Ten years in your current role? You’re stale. And stagnant. Your resume probably reads like a job description.
When recruiters and hiring managers stop being human, they’ll stop having biases. Biases are all over the place, legal and illegal — we just don’t know about them.
My biases are centered on wanting to see candidates who have gotten bored in their roles and made the choice to move on. Not because they were laid off and had to move on. I’m looking for the folks who are hungry to do more — striving to be that rock-star with an organization. (I broke my own rule there — I hate the word “rock-star.” Sorry ’bout that.)
Now if you’ve spent 10 years with the same organization but have progressed within the company and held different roles — that’s good to see! Please read carefully:
When you don’t step out of your comfort zone, you don’t grow. Period, end of story.
When you get too comfy in a job, that’s all it is — a job. You show up for work every day, do what’s expected of you, don’t make waves and your bills get paid. It’s all good.
Or is it?
It just shows that you can do what many Americans are already doing every day. But as a prospective hiring manager I’ll take the liberty of stealing Janet Jackson’s lyrics and ask you, “What have you done for me lately?“ Or what have you done for your current organization that you can bring to mine? Can you show what your accomplishments are? If you can, you’re on track.
You’re only as good as your last gig and the accomplishments under your belt within that gig.
Am I condoning job hopping? No. And my definition of job hopping might be different from yours. I view job hopping as folks who change jobs within a one-year period. I think people who change jobs every two to three years is a good sign.
Here’s why different job experiences are good for you:
Bring it.
This was originally published on Kimberly Roden’s Unconventional HR blog.
