Dear Free Bird,

Congrats to your dad! That’s a heck of a tenure to rack-up. I’ve got some good news for you, though. Long gone are the days where you are expected to stay at a company for decades.

Longevity was really important when top employee concerns were pensions and job security. That isn’t the case anymore, which frees you up to explore your options. Let’s dive right into why it’s a good thing (and attractive to employers) to have a diverse resume.

First off, when you change companies, you learn more about your craft. Your bosses will change, your coworkers will change and that means you’ll be introduced to new ways of thinking and learning. You’ll learn some new programs/software, which is always nice to add to the resume. Think about how great it will look to a hiring manager if they’re asking for experience in Photoshop, and you come to the table with Photoshop, Canva, and Illustrator. You’re going to really stand out. 

Bonus – your people skills will also get a boost. Since everyone is different, the more bosses and co-workers you have, the better suited you’ll become to work with different personalities and leadership styles. I can’t stress enough how important this is. You won’t always love everyone you work with, but being able to work together productively will make the work week a lot easier to survive.

Each time you change jobs you turn yourself into a more diverse employee.It shows you can work in different cultures, environments and industries. Plus, you’ll get really good at spotting work cultures that aren’t a good fit for you. After all, “good fit” is a two-way street. If you get a gut instinct about a company (and you will if you work for enough of them), you’ll get damn good at knowing when to say “hell yeah” and when to walk away.

And, last but not least, you’ll become a super-star at being interviewed! I couldn’t skip this one – my job is literally to help professionals find jobs they love. So obviously interviewing is pretty important to me. And like playing the piano, cooking a perfect steak, or knitting a sweater, practice makes perfect. If you only interview once every 10 years, you’re probably going to suck at it. But if you interview every 3 years, you’re going to feel at home being asked what skills you bring to the table. (And if you have worked for a bunch of companies, you’ll have a lot of skills to bring to the table. Just saying.)

A word of warning, though! Be careful not to do it every year. If you switch up jobs every year or two, you’ll look unstable and like a flight risk. It’s expensive for companies to hire new employees and they require onboarding and training. If it looks like you’re going to take off after only a year, they probably won’t want to invest in you in the first place.

So the moral of this story is to never feel stuck somewhere. If you’ve been with a company for a few years and you’re ready for a new adventure, go find it. 

Sincerely,
Jenny