Minimum time to stay...
Hey everyone,
What would you say is the minimum time to stay at a job if the job is “good” and if “things are going well”?
Say we're talking about a senior analyst / pre-MBA Associate job and a person in his/her mid-20s.
I know that it depends on what industry you're in and what the gap is between “your outside option” and your current position. But what is the general rule of thumb?
How long should you have been in a job before another hiring manager or B-school Adcom can take your experience from that job into account? Before it really adds value to your CV?
12 months? 18 months? 24 months?
Would “bachelor’s degree → 24 months at company A → 18 months at company B → 18 months at company C → MBA” be considered a “Job Hopper CV”?
kind of tough to say...the 24 month stint at Company A helps, but then 2 shorter ones of 18 months is a bit short...I woudl say it's bordeline. Some recruiters might be concerned with it, but if you are putting in over 12 months at each and you had 24 months at Company A, I would say that it is fine.
As background, mine before b schools was 24 months, 6 months (fired), 3 months unemployed, 26 months...so each of my long ones was over 2 yrs, with one hiccup in the middle :-)
You're fine, especially when it comes to the MBA. My trajectory was 14 months employed -> 14 months entrepreneurship -> Bschool. Cliche, but its really about the story more than the numbers.
I'm of the opinion that there is no rule of thumb for how long you should stay at a given company. It depends on what you're doing. For instance, if you're at an "up or out" firm, it's a fairly straight forward process. For however long you're "up", stay, when you're "out", go. For other firms that don't have an "up or out" culture, I'd say the key metric to pay attention to is how much responsibility you're gaining over a given time. If I remember correctly, business schools love seeing leadership roles on applications and that's what you should be aiming for if at all possible. If it's not looking like you'll be getting any leadership responsibilities at a given firm, consider moving on. If you are, stick around and get the experience.
Just my $0.02, and note that I've been with my current firm for nearly 8 years; my advice isn't terribly objective :).
How long would you stay at a job before leaving? (Originally Posted: 02/12/2016)
N/A
Like 16 days
One to two years is probably reasonable. Get some experience and references and move on. No one should fault you if you're moving into a better position and / or making more money.
When can I leave my job? (Originally Posted: 11/14/2010)
I have been working at a BB in equity research since the summer, and I am not enjoying my experience. There are some things (very few) that I like about it, but, at the end of the day, I just don't like talking about stocks all the time.
I spoke with an MD in banking in the firm that I know, and he asked what my future plans are. I said longer term, I saw my self in banking. He said he would be happy to help me transfer over. He said I can interview at my one year mark, and switch after my second year.
Also, if I play my cards right here, he said I could have a good shot picking whatever group I wanted.
That's good news, but I don't want to be doing ER for that long.
Can I ask him before next summer if it might be possible to start earlier? Should I look into lateraling to another firm? Or do I suck it up, continue being borderline miserable, knowing that a great opportunity awaits after two years?
An MD once told me he would push my resume in the fall.. ( i worked in f500)- and that he would reach out to me.
AN opening came up in spring, i called/emailed, and said "i saw an ooening on your career site, i know u said u'd reach out to me," blah blah type deal.
ended up getting the superday.
I'd say you should stick it out for one year... otherwise the few months you've put in so far have been completely meaningless and not really worth putting on your resume after your next job. If you get one year under your belt that will be an asset to you in the future and will look good on your resume - especially since you're at a BB. Quitting something after a few months, on the other hand, doesn't really look that good.
Just my opinion.
You aren't happy there bro? Wanna switch careers with me/ I would love to go into ER :/..but I agree with what International Pymp said..if you only worked there for 2 months you are going to have to go explain the whole I was miserable there story to your next interviewer...wait at least a year..
Sorry, I may not have been clear. I meant can I leave after one year, or stick it out for two?
I'm asking because i am guaranteed an interview if I wait for two (ie at the one year mark, I can interview to start in summer 2012). I would like to start in summer 2011.
So my question is, is it dangerous to ask the MD to switch for a 2011 start date? Also, is it worth sacrificing placement into a top group potentially?
I would stick out the whole first year and not start really looking to move until after that point. This way, you have the solid 1 year experience on your resume and you can just tell recruiters/ect. that you weren't satisfied with that position and that you are looking for something more challenging. Obviously applying and being selected and interviewing will take time so this will push you closer to the 1.5 year mark, depending on the job market and whether or not you luck out with finding off cycle interviews.
If you are getting a fair amount of interviews and a move looks likely, reach back out to that MD and let him know that you are accelerating your move out of ER and are currently interviewing for IB positions and you want to know if they had a need (essentially you're calling in your favor). It seems like maybe the MD has a relationship of some sort with the place you are at now and he doesn't want to appear to be poaching their talent...so that could be why he emphasized the 2 year mark. At least if you let him know you are in the market and looking to make a move he will know that him setting up an interview is not the motivation for you to jump ship early. You don't want him to think that you are willing to leave only if he gives you the interview/position.
Regards
I think it depends on the bank you're at. My bank has been reluctant to hire people from the outside. So when analysts in my group left they were replaced with internal hires. A good thing for you is to get to know analysts from different group to find out whenever some of their buddies leave. When that happens push to get a chance to interview.
stick out the year.. the md will not help you if you just try to jump ship and you'll be left unemployed.
This would be in IBD at the same firm I am at now. I am definitely staying in ER through the end of my first year (ie not leaving until summer '11 at the earliest). Can I ask the MD if it would be possible to start before summer '12?
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