My fellow Millennials,
Doesn’t it irritate you that Millennial job hoppers get a bad reputation in the working world? Because it certainly does for me.
The moment a HR manager sees your resume with multiple jobs in only a few years, they immediately label you as disloyal, picky, and entitled.
I’ve heard many criticisms about how our generation is job-hopping too much, how we should be grateful that we have a job, and how we should take bad experiences as a stepping stone.
I used to hear them and feel like shit, because I thought that I was being ungrateful. Worse, I thought there was something wrong with me for wanting more. Why can’t I be normal and just be content with my job?
Until I realized what utter bullshit this blame game was.
So, here’s a message to all my #millennialfam out there: It is OKAY to job-hop.
Albeit with a valid reason. Here’s why:
You Don’t Owe Your Company Anything
I’ll say it again: YOU DO NOT OWE THEM ANYTHING
After 2 and a half years of working at my first job, I left it for a better offer; a RM1K jump in my salary with flexible working hours. Upon my resignation, my boss told me “Wow we trained you and gave you so many opportunities in this company, and now you nicely took it and left?”
I felt super guilty after that, because she was a great boss and I’d appreciate the opportunities that she gave me. But I also had to think for myself. It was my life after all, and my life didn’t revolve around my company.
So, while you are grateful to be employed by the company, you don’t owe them jack. So why stick around when there is better opportunity elsewhere? Rationally, guilt shouldn’t be reason enough to stay in a job.
To The Company, You Are Replaceable
Let’s face the facts. No matter who or how important you are in a company; you’re replaceable.
I once had this ex-colleague who controlled every document in the company, and was the go-to person when it came to operational policies and documentation.
One day, she had an argument with the boss, and resigned within 24 hours. Everyone thought that the company would be lost when she left due to her knowledge and skills, and with no handover to boot.
Somehow, the company survived the first day, and the second day, and on it still went. Her boss simply assigned her job to someone else. Sure, it wasn’t easy at first, but the company managed to pull themselves together. No harm done.
Think about it – is there really a point to staying in a terrible job with a sucky company who can replace you in a heartbeat?
You’re Not Living In Your Parents’ Time
Another major complaint on millennial job hopping comes from Baby Boomers who compare us with their time. There’s nothing more annoying than middle-aged relatives judging you for leaving a job, just because they stuck with the same job for 10 to 20 years.
Have you ever looked at your parents’ ‘20 Years of Service’ medal award and think; how on earth did they stay so long? I sure did.
But the thing is, our parents were in a completely different time. Companies back then took care of them AND their families. My dad worked in a government company which gave him and his wife free unlimited medical coverage for life!
Plus, the value of money back then was greater too. A middle-income job got our parents a car and a house. That’s simply not the case now. So can we really be blamed for wanting better prospects and benefits?
Not Everyone Has A Lucky Streak In Their Job, And That’s Okay
There was a time where I once changed two jobs within a span of 3 months. Now I’m not entirely blameless; I didn’t do a background check on the first company, and realized soon after that the company had bad financials and was going downhill.
As for the second company, its working values didn’t match mine, which was something I should’ve clarified during the interview. Both companies had serious top management problems and crazy politics. So, I resigned from both.
I was dejected when it didn’t work out with those companies. Thankfully, I eventually managed to find a good job with a good boss and pay, and stayed with that company instead. In the end, it was a valuable learning process for me.
Sometimes, you just get horrible jobs that don’t work out, which is completely fine. There’s no point in staying in a bad career when you know it’s going nowhere. Bad jobs may be just bad luck for now, but perhaps a better offer is just a job hunt away.
So does this mean you should run from your job at the first sign of trouble? No.
A job change is something that must be thought of carefully. But if you’ve given it your all, and if being in the job is draining you mentally, then you know its time to go. Because no job is worth your self-respect, and mental sanity.
For more articles on Career & Skills, read 4 Career Lies We Need to Stop Believing Right Now, and Why You Should Not Take a Pay Cut? Here Are the 3 Reasons Why.
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