How long is too long when staying in a job?

When it comes to asking how long you should stay in a role there is no right or wrong answer and it is often dependent on the scenario. Moving from job to job over a short period of time suggests a lack of commitment (or worse) and can signal red flags to future employers. Although harder to recognise, staying in a job can also have its own setbacks. For example, those future employers may assume you’re not driven enough if your resume has few jobs listed and with limited career progression. So looking at the pros and cons of each pathway will help make the most of your professional life.

In this day and age, regularly changing jobs every 3 years is an encouraged phenomenon. Three or four years in a job is allows you to adapt to rapidly evolving skill sets. The most obvious being shift for businesses, big and small, to handling transactions using technology. Exponential advancement in IT related business systems demands workers from multidisciplinary backgrounds. Staying in the same business might mean handling the same tech, day in-day out, and may cause a hard time taking the next step in your career.

In terms of career advancement, holding the same position with a company for many years can prove hindering. The first few years at your company should be an inspiring and innovative experience. You want to evolve the company as much as possible in order to move up the ranks and succeed professionally. If there is no hint of such progress, then one should consider other options. Even if it means branching out to other departments, as there is much to learn in these different areas of the business. This strategy is also much easier than finding an entirely new job altogether.

A noticeable indicator is if you feel as though you’ve stopped learning new things. It may mean you are bored or you have trouble setting goals on the job. This is usually followed by a loss of enthusiasm when going to work. If this is you, look to something that will reinvigorate the professional niggle you once had. This is the same if you start to notice that you are complaining about work more than usual. If you find it hard to find anything positive about your workplace and the issue cannot be addressed accordingly, move on. Lastly, if you are not actively monitoring your accomplishments, trivial or not, it may lead to a decrease in productivity. Putting off and avoiding tasks constantly is a sign that it could be time for a change.Whether you stay or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy lifestyle.

Whether you stay or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy

or leave, your decision should be based around your career goals and a healthy lifestyle.