Are you ready for your next move?
Back in the day, people changed jobs once, maybe twice in their lives and that was it. Workers who switched jobs more often risked being branded a job hopper – which wasn’t something to be proud of. Many employers considered job hoppers to be disloyal and unable to offer added value. In the last few years, however, there’s been change of mentality.
Employers are keen to bring in expertise acquired in other fields as changing jobs every once in a while is being perceived as being of positive influence on someone’s skills development, job satisfaction and networking.
Skills development
Learning new skills in a new role can make you more employable in the future. Most professionals who job-hop make strategic moves within the same industry, but others prefer to move between industries to equip themselves with diverse skills that can be applied to any job. On the other hand, we see a growing interest of employers to bring in expertise acquired in other fields.
Job satisfaction
Searching for a job that gives you a sense of purpose and excitement can be difficult to achieve when you stay in one place for a long time. If that leads you to a new sector, so be it. Many sector switchers are passionate about a specific set of challenges and bounce between sectors searching for ways to be more effective. Finding out what elements of a role or organizational context are less energizing is, however, of equal value. For example, you chose to take a fairly corporate job within a highly structured environment which over time starts feeling boring or soulless. The benefits gained here, including learning about humility, hierarchy and politics can be highly beneficial in other environments. High potentials who regularly expand their horizons at the beginning of their careers are applauded rather than shunned. They deliberately explored multiple sectors to gain experience and find out what really interests them.
Are you ready to make your next career move, or is it better for you to stay put?
We believe there is not one right answer applicable to each individual case. You might make a move because you want a totally new career, you’d like to use your skills in another industry, or you may even have found better opportunities at another company in the industry you are working in already. It doesn’t have to be outside of your current workplace; some employers realize that their employees have a thirst for gaining new experiences, and encourage moving within the organization.
Start mapping out your ambition and conclude on the skills you aim to expand and the competence you aim to explore. What does this require from a role and responsibilities? And in which markets could you best experience this personal development? What does this require from your company and manager? Check our tool for mapping out your ambition to dive into this topic deeper.
