Why You Should Change Jobs Sooner Rather than Later
Introduction
Let’s start with the obvious: nobody in their right mind would suggest that searching for a new job is easy. Job searches typically entail months of unpaid labor accompanied by an emotional roller coaster ride, with ups and downs comparable to those of a toxic romantic relationship.
While you may be dreading your next job search just as much as I do, there can still be benefits to searching for a new job sooner rather than later.
Even if you do not particularly loathe the process of searching for a job, being more or less satisfied with your current gig can still make it easy to stay put. There are reasons not to let that satisfaction prevent you from looking elsewhere.
With this post, I hope to examine the act of job searching from several angles, making a point-by-point case for why a job search should be a part of your near-future plans.
Reason #1: Novelty
Put simply, a new position is an opportunity to do new work in a new environment.
Given the high degree of specialization in today’s workforce, it is likely that you were hired for your current role at your current employer to fulfill a very specific purpose. Since you took on that role, you have likely been performing that same basic function (or something similar) without a great deal of evolution in your tasks or responsibilities.
While stability has its own sort of unique value, there is also a case to be made for experiencing a variety of industries, functions, and workplaces in order to reach your full professional potential.
Furthermore, experiencing variety in your work and workplace will not only facilitate personal growth, but also help you understand the environment in which you fit best. This includes the possibility that no existing workplace will ever be a good match, suggesting that you may need to create the conditions in which you can thrive by going solo or founding your own company.
Changing jobs is also like pressing a reset button on your workplace relationships. Perhaps you got off on the wrong foot at your current gig, or you do not have the most harmonious relationship with your current manager; a new job is a chance for a fresh start that would otherwise be hard to come by.
Reason #2: Compensation
Generally speaking, employers have little incentive to offer pay raises to retain their current workforce. The basic reason is that when a candidate accepted the job offer, it signaled to that employer that the candidate did not have a significantly better compensation package awaiting them elsewhere.
Furthermore, employers are also well aware of the time and effort required to search for and ultimately switch jobs. They factor this degree of ‘friction’ into their approach to revisiting (or not revisiting) your compensation.
Luckily, this “friction” works in the opposite direction for potential employers: organizations that want new talent must entice candidates with improved earnings or benefits packages to leave situations in which they are largely satisfied.
As a result of these countervailing forces, switching jobs can be a way to lock in an improved compensation package relative to your current job. Best of all, these improvements can carry through to your next job or career change, compounding mathematically over time.
For example, let’s assume that the average worker can expect a 10% increase in salary each time they change jobs. That means that after changing jobs once, your salary improves by just 10% relative to the salary at your first job. After a second and third job change, however, you can expect cumulative increases of 21% and 33%, respectively, relative to that first salary.
This mathematical relationship is why changing jobs more frequently can be an effective way to lock in future earnings (and savings, which compound in their own non-linear way).
One caveat is a situation in which your nominal compensation improves through a job search, but the job change itself involves exorbitant start-up costs, like moving cross-country or establishing a life in a new, more expensive city.
Still, the link between nominal compensation packages at successive jobs is one reason why you should never sell yourself short during the job search process: future employers will often reference your current salary when considering their job offer to you.
Reason #3: Probability and timing
One of the unfortunate realities of searching for a new job is that not all of the opportunities you pursue will work out.
Sometimes, a potential employer decides not to proceed with your application for a role in which you are confident you could thrive. In other cases, you may choose to withdraw your candidacy after finding out that the “vibes” are just not quite right.
Given the hit-or-miss nature of job searching, it can be helpful to think of the job-hunting process as a singles party, where both parties must show interest in each other before proceeding to the next steps.
The difference between a singles party and job hunting, however, is that singles parties typically begin and end at a set time.
In contrast, job hunting is more akin to a practically endless singles party from which you can leave only once you have gotten the contact information of someone who shows mutual interest in you.
If that is the case, showing up early to such a party should pay dividends. For one, you meet fresh faces before either side tires of the process and atmosphere.
On top of that, showing up early reduces the chance that a perfect match for you will begin to hit it off with someone else before you have even arrived.
The same logic applies to actual job hunting: companies do not look for talent all of the time. When a company starts searching for talent, it is best to be ready and waiting to offer yourself up as a candidate before others do.
Reason #4: Career progression
As with compensation, your rank within the organizational chart is much more likely to change for the better following a job search than in its absence.
In fairness, limited prospects of promotion in your current role do not necessarily mean that your current employer is taking you for granted. Rather, you were hired to fulfill a role and, by all accounts, you are fulfilling that role; from your employer’s perspective, things are working out well and there is no impetus for change.
In contrast, a potential employer has an unmet need that they are trying to fill through the job posting; it is the candidate who has the freedom to apply (or not) for a role that meets their current expectations for organizational rank and responsibilities.
As a result, job searching can be the most straightforward way to move up the ladder if that is what you are seeking at that point in your career.
Reason #5: Dynamism and growth
As a general rule, companies that are hiring new employees are engaged in more exciting and interesting projects than those that are shrinking or merely maintaining their workforce.
More specifically, employers often open new positions when they are looking for someone to spearhead a new initiative, lead a new team, or make use of the funding they have secured through additional investment or increased revenue.
Even the expectation of future success can be enough for an employer to open up new positions, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy in which the added capacity eventually produces that success.
Admittedly, numerous job openings at one company can indicate a toxic work environment. More often than not, however, firms that are hiring are firms that are growing, or at least operating within sectors that are vibrant and expanding – why not soak in some of the optimism and consider joining in?
Reason #6: Survivorship
An often overlooked aspect of switching jobs is the temporary protection that it grants you against the risk of career instability.
Specifically, when it comes to layoffs and restructurings, there are a few reasons why you may be more likely to be laid off by your current employer after a long tenure than if you had just joined a new company.
The reasoning is fairly straightforward: once again, companies that are hiring are often growing and have positive business outlooks. Provided that your new company is not in an industry that is particularly vulnerable to economic downturns, there is a fair chance that it would act as a steadier life raft than your current employer when the seas get rocky.
Furthermore, as a newcomer, you benefit from the fact that your new employer has a significant reputational incentive not to fire you. In the past, layoffs often prioritized seniority in the sense of “last in, first out.”
In this day and age, loyalty is much less highly regarded and near-routine job changes have become the norm. If anything, employees who have been around for a long stretch of time are often considered relatively expensive and fussy.
Combined with the increasing frequency of corporate rebranding and routine strategic realignments, modern employers are more concerned than ever before about their ability to attract and hold onto the newcomer talent that will allow them to execute their newly established goals.
Consequently, firing newcomers en masse would hurt an employer’s appeal to future applicants, granting newcomers a sort of temporary invincibility shield for the mid-term time horizon.
Reason #7: Leeway
Continuing with the broad theme of managing difficult times in your career, consider which of the following situations you would prefer to be in:
Situation A: You were recently laid off and must find a new gig within six months or else be forced to dip into your savings and/or retirement fund to cover day-to-day life.
Situation B: You are currently employed but are exploring whether new job opportunities might be a better fit for your current needs and long-term career goals
The choice is obvious, right? In Situation A, you are much more likely to feel a sense of crisis or desperation. Lacking the leeway and runway needed to find the opportunity that best matches your needs, you are also more likely to settle for a job, compensation package, or other condition that you will come to resent.
Worse yet, the sense of desperation you feel as your financial situation tightens could subtly infect your approach to networking and job interviews, undermining your confidence or painting you in a light that does not reflect your baseline working style or personality.
That is why it makes sense to search for a new job before changing jobs becomes absolutely necessary. The emotional and financial leeway you have while you are employed is an asset that makes for a more thorough and less stressful job search.
Wellness Takeaways
This blog post introduced several reasons why proactively considering a job search today may be better than delaying it until another day.
Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with remaining in your current role provided that it helps you maintain your financial well-being, stimulates you intellectually, and provides you with a sense of accomplishment in your day-to-day work.
That being said, changing jobs sooner rather than later has potential benefits for your career progression, earnings, and ultimate life satisfaction. Even without an urgent need to change jobs, consider these benefits when reevaluating your current employment situation.
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