You’ve been working at the same place for a little while now and you may feel like you’re ready to move on or you’re completely miserable. Either way you may also be wondering how long you should stay at this job before it’s appropriate to move on to the next opportunity. How will this affect your resume and the opinions of employers?
There isn’t a set answer to this. It depends.The first thing to keep in mind is that employers see your resume before they meet you. You will want your resume to show that you not only have the experience but you are willing to commit yourself. You do not want to be looked at as a job hopper. This may require you to omit some things from your resume. According to Forbes, “Some things are so bad that you should drop them, and jobs under eight months almost always qualify.” Employers may see it as a red flag. So if you choose to leave a job before eight months, maybe leave that out of your resume.
When I interviewed for my current job, the director had a conversation with me about the appropriate length of time to stay. He recommended at least two years. With a complicated position that requires a lot of learning and practice before you can perform to your best abilities, you’ll want to make sure that you fully learn what you can through training and experience. In a BBC article Michael Church stated, “Eighteen months is the socially accepted minimum.” In this case you put a year and half, you’ve learned what you can and are ready to move on and that’s okay.
Though, sometimes it makes sense to start looking earlier, especially if you’re not happy where you are.
As an example, look at Niki, a 22-year-old public relations professional. “At my last job, I already started applying for new positions after six months. I landed my next job, that I love, after a year and a half,” she said. With this in mind, since it is so hard to land a job, start applying and searching for the next opportunity as soon as you’re ready so that when you finally accept a new offer, you’ll have been there for a nice length of time.Furthermore, think about the future. If you’re place of employment has no room for growth, leave as soon as you find something better. A dead end is no place to be. Always keep pushing to move up and look for opportunities for promotions. While you don’t want to hop from job to job, you don’t want to get too comfortable and settle, either.
Our best advice is to keep in mind what is socially acceptable but also follow your heart and your instinct.
Feature Photo via