Job hopping sounds like an appealing way to increase salaries quickly, but is not worth putting in the work of applying to and interviewing for jobs or the risk of employers negatively judging your fleeting times in each position. Right?
Wrong. Since graduating with my MA in Security Policy Studies in 2017, I have worked for five different employers despite being employed by my current employer for more than two years. Yes, that math means five different employers from 2017 to 2021. By choice.
Switching jobs pays more than annual raises, without all the preparation and negotiation. I have navigated both the job switch and preparing for and securing the promotion. Job hopping is the easier route for increasing your salary quickly. It also pays more, particularly in recent years. In 2022, real earnings for individuals who stayed with the same employer actually decreased from the previous year, due to inflation, while real earnings for individuals who switched employers increased significantly. If you want to keep up with or beat inflation, job hop.
How to Job Hop: Four Rules for the Purposeful Hop
Job hopping recklessly, simply for the sake of job hopping, is still not a great idea. That “with purpose” qualifier matters. As I job-hopped rapidly over a period of four years, I followed a few rules to make sure I was only hopping forward rather than hopping in place or backwards. While the precise factors that indicate whether job hopping is a good idea for your career will vary, setting some general guidelines like these can help shape your approach:
1. Never jump for less than a *INSERT YOUR DOLLAR AMOUNT HERE* earnings increase.
I do not job hop for less than $20,000. This is appropriate for a HCOL (high cost of living) area, but if you are in a LCOL (low cost of living area), $10,000 may be more appropriate. If you live abroad, these numbers could be even lower. If you live in Silicon Valley or work in a specialized field, you may choose $50k or even $100k. Choose an amount that works for (a) the area you live and (b) your industry.
For reference, I set that $20k rule when I made less than $50,000. I was at the bottom rung of my career progression, but that did not mean I needed to hold myself back just because I was an early career professional. Do not base the number off your current salary. The variables to consider are where you live and your type of work. If you have a job that can be done completely remotely, feel free to focus more heavily on type of work than location. Either way, do not limit yourself. Aim for where you are going, not for where you currently are.
2. Never jump for a benefit reduction of your preferred benefit.
For me this primarily meant leave: I wanted more leave with each jump, with the ultimate goal of unlimited leave. My secondary benefit priority was the 401(k) match: I wanted to increase my match and secure a job with a short enough vesting period to accommodate my job-hopping tendencies.
If you are like me, do not jump for fewer days of PTO or a lower 401(k) match. If you value the best health insurance, do not hop if you cannot secure it. Let tuition assistance, student loan forgiveness, the gym stipend, or whatever you value the most shape your decision. Basically, do not compromise your most important values; you should always be looking to hop to something better.
3. Jump to move up the knowledge ladder.
When looking for a new position, search for increased responsibilities and/or skills. Responsibilities does not necessarily mean the number of responsibilities. Instead, consider the critical knowledge and technical skills that you can gain in a prospective role to set you apart from others.
Your next hop should set you up for the hop after that. If you are not learning on the job, then you are not improving your odds of a successful next career progression. Your goal while job hopping should be to increase your knowledge and skill set as much and as rapidly as possible to become your most marketable self, with the comprehensive skill set for the moment you hop, and realize you found a job that is finally your happy place.
4. Stop jumping when you find an employer that gives you enough to be happy every day.
When you find an employer that provides you the money you deserve, the benefits you value, and the opportunity to continue knowledge growth, stop hopping! I stopped hopping more than two years ago when I landed my happy-place job, so I can confirm this can happen, even for the serial job-hopper.
Job hopping propels your earnings and benefits forward so you are earning a salary you may not otherwise receive until years down the road. But job hopping is not forever. Once you reach enough for you, relax. You can still achieve growth within a job (I will tell you how next week!), but the point of job hopping is to secure the job that does not have you dreaming about the next one each day.
A History of Xa’s Hops
Here is a brief history of my own job hopping since graduating with my MA to show that you can follow these job hopping rules and eventually land that ideal job:
In mid-2017, I finished graduate school and made peanuts at my first job afterwards. I received a tiny raise in January 2018, and a slightly less raise with a promotion in January 2019. My position was mind-numbingly boring and should have never been marketed as a job requiring a master’s degree (true of so many jobs!), so I started self-teaching myself more advanced Excel skills, started my first weekly newsletter on current events (funny how things pay off eventually), and spent a lot of time self-educating on just about everything.
In early 2019, I moved to another employer. I followed my $20k rule and received the same amount of vacation days (not great in hindsight, but not a regression). I received a small raise in January 2020, but I gradually learned that my employer was not the best, I was at a lower career level than colleagues with similar jobs, and my employer tried to avoid providing benefits like compensatory time despite agreeing to it initially. Despite my employer’s deficiencies, I enjoyed working at my client site and picked up a wealth of knowledge about managing billions of dollars of government spending, became even more advanced in Excel, and made a reputation for managing data throughout the organization.
Exactly one year after starting there, I moved to another employer working with the same client thanks to my reputation at the organization and experience with complex financial data. Again, I followed the $20k rule and received more leave than with my prior employer. Plus, I started in March 2020 and never had to commute, effectively receiving a higher raise. This employer was (and is) a subcontractor for my current employer, so I established good relationships with folks at my current employer, knowing I wanted to work for them eventually due to their benefits package.
I expected to make my next job hop to my current employer when the opportunity eventually presented itself, but a surprise job offer at what I believed was my dream job fell out of the sky with one drawback: I had to break my $20k rule and actually take a pay cut. But I still thought it was a dream job. I gave it a try and quickly learned that dream jobs often conflict with your dream life plans when you do not buy into the premise that jobs are an all-encompassing lifestyle.
After just three months at the not-quite-dream job, I looked up opportunities with my current employer and saw they had a posting that fit my expertise, with the same organization I previously left. I reached out to my now-current employer and asked if they had a job for me (knowing they did). My “interview” was basically, “When can you start?” Less than five months after starting my not-quite-dream job, I was back at the old organization. As a bonus, even though I only left the subcontractor five months earlier, I still followed the $20k rule. Let me repeat that, because it is one of my prouder career accomplishments: I left a job to try out a dream job with a pay cut, and I returned in five months securing more than a $20k jump in salary, unlimited leave, and a 7% 401(k) match.
My current employer provides me with all the benefits I value most, and they show that they share my values despite working in competitive client spaces that often do not share these values. They also pay me well, give me the room to push back when I do not like something, and let me pursue my own growth in creative ways. (More on that next week!) Job hopping taught me that dream jobs do not exist, but dream employers do: Dream employers allow you the space to create your dream job as your dreams shift and grow. If you job hop enough, you may find a unicorn employer that makes staying put worth it, even if you are a serial job hopper.
Job Hopping Concerns Debunked
Even after I detail my job hopping journey, some folks maintain concerns regarding job hopping to similarly improve their salaries, benefits, and skill sets. The job hopping pessimists typically share three concerns:
1. Employers will react negatively to short time in jobs and throw out my resume.
DEBUNKED: As long as you follow Rule #3 (move up the knowledge ladder) above, prospective employers will love you. Job hoppers tend to have unique employment paths that result in accumulating an array of skills that folks who stay in any one job will at least partially lack. As you gain experiences that add new knowledge and skills, you will begin to notice that you become the only person in your industry with a certain combination of skills. This is extremely valuable (read: $$$ for you!) to prospective employers.
2. Learning a new job takes a lot of effort, and it is easier to just stay in my current job.
(Not really) DEBUNKED: This one is true. It is more difficult to keep learning than to passively let the days pass by while giving minimal effort at your job. However, that is just the long path to future unemployability. Whether you are at your same job for the next five years or at five different jobs over the next year, you absolutely need to keep learning, improving your skills, and collecting knowledge. Knowledge is the ticket to making yourself an indispensable employee and the credential for your future job hop. Do not remain passive, or the next round of layoffs will hit you. Keep improving.
3. Resumes, interviewing, and salary negotiations are difficult, and I am afraid.
DEBUNKED: Negotiating real, worthwhile promotions with appropriate salary raises is so much more difficult than just job hopping. I know—I just did it this year, since my employer with their unlimited leave and investment in my self-improvement was worth the work! Keeping your resume updated, discussing your achievements, and learning to negotiate are important life skills to have and are easier than negotiating with an employer that already has you committed. If you still truly feel lost about where to start, I can help you draft a resume to get that first hop and offer resources to help you feel more confident going into negotiations. I just helped someone get their top job choice last week. Get prepared, and start hopping.
Comments