When is the right time to change your job or business?
It is said that people should try to change jobs every 7 years so that they don't fall into a routine.
(E.g., a change can diversify work contacts, allow a person to learn new things, broaden their horizons.)
BUT...
Even though I am a person who likes diversity, on the other hand, I have to disagree here:
A career is built over several years, and if you want to climb the career ladder through several positions, it will take you longer to achieve something.
The economy is currently not such that you can wake up today, quit your job and have a new one tomorrow. Often, people can't find a job after 2 years.
If you want to hone an industry well, you have to do it for years.
And when you run a business, time passes completely differently, e.g. you have to decide quickly whether to close your business so as not to waste your savings, or vice versa, you have to dedicate a decade to it to be great, e.g. the company I work for started having its first employee after 3.5 years cause until then it couldn't afford it.
According to you, when is the right time to change jobs/business and if at all?
[I think that if you like your job, you will last quite a long time.] :)
Replies
When you feel like you're spinning like a hamster on a wheel and you don't have time for your family, life, and you have too much money in your wallet that you don't have time to spend it!
@marius_stoicescu The first half screams burnout
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@marius_stoicescu That's usually the case, when you run your own business, but when you are doing it for someone else, it is... scary. 😬
@busmark_w_nika One word... PASSION!
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@marius_stoicescu that's what some people sometimes are lacking :D
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@shantmele so no career ladder, but growing by jumping in better positions in other companies?
@busmark_w_nika Yes, I think at most Iv seen successful people jump positions every 1-3 years. I read an article that mentions corporate loyalty results in lower salaries than those who jump.
Its far easier to negotiate the salary of a new role than an existing one within your organization.
I don’t think the right time is based on years. It is when the learning has stopped, the direction no longer matches who you are becoming, or the opportunity cost of staying becomes bigger than the risk of changing.
Sometimes staying longer is the smarter move because compounding takes time. But staying only because it feels safe can also become expensive quietly.
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@nipuntaneja Staying because it is safe is a better strategy for older people near a nearby pension (at least in my country) because if you are older, you do not have many possibilities. It is easier for younger people to be hired. But I agree that I need to progress and be educated.
When I started at one ad agency, our manager was asking me how to do things. It was very demotivating that I hadn't learned so much there.
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@pranay19 I think that the best is to have in one company and besides building something your own.
I think the right time isn't based on years. It's when your learning curve starts flattening while your curiosity keeps growing.
If you're still learning, being challenged, and genuinely enjoy the work, staying for 10 or even 20 years can be the right decision.
On the other hand, if you've stopped growing, dread Mondays, or your values no longer align with the company or business, changing sooner may be the better choice.
One question I often ask myself is: Am I leaving because I'm running away from something, or because I'm moving toward something better? That answer usually makes the decision much clearer.
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@md_khayruzzaman When you have possibilities to choose from, it is a better case, but the worst case is that you do not have anything to choose from because the market is oversaturated by other people who want the position and there is not many positions to be filled :D
For me it's not really about years, it's when you wanna grow and you get blocked somehow. That's usually the sign. But for me it wasn't even about changing jobs really. I kept working and started building my own thing on the side, three years in now. You don't always have to pick one, if you like where you are you can just grow next to it. :)
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@nelsonsilvadev I think that people stay in one job because of the good alignment of:
compensation + growth/learning + colletive :)
In a career of 15 years, My minimum tenure is 2.5 years, and the median comes to 3.5.
I have switched only 4 times for 2 specific reasons
1 - The responsibilities become repetitive or boring. Learning had stopped. Focus was only on execution.
2 - The role did not resonate with me, and I had to hunt for senior positions.
Saying that it's a personal POV. I know folks who switch as early as in a year. They are constantly prepared to answer why they made the switch. And others who have climbed up the ladder by staying in the same company and switching roles.
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@roopesh_donde but how are you able / flexible to use a new workplace? :D I would be constantly stressed out to meet new faces, collegues etc :D
@busmark_w_nika I am able to manage if it's work-related. For 8 years, I was a design consultant for Adobe and Wipro, so I had to talk to clients, PMs, BAs, and users all the time. I have worked with 30+ clients from a product owner to CXO. So I got used to new faces, colleagues. Mentoring also helps to talk to new faces.
I think it all comes down to whether your job is fun for you, rewarding, and offers space to grow.
I love mine and I plan to stick.
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@fatima_shehzad If these things are present, there is a point to continue in that work :)
@busmark_w_nika absolutely
I don't think there's a magic number like 7 years.
The right time to change is when you've stopped growing, not simply because the calendar says so.
Sometimes staying is the better decision. Deep expertise, strong relationships, and trust often take years to build. Those are hard to replace by constantly starting over.
On the other hand, if you've stopped learning, your values no longer align, or the opportunity cost of staying becomes greater than the risk of leaving, that's usually a sign it's may be time for a change.
I'm curious: How do you distinguish between a temporary plateau that you should push through and a genuine sign that it's time to move on?