This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Following on from a discussion I heard on the radio last night, what are people's thoughts about whether it is a good thing to stay in a job/company for a long period, rather than moving around from job to job? When I was at College, we were told not to stay in one school any longer than 3 years or it would count against you in career progression.
I've been in my current job over 12 years, and my previous one for four years, if I applied for a different job now, would this be looked upon as a good thing (loyalty to company, training/investment in me not a waste, etc.), or a bad thing (set in my ways, not 'ambitious', etc.)? What are your thoughts on this? Personally, I'd think that staying with one company for a long time should be looked on as a good thing.
A friend of mine was turned down for a job because when they asked him were he saw himself in five years time, he said he hoped to be still working for the same people, but they said they expected him to have moved on by then!
I've been in my current job over 12 years, and my previous one for four years, if I applied for a different job now, would this be looked upon as a good thing (loyalty to company, training/investment in me not a waste, etc.), or a bad thing (set in my ways, not 'ambitious', etc.)? What are your thoughts on this? Personally, I'd think that staying with one company for a long time should be looked on as a good thing.
A friend of mine was turned down for a job because when they asked him were he saw himself in five years time, he said he hoped to be still working for the same people, but they said they expected him to have moved on by then!
In reply to owlart: It depends what you do. One the one hand your skills can be seen as becoming stale but you will be seen as reliable and not likely to bunk off when things get tough. That said, if your current employer is keen on their workforce learning new skills and keeping pace with developments in the industry you can't loose IMO.
In reply to owlart:
I think it depends a lot on the company... I've been with mine nearly 10 years now, mainly because if I get bored in one job its pretty easy to move around... therefore in 10 years I've had 6 different positions and progressed my career and expereince (if not my salary) quite nicely thank you. I would say tho that it is fairly obvious that if money was my only motivator I would have done better to go elsewhere after 2-3 years, and then return to the same company/job for more £££
I think it depends a lot on the company... I've been with mine nearly 10 years now, mainly because if I get bored in one job its pretty easy to move around... therefore in 10 years I've had 6 different positions and progressed my career and expereince (if not my salary) quite nicely thank you. I would say tho that it is fairly obvious that if money was my only motivator I would have done better to go elsewhere after 2-3 years, and then return to the same company/job for more £££
In reply to owlart:
As previous, it depends what you want to do. It can be an excellent thing which shows committment.
If you want a fast track career though, constantly climbing the greasy pole, you need to move to show progression. In the company I work for, most of the key people have been there 4-6 years. Our client however is very different. If you'd had the same job in that comopany for six years ( at management level I mean) it would mean you were on the way out. If you'd not been noticed and offered another position within the firm within about three years..... it means you're not seen a s good potential and you will either be sidelined or fired. But that's competetive high end management in retail for you.
As previous, it depends what you want to do. It can be an excellent thing which shows committment.
If you want a fast track career though, constantly climbing the greasy pole, you need to move to show progression. In the company I work for, most of the key people have been there 4-6 years. Our client however is very different. If you'd had the same job in that comopany for six years ( at management level I mean) it would mean you were on the way out. If you'd not been noticed and offered another position within the firm within about three years..... it means you're not seen a s good potential and you will either be sidelined or fired. But that's competetive high end management in retail for you.
In reply to owlart: can't answer your question. However, be aware that if you do move jobs you'll almost certainly lose a fair chunk of your pension if you try to move it to the new company's scheme.
In reply to owlart: If you've been doing the same job for 12 years, you don't have 12 years experience.
What you have is either one year's experience repeated 12 times or, more likely, 2 year's experience repeated 6 times.
Move on and develop. But it may be also possible to do that in your current company
What you have is either one year's experience repeated 12 times or, more likely, 2 year's experience repeated 6 times.
Move on and develop. But it may be also possible to do that in your current company
In reply to Tyroneslater:
Good point - I've been with my company eight years but in two different roles. Time for a change now.
Good point - I've been with my company eight years but in two different roles. Time for a change now.
In reply to imkevinmc: Thats crap, and depends entirely on the job, I stayed in my last job from 1974 to 2002 and never stopped learning and having new experiences, more than I would have if flitting from job to job. Coincidently I also managed to build up a substantial pension pool so I could retire at 55.
In reply to owlart: I've been in the same job for 12 years, but due to the nature of the job I've been learning and developing continuously. I'm sure imkevinmc's comments are relevant in many circumstances but they are not universal.
You here a lot of these rule of thumb statements about moving jobs or not, but I think the individual will always know whether or not they are stagnating and if they are happy or not with that.
In this climate it would take a very good offer to tempt me to move, if anything happens here I'd do ok, but if I moved I'd be back to square one.
You here a lot of these rule of thumb statements about moving jobs or not, but I think the individual will always know whether or not they are stagnating and if they are happy or not with that.
In this climate it would take a very good offer to tempt me to move, if anything happens here I'd do ok, but if I moved I'd be back to square one.
In reply to owlart:
Depends on what you want in life - if you want career progression then yes you need to move around, stay in the same place and you'll be taken for granted. And as Dilbert says, people outside the company always seem better than those on the inside !
But if you want an easy life, be able to go off climbing when you want, you don't want to risk leaving the cushy job when you find it.
Also depends on the size of organisation - in a big company you need to move around or you will be viewed as a slacker. In a small company, people don't tend to move as much, so the pressure is off.
Depends on what you want in life - if you want career progression then yes you need to move around, stay in the same place and you'll be taken for granted. And as Dilbert says, people outside the company always seem better than those on the inside !
But if you want an easy life, be able to go off climbing when you want, you don't want to risk leaving the cushy job when you find it.
Also depends on the size of organisation - in a big company you need to move around or you will be viewed as a slacker. In a small company, people don't tend to move as much, so the pressure is off.
In reply to owlart:
I've got two 6 year jobs in my 12 year career. It's been raised as a positive in interviews and by agents many a time but never a negative.
I've got two 6 year jobs in my 12 year career. It's been raised as a positive in interviews and by agents many a time but never a negative.
In reply to owlart:
What really annoys me in recruitment is when people start talking about retention and career progression as though they are from a different planet. You might get interviewed by somebody from a company with an average retention period of 3 years and they start talking as though it's a job for life.
What really annoys me in recruitment is when people start talking about retention and career progression as though they are from a different planet. You might get interviewed by somebody from a company with an average retention period of 3 years and they start talking as though it's a job for life.
In reply to Papillon:
Quite, I work for a small, two-man company so there's no chance of moving within the company (unless I bump the Boss off!). We're quite specialist in what we do, only one other comparable company in the UK. I certainly don't agree that after two years you've learnt all the skills you'll ever need, so I've not done the same two years six times, I'm constantly learning more and hopefully continually developing skills.
I'm reasonably happy in my job. I wasn't really asking specifically for myself, more just wondering what people's opinions were regarding this.
Yes, I know that feeling. If a superb job came up, I'd take it, but I'm not going to pack this one in for something different unless it really is superb. I was offered a two year contract with another company a little while ago (they approached me, I didn't apply), but moving across the country for two years with little hope of it being renewed after then, I decided I was better off staying put.
> (In reply to owlart) I've been in the same job for 12 years, but due to the nature of the job I've been learning and developing continuously. I'm sure imkevinmc's comments are relevant in many circumstances but they are not universal.
Quite, I work for a small, two-man company so there's no chance of moving within the company (unless I bump the Boss off!). We're quite specialist in what we do, only one other comparable company in the UK. I certainly don't agree that after two years you've learnt all the skills you'll ever need, so I've not done the same two years six times, I'm constantly learning more and hopefully continually developing skills.
> You here a lot of these rule of thumb statements about moving jobs or not, but I think the individual will always know whether or not they are stagnating and if they are happy or not with that.
I'm reasonably happy in my job. I wasn't really asking specifically for myself, more just wondering what people's opinions were regarding this.
> In this climate it would take a very good offer to tempt me to move, if anything happens here I'd do ok, but if I moved I'd be back to square one.
Yes, I know that feeling. If a superb job came up, I'd take it, but I'm not going to pack this one in for something different unless it really is superb. I was offered a two year contract with another company a little while ago (they approached me, I didn't apply), but moving across the country for two years with little hope of it being renewed after then, I decided I was better off staying put.
In reply to owlart:
Having read your postings over the years I would say you are in your comfort zone with a stagnating firm. You don't mention if you have learned any new skills since year three, just plodded on since then.
I think you have two choices, stick where you are in a dying business, I guess the boss is near retirement so not interested in learning new tricks, pity.
The other is to learn as much as you can to bring yourselfup to date as well as you can and either be ready to tke over the firm or move on, or go back to teaching.
Now it is up to you to think things through, but stay as you are and when the boss retires you will be unemployable in the industry.
Having read your postings over the years I would say you are in your comfort zone with a stagnating firm. You don't mention if you have learned any new skills since year three, just plodded on since then.
I think you have two choices, stick where you are in a dying business, I guess the boss is near retirement so not interested in learning new tricks, pity.
The other is to learn as much as you can to bring yourselfup to date as well as you can and either be ready to tke over the firm or move on, or go back to teaching.
Now it is up to you to think things through, but stay as you are and when the boss retires you will be unemployable in the industry.
In reply to sutty: Thanks. As I said, I wasn't really lookinf for specific advice for me, just using me as an example to see what others thougt about it being a good/bad thing to stay with a company for a long period.
When I was teaching, at the school I worked at most of the teachers had been there for many years (most of them had taught me!). Their first OFSTED report praised this as a wealth of experience and continuity. The second OFSTED report picked up on the same thing and criticised the school because it did not have a large enough turnover of staff!
When I was teaching, at the school I worked at most of the teachers had been there for many years (most of them had taught me!). Their first OFSTED report praised this as a wealth of experience and continuity. The second OFSTED report picked up on the same thing and criticised the school because it did not have a large enough turnover of staff!
In reply to owlart:
I've been in the same job for 13 years. Not really concerned by that as it's a job like no other even though it's a PA role on paper. Frankly I enjoy it, still find it exciting, challenging, interesting and I have a rather embarrassing passion for it too.
I'll likely be applying for other jobs when the lottery money reduces in March 2013 and am starting to get comfortable with the concept of just taking the future as I find it.
Not really worried about how another employer will perceive it - depending on the job I apply for I'm sure I can put a covering letter positive spin on these years.
I've been in the same job for 13 years. Not really concerned by that as it's a job like no other even though it's a PA role on paper. Frankly I enjoy it, still find it exciting, challenging, interesting and I have a rather embarrassing passion for it too.
I'll likely be applying for other jobs when the lottery money reduces in March 2013 and am starting to get comfortable with the concept of just taking the future as I find it.
Not really worried about how another employer will perceive it - depending on the job I apply for I'm sure I can put a covering letter positive spin on these years.
In reply to owlart: I've been in my job for 14 years, and all the guys in my department had been their forever - 27-42 years. Life here is contantly changing (comms engineering) so it's not like we get bored with the job. It also takes quite a long time to build experience some of my colleagues have never needed to work on equipment I installed 10 years ago, so were we to have a 3 year turnover we'd soon end up with a team of people who knew sod-all. Consequently my team is almost always superior to guys working in other places doing the same jobs - they've spent their lives flitting from job to job to 'gain experience' and now know a lot of nothing useful for the job they're in! Salary-wise we do pretty well and certainly don't lag behind people doing the same job elsewhere - plus I've got 14 years in a final salary pension scheme . Personally I view people who flit between jobs as self-centred useless types - they've never been in a job long enough to do anything useful, and no-one knows what sort of fallout they left behind. Profile on Linkedin = d1ckhead in my book.
In reply to owlart: I've been with my current employer 5 years now, had two promotions in that time. They have paid for all my vocational courses and are now going to pay for my degree. That does mean I'm bound to them for the next five years unless I'd like to pay it back but 5 years shoots by.....I have a really good job but I fought bloody hard to get it, inspiring enough confidence in management to allow me my current opportunity meant that I worked 7 days a week for pretty much a whole year and committed myself to some frightening budgets/deadlines. Did I mention I bumped off the boss? Hehehe.....well he was spending about five hours a day watching porn in his office......numpty. My employer rewards long service with bonuses and really encourages professional developement if you show willing, I'm not going anywhere except perhaps to the New Zealand operation............
In reply to owlart:
I live in the north (Pontefract) and work mainly in the south (London).
There's a general difference in attitudes at the extremes you mention (yes, I know there are exceptions, but still a general trend).
In the north, a job is seen as a wife. Loyalty is admired, something long lasting, to be changed only painfully (and expensively) as a last resort after trying everything else.
In the south a job is viewed more as a mistress. New fresh ideas are welcomed, don't look back, change is vibrant and relatively cost free.
As people have said above, I don't thing there is right or wrong answer. Just different good and bad points for each way. Try them both and see which fits you best...as long as they both allow me to climb, I'm happy
I live in the north (Pontefract) and work mainly in the south (London).
There's a general difference in attitudes at the extremes you mention (yes, I know there are exceptions, but still a general trend).
In the north, a job is seen as a wife. Loyalty is admired, something long lasting, to be changed only painfully (and expensively) as a last resort after trying everything else.
In the south a job is viewed more as a mistress. New fresh ideas are welcomed, don't look back, change is vibrant and relatively cost free.
As people have said above, I don't thing there is right or wrong answer. Just different good and bad points for each way. Try them both and see which fits you best...as long as they both allow me to climb, I'm happy
In reply to Tiberius:
I've been in my job for 14 years, and the one thing I like about it is the constant variety. I see clients where people have been doing the same thing for ages - just grinding over the same processes every month - it would drive me nuts. This year I've been working in a new industry, learning loads, and generally enjoying myself.
I think it depends on the job and the person and what they want out of life. Sweeping statements that supposedly apply to everyone don't really work.
I think Tiberius is right, in London people move around a lot more, possibly because there are often a lot more jobs within a particular industry within a relatively small area.
For me, if I was to move it would either be to a client - where I would be, as I say, doing the same thing every day - or to another consultancy, and the ones on offer around here would be significantly worse than my current place. I spent a long time carving a square hole to fit a square peg - I'm not exactly a "standard" accountant mindset - and acceptance by the company and respect for my being bl**dy good at what I do however I may look or behave - took a long time coming. That's not something I would throw away lightly.
To me changing jobs would be a last resort. Not saying it would never happen if they really annoyed me, but I'm fairly content where I am
I've been in my job for 14 years, and the one thing I like about it is the constant variety. I see clients where people have been doing the same thing for ages - just grinding over the same processes every month - it would drive me nuts. This year I've been working in a new industry, learning loads, and generally enjoying myself.
I think it depends on the job and the person and what they want out of life. Sweeping statements that supposedly apply to everyone don't really work.
I think Tiberius is right, in London people move around a lot more, possibly because there are often a lot more jobs within a particular industry within a relatively small area.
For me, if I was to move it would either be to a client - where I would be, as I say, doing the same thing every day - or to another consultancy, and the ones on offer around here would be significantly worse than my current place. I spent a long time carving a square hole to fit a square peg - I'm not exactly a "standard" accountant mindset - and acceptance by the company and respect for my being bl**dy good at what I do however I may look or behave - took a long time coming. That's not something I would throw away lightly.
To me changing jobs would be a last resort. Not saying it would never happen if they really annoyed me, but I'm fairly content where I am
In reply to owlart:
I have been with my current employer for eight years, but I have been promoted twice in that time. I have started looking around at other jobs a bit more of late, but I am not totally desperate to leave.
Before I started working here, I did a lot of work on temporary contracts and through agencies, so I have enjoyed the stability. I also like to see a project through to completion.
I have been with my current employer for eight years, but I have been promoted twice in that time. I have started looking around at other jobs a bit more of late, but I am not totally desperate to leave.
Before I started working here, I did a lot of work on temporary contracts and through agencies, so I have enjoyed the stability. I also like to see a project through to completion.
In reply to owlart:
I was with my last employer for 12 years and have been with my current employer for 13. I've actually changed job role about every 4 years on average within that time though.
My Mrs has never worked in the same place for more than 5 years and it does make some employers edgy.
I think it's OK staying with an employer for a long time if there's career progression with them. That's the best of both worlds on your CV, shows that you're reliable but but want to progress.
I was with my last employer for 12 years and have been with my current employer for 13. I've actually changed job role about every 4 years on average within that time though.
My Mrs has never worked in the same place for more than 5 years and it does make some employers edgy.
I think it's OK staying with an employer for a long time if there's career progression with them. That's the best of both worlds on your CV, shows that you're reliable but but want to progress.
In reply to teflonpete:
Ok, going off at a tangent somewhat, but is 'career progression' really the only measure of somebody's worth? If someone really, really enjoys the job that they're doing, and is really good at it, why shouldn't they be valued for doing that job rather than expecting them to stop doing it and go on to manage others doing it instead? As an example, when I was teaching, there were teachers who had been teaching for many years but had no desire to move up the career ladder into senior management positions. They were excellent teachers and would be a huge assest to any school they worked for.
> I think it's OK staying with an employer for a long time if there's career progression with them. That's the best of both worlds on your CV, shows that you're reliable but but want to progress.
Ok, going off at a tangent somewhat, but is 'career progression' really the only measure of somebody's worth? If someone really, really enjoys the job that they're doing, and is really good at it, why shouldn't they be valued for doing that job rather than expecting them to stop doing it and go on to manage others doing it instead? As an example, when I was teaching, there were teachers who had been teaching for many years but had no desire to move up the career ladder into senior management positions. They were excellent teachers and would be a huge assest to any school they worked for.
In reply to owlart:
My two longest running jobs ( technical sales in the construction industry) have been at either end of my career. I was with the first company for 11 years in a couple of different locations and only left after a 'takeover' resulted in my career path being shut off by the new management team who wanted their people to run things. Following that I was backwards and forwards to the Gulf, interspersed with UK jobs that lasted around 2 years each, and were ended by redundancy brought on by 'corporate re-organisations'. I was never more than a 'number' in a big impersonal organisation where the sales force was driven to produce bigger and bigger sales turnover, and to hell with quality and customer service.
I've been in my current job ( with a small family run firm) for over 8 years, and whilst I don't make a fortune but it pays the bills)- if truth be known the pay is pretty crap - no pay rise for 3 years but glad to be in a job given the present climate).
It's been like a breath of fresh air. I work from home and haven't seen the inside of our office / factory for getting on for 6 months! The 3 brothers who run the firm are great to work for, as was their late father whpo started the business nearly 50 years ago.
Even though I was 55 at the time when I was appointed, - and starting to wonder where my next job was coming from (apart from the Tesco or B&Q grey brigade) the company wanted my industry specific experience, and customer service skills -- I love solving problems. I must have impressed with my dedication as I fully expect to be retained (on a part time basis at least) after I hit the official retirement age next year, as we're in a 'niche market' and there aren't a lot of people out there with the experience and contacts.
My two longest running jobs ( technical sales in the construction industry) have been at either end of my career. I was with the first company for 11 years in a couple of different locations and only left after a 'takeover' resulted in my career path being shut off by the new management team who wanted their people to run things. Following that I was backwards and forwards to the Gulf, interspersed with UK jobs that lasted around 2 years each, and were ended by redundancy brought on by 'corporate re-organisations'. I was never more than a 'number' in a big impersonal organisation where the sales force was driven to produce bigger and bigger sales turnover, and to hell with quality and customer service.
I've been in my current job ( with a small family run firm) for over 8 years, and whilst I don't make a fortune but it pays the bills)- if truth be known the pay is pretty crap - no pay rise for 3 years but glad to be in a job given the present climate).
It's been like a breath of fresh air. I work from home and haven't seen the inside of our office / factory for getting on for 6 months! The 3 brothers who run the firm are great to work for, as was their late father whpo started the business nearly 50 years ago.
Even though I was 55 at the time when I was appointed, - and starting to wonder where my next job was coming from (apart from the Tesco or B&Q grey brigade) the company wanted my industry specific experience, and customer service skills -- I love solving problems. I must have impressed with my dedication as I fully expect to be retained (on a part time basis at least) after I hit the official retirement age next year, as we're in a 'niche market' and there aren't a lot of people out there with the experience and contacts.
In reply to owlart:
Right now I'd say stay where you are, owly. Having been job hunting since autumn last year (admittedly from a position of being in a job still), things are not looking great out there.
Right now I'd say stay where you are, owly. Having been job hunting since autumn last year (admittedly from a position of being in a job still), things are not looking great out there.
In reply to owlart:
I think people usually are valued for what they do. No company I know of could survive without the majority of people who turn up to work every day, do their tasks competently then go home and leave it behind. Most companies recognise this I think.
I think people usually are valued for what they do. No company I know of could survive without the majority of people who turn up to work every day, do their tasks competently then go home and leave it behind. Most companies recognise this I think.
In reply to owlart:
No, but the three year rule you mention in your OP is all about career progression.
No, but the three year rule you mention in your OP is all about career progression.
This topic has been archived, and won't accept reply postings.
Elsewhere on the site
Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...
26 Apr
Loading Notifications...