When is the best time to switch jobs?

How long should you work for in your first job before you change jobs?

Back in university, I told myself that I will definitely leave my first job and change jobs after 2-3 years no matter what. This is to ensure that I don’t get comfortable at my first job and stagnate.

My first job was a Human Resource (HR) role. After a year in, I realized that I was quite familiar with the procedures and I wasn’t really learning much. I then fathomed my very first thought of leaving the organization and switching jobs.

My manager cautioned me out of it, with the following reason: It doesn’t look good on your resume if you have 1 year of job experience as a fresh graduate for your first job.

I wasn’t convinced at first and I didn’t want to stay on just because “1 year doesn’t look good on my resume and I need to make it a 2 or 3”. That sounds like a lame reason.

In the end, I still chose to stay on, and worked about 2.5-3 years (about 3 cycles for my work portfolio).

Did I regret it?

Yes and no. Yes in terms of work-wise, I don’t think I have learned anything new (like I have predicted). But obviously I wasn’t going to waste my youth and time there, I started new work initiatives so that I could acquire new skills and I felt like I have grown in that regard, by my own efforts. As for no part, there were some merits to staying longer, in the sense that I managed to forge some valuable friendships and bonds with my other colleagues outside my main work team. And I still maintained and kept contact with them till this day. I think this might be something that I would have missed if I left at the 1-year mark.

On hindsight, objectively speaking, if I am not after the relationships, I would probably leave at the 1-year mark so that I can grow more as a personal individual. But it really depends on what you value.

Furthermore, I have learned at a later stage that the 1-year experience fresh graduate thing is actually not that big of an issue. If you are applying for a job and you have relevant skills & competencies, they would still hire you if the reason you give for leaving the organization is justifiable. They are not going to not hire you just because it’s ‘1 year of experience’. And I can say this because I have been on the hiring side of the house. So don’t worry.

On the other hand, I have friends who are still in their first job for 4-5 years now. Some of them are still waiting for that promotion. They thought of changing jobs but still haven’t. Some are too worried and scared about losing that “stability”.

And that was exactly what I predicted back when I was in university and I was worried I might end up in this exact same situation.

I personally think that you really have to plan ahead for yourself. I had to learn it the hard way that no one is responsible for my own career path apart from myself. It is common sense, but you might not have been aware of it so I am just sharing it with you. No one is responsible for your learning, growth and your future. Except for you.

Some people might feel like they deserve a promotion etc for their years of contribution. But to put it bluntly, the organization won’t feel like they owe you a promotion. And if you have that expectation that you will always be rewarded for your efforts, when the reality turns out otherwise, you will experience resentment. Avoid putting yourself in that situation. I have seen a lot of people in those situations, and it is very sad.

I happened to bring up this topic of “when is the best time to switch jobs” with an ex-colleague and we had a long discussion about it.

In the end, we concluded a sweet spot for changing jobs, and that duration is about 2 years. 1 year to learn the ropes of the new job, and 1 year to adapt and apply your own value (on top of what you have learned from the first year). Then, time to move on. Anything longer and you are often doing work in repetition for another cycle (most of the time).

And also realistically speaking, the faster you move and switch jobs, you will have more “competitive” and “better” salaries, provided you have the value and skills to warrant that increment. But most of the time you would be able to get a good % increase for your salary when you change jobs. It will always be better than you staying in your job for a long period of time. Except if you are the top performer and you are due for promotion, then that’s a different story.

If you want to climb up the corporate ladder fast and is willing to put in the effort for it, I would definitely encourage that you have the conversation with your direct report as early as possible. You want to understand what are the expectations for promotion. So that you can work towards it. And also for your direct report to know that you want to be promoted and is willing to put in the effort for it. This is very important.

Often most of us want to be recognised for our efforts (e.g. through form of promotion), and we often expect our direct reports to see it or know it. To be very blunt, we need to communicate like adults. Always understand that no one can read minds. Tell your boss you want to be promoted, work towards it, and if they still dont give you promotion despite doing what they demanded, then it’s time to leave, because they can’t deliver what they promised. Some organizations will tell you you need to clock in a certain number of years/experience etc, so align expectations early so that you won’t be disappointed.

In conclusion, I’d say that 2 years would be the sweet spot to change jobs, provided if you are not the top performer due for promotion. But as always, there is no one-size-fit-all approach, think for yourself and find out what works best for you.

In addition, don’t be afraid of change jobs. The longer you take to change jobs, the greater the fear. Put “Change job one day” on your wishlist and make sure you get that checked off.

P.S. Sometimes you might be unfortunate and end up with a company with toxic culture, in that case, don’t bother waiting for 1 or 2 years. Just leave the place for your own mental health. No amount of money is worth sacrificing yourself for.

What about you? When do you think is the best time to change jobs?

Share your thoughts in the comments down below!

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