Reports show that employees of all ages in the US change jobs every 4.2 years on average. This time duration is even shorter for employees under 35. Significantly, after the pandemic, the job market has changed in terms of both job expectations and working styles. Many companies and businesses shifted to remote working and now, more and more people are opting for freelancing.
When it comes to, then, making changes in your career might not be as scary as it used to be. If you feel like you want to do some career changes, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we answered questions about changing jobs and presented one of the best alumni network software, Raklet!
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Why do people change their jobs?
There are several reasons why people decide to change their jobs. Reasons for career change include:
- The shift in career interest or focus
- Better company offers, benefits, and perks
- Better work-life balance
- Bigger companies
- More opportunities for career advancement
- Harmony between personal and organizational values
- More interesting and challenging projects
- Relocation of the organization
- The desire for improvement, development, and knowledge
- Less stressful work environment
- Higher compensation
- Better team collaboration
- Changing life standards
- Economic hardships
If you experience one of these reasons yourself, maybe it is your time to change your job. But, how often changing your job is good? Let’s answer that!
How often should you change your job?
The answer depends on your own experience. You will feel when it is time for you to make a career change. As mentioned above, it is 4.2 years on average in the US, so around these years, it shouldn’t be a problem to change your job. This doesn’t mean that under or above the average is problematic either. As long as you can ground your reasons in the following interview, there will be no problem.
Employers also can have different perceptions regarding changing jobs. While some of them find it acceptable to change jobs often, some of them would like to work with persistent employees who stay longer with the company. They may have their ideas on how long you should stick with your current job as well. Staying in your position for whatever length of time tells your employer about your commitment to your role or company, how open you are to developing and learning new skills, and your strengths.
If you are happy where you are, you do not need to change your job. Many people stay with the company until retirement because they do not have any other reasons to leave. So, it is important to remember that it is your own journey and experience that will determine your future. But, otherwise, when to change jobs?
Photo by Anna Tarazevich
When should you change your job?
There are several signals that warn you when it is time to change your job. Especially, if you have spent a good amount of time at your company. These can be:
Desiring more challenging tasks and projects
When you get experienced in your position, you might want to challenge yourself for more. Having done all the tasks under your responsibility, you may become an expert and tasks may seem mundane. So, you start to seek a challenge and your company might not offer what you need. It is a sign to start thinking about other options that challenge you to leave your comfort zone.
Shift in your career interest and begging for a new industry
After all this time in your company, you might realize that you don’t want to do it anymore. You might also develop an interest in another area. It is never too late to start all over again if you’re dedicated enough and have the resources.
Hard to balance your work and personal life
When you realize that you are constantly rejecting friends and family gatherings because you need to work late, there you go, that might be another sign! We are all aware that sometimes this work-life balance is hard to keep, but, when it is too disturbing, it is not good for your health.
Realizing a gap between your skills and role
If you feel like you are more than what you’re doing, it might be good to look for another job or role that overlaps your skills. You can assess your skills and examine your role and understand if you can use them in your role or even extend your skills. If the result is not good, it is time to consider another job.
Corporate alumni network
As we are concerned about how changing jobs would look on our CVs, it can be hard to take the risk sometimes. However, the corporate alumni network can provide you with the support and the network you need. Corporate alumni networks allow you to maintain lasting and mutually beneficial relationships with ex-employees. Deloitte, for example, calls its alumni (ex-employees) “Colleagues for life.” There are other terms like “boomerang employees,” “alumni” or “comeback colleagues.” A LinkedIn study in 2018 showed that in the previous decade, the US national rate of workplace boomerangs had more than doubled, hitting nearly 3% by the first half of 2018. This underlines the importance of the corporate alumni network in changing jobs.
There are several benefits of corporate alumni network:
- You keep your relationship with your network: This will have a positive impact on your business. Your ex-employee, or your ex-employer, can offer a better opportunity, know someone who can provide whatever you need for your business, and can follow news and updates.
- Finding new job opportunities: Keeping in touch with your network will automatically allow you to get notified when there is a job opening. Your profile might attract employers, or similarly, you can find what you’re looking for.
- You increase engagement with your previous colleagues and friends: If you are on the alumni network, whenever there is an event, it is a chance to engage with them. This will be quite beneficial for your future career since it allows you to meet other people on the alumni network.
- It is easier to find a mentor: When you start a journey, you can feel a bit lost in the beginning. A mentor can help you through. The Alumni network will provide the right people that you can easily contact. You can keep the communication going with several people and see their points of view.
Photo by Yan Krukov
Raklet: One of the best alumni engagement software
Raklet is an alumni engagement platform, which lets you create an engaging alumni portal. Make it easy for your alumni organization to set up events, activities, and alumni reunions.
Raklet not only provides the right tools for the alumni portal but also offers tools for fundraising. Easily collect one-time and recurring payments from your members using our alumni software. Send automated updates to your members using our email and SMS modules to announce news and openings. Use our digital membership card feature to increase the sense of belonging.
Reduce the cost of talent acquisition by simply re-hiring from the existing alumni pool using our job boards feature. You can also create discussion boards to increase engagement. Our powerful admin dashboard helps administrators manage all this without difficulty, and track real-time membership and payment data.
You can read our reviews to see what our valuable users are thinking. You can also view our transparent pricing plans to see the best option for your network.
If you like to know more about Raklet, you can schedule your demo and talk to one of our specialists!
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