On Wed, Mar 26, 2014 at 12:25 PM, Jonathan Grotegut <[email protected]> wrote:
> Chris Wood Said "- I've seen some people move from school to school to
> school.  That
>
> really stretches out getting things done and on a resume it makes
> people wonder about commitment.  Job hopping looks the same way.  If
> you are moving jobs every 18 months, then employers will be skeptical
> of your commitment."
>
> While I think this is silly when it comes to schooling, I see a point to
> doing it with work.
>
> Most young employees today don't see job hoping as a commitment issue,
> it simply is a financial issue.  Why stay at a company for more time than
> that
> when you don't get any raises, or small "token" raises, if you are lucky,
> when
> I can go to a different company and end up making thousands more a year?
>
> I try and be loyal to companies I work for but when I see people I know that
> regularly
> "job hop" making substantially more than I am, even though they have less
> experience
> than me, it is quite frustrating.
>
> Not to mention the benefit of not getting stuck in the "8 years at one job
> trap" as previously mentioned.
>
> Then we could always completely derail this conversation and talk about the
> loyalty of
> employers to their employees... but we won't go there.


Moving jobs every 18 months is fast in a field that may have a 6 month
learning curve depending on the company you go to.   In 1999 the
average # of companies a person worked for in their career was 7 (if I
remember correctly).  If you think of a 50 year career, that is about
every 7 years there is a job change.  I had a teacher that was the
head of HR for a multi-billion dollar shipping company and he said the
trend of high turnover for employees that was happening in 1999 was
bad for businesses and people.  I'm sure 7 is now a low number.

You have a valid point when it comes to increases in pay.  Often times
it is moving jobs when people will get their biggest jumps in pay.
But, I believe that if you are open with your employer about the pay
discussion that many will stay competitive.  If you like where you are
working, have the discussion.  Many times employees leave without
giving the company the chance to be competitive.  I've personally
given large raises because I knew the employee was valuable, their
situation had changed (they had more experience, etc), and I knew they
could walk out the door and get a job for substantially more.

Taking some tips from Dave Ramsey, when you sit down with your boss,
you need to show you are worth the raise you are asking for:

- Would you give yourself a raise if you were them?  Why are you worth
the money?  Explain it to them.

- What is market rate for someone with your degree and/or experience?
Do a mini compensation study on your position vs other companies.

- How hard are you to replace?  Are your skills specialized for what
they do?  Employee turnover is expensive.  Don't blackmail your boss,
but know that they are thinking about turnover as disruptive and
expensive and that their preference is to avoid it.

- How much value do you bring to the company?  Did you automate a
process that saved the company $x last year?  Did you create a new
sales tool that brought in $x last year?  Did you implement automated
testing that saved money or reduced bugs in released product?   What
did you bring to the table that they wouldn't have had without you?
What are you going to bring to the table next year?

- Don't act entitled to a raise or belligerent about it.  Ask your
boss how you can better serve the company and how you can add value
such that you can be making more in the future.

Chris

-- 
Chris Wood
-=-=-=-=-=-=-

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