AMY GALLO: Have you heard
any of these before? Always be looking
for another job, but stay in your job
for at least two years. It's not worth it to stay
in a job if you're unhappy, but don't leave your
job unless you've got another one lined up. There is a lot of advice on
switching jobs out there, and a lot of it is conflicting. On top of that, the pandemic
has changed a lot about the way we work, and that
advice may be outdated. So in today's world,
what should you do when it comes
to switching jobs? I'm here to unpack some of
that advice and separate myth from facts. [UPBEAT MUSIC] Fact or myth? You should always be
looking for your next job. Let's start by cracking
into this old chestnut. We've all seen the
flurry of headlines around the Great Resignation
or the Great Reshuffling, and at this moment,
job seekers seem to have the upper
hand over employers. But that's likely to
change as the economy does. Should you perpetually be this
close to switching jobs, always on the hunt for
something better? The answer differs depending
on the industry or the region or what's going on
with the economy, but research suggests it's
OK to be a little less antsy. One poll found that one in five
workers who had quit their job wished they had stayed
in their old position, and only a quarter
of job switchers said they were satisfied enough
to stay in their new positions. Another study found
that 3/4 of people reported that they found
the position or the company was very different
from what they were led to believe
with half wanting to get their old jobs back. So there's no guarantee that
your next job will be better than your current one. Also, you want to be happy,
right, not constantly restless. So if you're not on the
job hunt because maybe you like your current
position, perhaps in spite of a few imperfections
which all jobs have, that's actually a great
situation to be in. It's important you keep
learning new skills. Get outside your comfort
zone and improve your job in whatever ways you can. But if you can do all of those
things within your current role or within your
current company, then don't worry about always being
on the hunt for something new. As the research shows,
new isn't always better. But let's say you truly
are unhappy in your role and you do want to switch jobs. That brings us to another
common piece of advice. Fact or myth? You should stay at your
job for at least two years because moving around a
lot looks bad on a resume. So you want to switch
jobs, but you're worried because you've only
been at your current one for a short time. If you don't stay for
two years, are you just wrecking your resume? [PAPER RIPS] The short answer-- no. Short stints don't always hurt
a resume especially these days. According to author and
HR expert John Sullivan, employers have accepted
the fact that brief periods of employment are just
part of modern life. In fact, people are most
likely to leave their jobs after their first, second,
or third work anniversaries. Millennials are especially prone
to short stays with 70% of them quitting within two years. And hiring managers
and recruiters realize there are a
lot of good reasons people might leave their
jobs after just a short time especially with what's
going on in the job market in the past few years. That being said, you
should avoid jumping around if you can, not because
it'll ruin any future job prospects but because of
the emotional drain on you. It can be hard to keep
starting again, finding your way in a new
place and new location, making new work friends,
re-proving yourself to a new boss. It's exhausting, but
just to reiterate, if you are ready to jump,
a short stint probably won't hurt your resume. Fact or myth? You should never leave
your job until you have the next one lined up. This is a tricky one. Part of the logic is
that potential employers hate seeing unexplained
gaps on your resume. Apparently, you're
supposed to work non-stop without a break for
your entire life. Yikes. Is this good advice? Not really. It's just not always realistic. For example, you may
need to relocate because of your partner's job or quit
to take care of a family member. Or you may just need a break
because you're burnt out. According to career
coach Priscilla Lehman, there are two
scenarios in which you should leave even if you don't
have another job lined up-- when you believe something
illegal or unethical is going on at work or when
your job is negatively affecting your physical or mental health. Of course, financial
considerations come into play here, too. You may not be able to leave
your job without first nailing down another source of income. The good news here is
that gaps in job history just aren't the sticking
points they once were. This was the case
before the pandemic, but it's even more true now
partly because it's so common. A lot of people
have resume gaps now whether it's because of
pandemic-related job losses or other life circumstances. So if you can swing a
period of unemployment and you believe leaving your
current job is the best move, go for it. Fact or myth? You should never
make a lateral move. I'm sure you've heard
this one before. A job switch just
isn't worth it if it doesn't come with
a shinier title, more responsibility,
and a huge raise, right? Think again. This may have been the model
for career growth in the 1980s, but given how flat
most organizations are these days with fewer
levels in the hierarchy, there's often nowhere for you
to go in your current company or a new one. Instead, focus on
finding interesting work even if it's
only a lateral move. Research proves that above
a certain base amount, more money and a better title
don't make people happier. So instead of more money, more
prestige, more responsibility, try swapping in more important
values like more autonomy, more mastery, more
purpose, more balance. A job that gives
you these things may be worth switching for. Fact or myth? You shouldn't quit your job
until your current employer gives you a counteroffer. If you're a valuable
employee, smart managers will try to convince
you to stay. Counteroffers from
your current company often come with flattery
and promises of even better conditions, but be careful. This can backfire for
you and the company. Author and talent expert Claudio
Fernandez Arroyo says remember, there was a reason
you started to look for a job in the first
place, and that reason is unlikely to change even with
an attractive counteroffer. He says that recruiters
have observed, at least pre-pandemic,
that half of those who accept counteroffers
re-initiate their job search within 90 days, and 80%
leave anyway or are terminated within six to 12 months. That should tell you something. Of course, be willing to
hear out your employer if they want to make a
counteroffer, but keep in mind the reasons you wanted to
leave in the first place. You want to make
a sound decision and analyze both alternatives. Which one, staying or
leaving, will give you what you want in the future? OK, let's review. Here are pieces of advice
about job switching. Are they helpful,
or are they miss? As we've seen, it's
a little bit of both. First, always be looking
for your next job. Actually, if you're happy in
your job with room to grow, that's a good situation. There's no guarantee that
the next job would be better. Second, stay at your job
for at least two years. The truth is a short stint
won't hurt your resume, but do consider the emotional
drain of job hopping too much. Third, never leave
your job until you have the next one lined up. These days, gaps aren't the
big deal they once were. In fact, there are
several situations where you should leave
your job whether or not you have another lined up. Fourth, never make
a lateral move. A more nuanced piece
of advice would be to focus on jobs that
give you more autonomy, mastery, purpose, or balance
rather than simply better title and pay. And fifth, don't quit your job
before your current employer makes a counteroffer. Not a bad idea,
but it can backfire if you do end up sticking
around and the problem that made you look for a
new job in the first place hasn't gone away. Thanks for watching. All of these strategies
I've talked about today are based on HBR
articles, and they're linked in the description. Do you have a great piece of
advice about switching jobs, or is there a topic you want
to see us cover in the future? Comment below. Bye for now. [UPBEAT MUSIC]
