Too often, I have seen folks change jobs because they think the grass is greener only to find out they have made a mistake. It’s been happening even more in these recent times, and I always counsel people to proceed with caution. Instead, I would like to make the case for “stickability,” where one finds real, long-term success. This means being happy in your job and finding balance with family life. It’s about looking at your career as a whole and not just going for those few extra dollars which seem to evaporate when the cycle changes.
To me, the frequent shuffling of jobs causes a regression of sorts. You have to re-learn the way another company does things before you can advance. What if you spent the time on the front end finding a company you really believed in and then you stayed there and grew?
For this reason, many companies are structured with some kind of mentoring in place. Each level of our project management can learn from the folks who have been in the industry longer. Even our assistant project managers have a teaching role for new employees and interns. In many cases, the decision makers at our company have been here for decades. They know our culture, history and processes. I would argue that they made it to their current role more quickly than if they had bounced from place to place. Commitment usually pays off, if you just give it the chance.
