I am proud to have another article, They’re Just Not That Into You, on Thrive Global!
My Article, They’re Just Not That Into You, Appears on Thrive Global!
Hop or Not?
There are many rewards and risks in job hopping, just as there can be lots of rewards and risks in a decision to stay with a current company. But they are not necessarily the same. Should you job hop or not?
First, let’s understand why job-hopping has been and still is in vogue. Prior to the 1970s, large and medium sized companies were often considered to be paternalistic toward to their employees, to the latter’s delight, and employees often had a “job-for-life” approach to joining a company. Job security was a prominent reason, while job satisfaction, compensation and benefits vied for second place. By the 1970s, in part due to the Vietnam war, which brought into question the honesty and loyalty of big government and large companies, the olden days’ paternalistic scenarios began to break down, as did other factors: the demise of pension plans, large scale lay-offs in many companies in the chase for stock values, efficiency goals, cost-per-unit, and outsourcing of jobs overseas…and it continues to this day.
Fast forward to 2017. Job hoppers are viewed warily by some hiring managers, though they are embraced by others because they are considered to be adaptable, have seen a range of company sizes and approaches (perhaps even those of your competitors!), and have a larger network of contacts. And hiring managers, take note: millennials change jobs, on average, every 18-24 months, so this trend has no sign of slowing down.
What are the risks and rewards of job hopping?
- Money:
- Reward: The reward part seems obvious here! If your current salary/bonus/commission are below market, and your current firm is not willing to bring you up to an equitable rate, it may be time to start looking elsewhere.
- Risk: Job-hopping for compensation alone is a losing battle. You might get the compensation you want, but not have all the positive attributes your current job provides. Be sure to also factor in your total compensation. Beyond base salary, bonus, and commission (if applicable), how do benefits match up? Differences in health, dental, 401(k), stock options, vacation, sick time, commuting costs and the like add up, and that pay increase may actually cost you in the long run.
- Fit with the company culture and mission/vision:
- Reward: Finding a job with an organization with a strong culture, and with a product or service you really stand behind, or a nonprofit with a mission that you believe in with your heart and soul can be a magical thing.
- Risk: The “magic” may make you overlook some other key things, like fit with the actual job or chemistry with your manager and colleagues. Be sure to dig deep to ensure that you are not taking the wrong job with the right organization.
- Increased job satisfaction/more interesting work:
- Reward: It is a great feeling to have work that satisfies you. Moving for even more satisfaction can help you to grow your skills and hone your craft. Another option: if you are the type who bores easily, you may want to consider joining the “gig economy” and look at doing consulting, where you can work on a project basis and do all kinds of different and interesting work.
- Risk: If you are really, truly disinterested in the work you are doing, think long and hard about it. Is it really the current job, or is it the work itself? If it is the actual work, maybe you are ready for a larger-scale career change. Going someplace else may be a temporary fix, and once the novelty wears off, you may find yourself bored again. If your intuition tells you this may be the case, take a breather to figure out what type of work will fulfill you longer term.
- Advancement opportunities:
- Reward: Feeling like you can grow in your career is something that most people find to be essential, but sometimes you do have to go outside to make a move up.
- Risk: If a better title is your primary motivator, make sure this career move ^^ is going to check some of the other boxes too…or accept that it may literally be a move JUST for a better title. Also, consider talking to your current manager. Are there ways to advance within your current role by taking on new projects and honing specific skills?
- A great manager/team:
- Reward: Let’s suppose that the best manager you ever worked for calls you and asks that you come to his or her new company to work for them. Added bonus? Some of your favorite colleagues will also be joining the team. Or, suppose that you interview and the hiring manager is dynamic, smart, and easy to get along with, and the team members you met with seem committed, happy, and interesting. Ready to sign on the dotted line? I don’t blame you. Chemistry with your boss and colleagues can be a great thing.
- Risk: In the case of following a manager to a new role, the risk is that you get there and the manager leaves, be it due to personal choice, layoff, his/her promotion, or restructuring. Or, in the case of joining a new manager, that person who seemed so great is…not so great. Do your research to see who your new boss and team are and what they are all about.
- A startup that you think will take off in a major way:
- Reward: Working at a startup can be rewarding on many levels. As it grows, your opportunity to take on more responsibility and learn multiple parts of the business will be there. If it takes off, it may result in a wealth event for both the company and you, especially if you can get equity early on.
- Risk: Do your research on the market that the startup focuses on and the viability of their value proposition. Ask about funding sources, benefits, and if the founders are looking to grow the company, or are ultimately hoping to sell it…because you could end up working for another firm or find yourself out of a job if that happens!
All in all, job-hopping is a bet – but recent statistics show that most professionals will change jobs 9-10 times or more over their working life. Identifying the risks and mitigating them will help you be successful, whether you hop or not.
Cindy Joyce is the CEO of Pillar Search and HR Consulting. With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search and HR Consulting provides retained executive search and recruiting services as well as human resources consulting to for exceptional nonprofits and socially responsible for-profit organizations. To learn more, please visit www.pillarsearch.com.
Mistake Mastery (Because Your Professional Life Does Not Come with a Magic Eraser)
An executive who I do leadership coaching with recently shared that a member of her team made a colossal, astronomical-amount-of-money, public relations nightmare mistake. She values the employee, and understands that mistakes happen, but the employee did not own up to the mistake, which only made it worse.
We have all been there. Making a mistake sucks. BIG TIME. And it can cost you – your job, relationships, reputation, credibility, monetary fines, and more. What can you do when you make a major misstep on the job?
- Own up to it. I have seen this done well, and I have seen people try to assign blame to others when it was clearly their own wrongdoing. Being honest – and doing so quickly – is always the gracious way to own up to a mistake.
- Be part of the solution. My first manager out of college used to tell the team “Do not come to me with a problem unless you also have a solution”, which made telling her that I had erroneously withdrawn $1,000,000, not the desired $10,000, from a client’s mutual fund account and was on my way to the mailroom to search high and low before it was mailed a bit easier to swallow. Oops. Have at least the framework of a solution so that steps can be taken quickly to work towards resolution so that you are remembered as much for being part of the positive outcome as you are for the source of the issue.
- Apologize, and really mean it. Sounds obvious, right? Shocking, but there are many for whom saying the words “I am sorry” or “I was wrong” is a foreign concept. Humility and grace will get you far in life. And do it face-to-face, if possible. Just do not say it multiple times, or you run the risk of looking like you cannot handle the mistake.
- Say thank you. To clean up the mess, several people may need to get involved. Thank each and every one for doing the extra work to help fix your mess.
- What did you learn? The difference between a mistake and an epic failure is figuring out what the key takeaways are. Analyze what happened and use that knowledge to improve.
- Document it. It will come up in your review if it was significant, so when the dust settles, write an accurate and unemotional as possible overview of the problem, what you did to correct it, could prevent in the future, and what you learned from it. That way, you leave nothing out and if and when it comes up again, you have the information at the ready. As a bonus, putting it in writing may help you to see holes in the process or workflow, which provides the opportunity to be more innovative.
- Do not let it define you. Even if the outcome of this mistake is that you lose your job (and I’m sorry if this is the outcome), remember that mistakes are not labels. You are you and the mistake is the mistake. It is an opportunity to learn and grow. If you let it define you, you run the risk of operating out of fear, which will only result in being risk-averse and complacent.
- Be kind to you. If someone came to you and told you that they had made a major error, you would likely show them compassion and understanding. Extend this same kindness to yourself.
Life does not come with a magic eraser, so there is no do-over, but everyone, even the most successful legends out there, has a mistake or two (or more!) in their professional history. How you handle the mix-up and how smoothly you move forward is what will leave a lasting impression.
Hire the best! With personalized service and proven results, Pillar Search & HR Consulting provides retained executive search services and human resources consulting for exceptional non-profits and socially responsible for-profit firms. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on the national level. To learn more about how Pillar can assist with your hiring and human resources needs, please contact Cindy Joyce at cindy@pillarsearch.com.
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What Career Changes Would You Make if You Won the Lottery?
There is an old saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow.” Too often, however, people are trapped in a certain lifestyle by the belief that if you make the money, loving your career will follow.
Recently, I was working with an executive client who admitted that while his job was extremely rewarding financially, he was feeling uninspired and trapped. I asked what would prevent him from making a major change, and he said that he feels locked into his high paying job because he has two homes, an expensive country club membership, two adult children still “on the payroll,” and supports his father’s care.
I posed the question, “What would you do if you won the lottery?” At that point, the jackpot was over $150 million. Instantly, his demeanor and energy changed as he excitedly shared that his dream was to open a sailing center where he could rent out boats and offer lessons. This clearly is a dream that he has given extensive thought to, as he already knew where he would open this business, what the name would be, how he would attract customers, and that he would offer sailing camps to area nonprofits that work with children, such as Big Brother Big Sister and Boys and Girls Clubs.
Let’s be honest: the chance of winning the lottery or finding out that you have some unknown Daddy Warbucks relative who has left it all to you is pretty slim, but his answer and obvious passion made me wonder what others would do. In an unofficial study (okay, I surveyed friends and colleagues!), the majority reported that if they no longer had to think about money at all, they would travel for a year or two. Some would return to their current job full-time, as they believe in the company that they work for, and their work is interesting and enjoyable. Others would volunteer, take classes, or join the gig economy by consulting for organizations on a project basis so that they could have greater flexibility over the scope and intensity of their work. Surprisingly, only two said that they would make relaxation their full-time endeavor!
The other interesting responses from my entirely unscientific study were:
- I would work, but in a much different way. I would speak more frankly and have less fear for losing my job based on my actions. I still love what I do. That’s why I do it.
- Keep living life as is, until I thought of some way to use that money to start something that makes me happy and benefitted others. I think people need a purpose, so without working, or a goal, you would spend all the money on “things” to fill that need and run out of the money!
- Now that I am doing something I actually like, I would keep doing it (this individual left a corporate job of over 12 years recently to run a family business)
- I would keep working, but I would focus more on the aspects of my jobs that I love and outsource/reduce the things that I do not love. I would focus on creating. I would also devote time to the causes I love.
- I would absolutely “work” but not doing what I do now. I would start a non-profit focused on something with girls in leadership both in the U.S. and internationally, or write a book about raising our next generation to eliminate the unconscious societal bias. And, of course, I would do all of this while traveling around the world with my family and friends, drinking delicious wine everywhere!
- I would work, but would use my skills to help empower underprivileged women to create better lives for themselves and/or donate my time to nonprofits that support things that I am passionate about.
- I would quit my current job to start a business focused on my hobby (some responses were to open a bakery, a cigar bar, and a dog walking business).
- I started my own business a few years and love it so much that it feels like I already won the lottery!
In the case of my client, he is not ready to make the leap just yet, so we discussed how to find time to do what he loves while staying in his current role. We found a sailing center in Boston that offers lessons to disadvantaged children, and he is going to volunteer with them one evening a week, which will give him an opportunity to sail on a regular basis and gain the experience of teaching sailing to children. He and his wife have decided to start downsizing slowly in hopes of starting his dream business in the next 5-10 years. At the end of our meeting, we went to the convenience store around the corner to purchase lottery tickets. Fingers crossed!
If money were no longer an issue, what would you do differently in YOUR career?
Cindy Joyce is the CEO of Pillar Search & HR Consulting. Pillar provides national executive search services for exceptional non-profits and foundations and socially responsible for-profit firms desiring top talent who want an occupassion, not just an occupation. In addition, Pillar offers human resources consulting services, which was born of clients requesting help on projects beyond executive search, and includes leadership coaching, human resources audits, handbooks, assessing organizational design, training, team building, and employee communications. A woman-owned business, Pillar is based in Boston, MA, and works on both the local and national level. For more information, please visit www.pillarsearch.com or email Cindy at cindy@pillarsearch.com.
