short stints, or should I consider staying longer at my current position?
I was placed in a role that I didn't love and didn't give me a lot of mobility compared to other roles. Having had this discussion from people I trusted in Finance, typically a year is pretty good if you're pretty fresh in your career. In my current position, I plan on leaving after a year - though if recruiting is a bad then as it is now, then I'll do the full 2 year stint and then feel the waters.
Honestly feel out the job market a bit for now, things might still be a bit grim if you're a junior. Typically 2 years is the neutral baseline if you're having trouble deciding if you're jumping out too early, so stick it out till then if you're uncertain.
Thanks for the pointers! I'll probably start feeling out the market when I get the bonus (~1.5 years into this role). Since it'll probably take a few months for networking, the interview process, the 2-week notice, etc... it'll probably be close to 2 years in the role by the time I leave anyways.
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I'd say it fluctuates- hopping more often early is fine since the work is pretty transferrable, but you should stay longer the higher up you get (within reason- you do see various VPs do two year stints).
Early in your career, promos should happen every two years (until you get to manager level). I think two years is a good jumping off point because you can jump for the next promo- it's also seen as a sweet spot because you typically get up the learning curve in the first year and then master the work and add value in the second year. You also have a pretty good lay of the land as far as what your potential career path might be and if that is worth staying for.
Later on you are paid for your expertise, so it's better to stay longer, though generally you are still moved around internally every 2 years if you are seen as a high performer
Late to this thread but assume promotions slow down once you get to manager level?
Generally, yes. Big companies have a whole bunch of "between" titles- lead analyst, supervisor, sr. manager, associate director, etc etc that are technically promotions, but generally it falls into 5 buckets: Analyst, Sr. Analyst, Manager, Director, VP. Getting through the first two comes down to general competency, but after that, promotions come from expertise, which often takes time and rotations through different roles. That is why your comp increases by 10-30% from your first few promos, but can double (or more) in your later promos.
One hop after a short stint is fine, you can explain it as poor fit/better opportunity came up.
Two hops starts to match the old adage... if everyone around you seems like an asshole, it might be you.
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