Job Switching

Question

Question about someone looking to switch jobs after less than a year: will leaving after 8-10 months create the perception of a “job hopper”? The change is motivated by 1. Unhappy with current role/lack of future growth; 2. Geographic location with family considerations.

For my background, I graduated in 2020, played 1 year of pro sports in Europe, followed by a 10 month fellowship at a private equity company in Hong Kong and I now work for a large Asian bank in Hong Kong. I only started my current role 3 months ago but am not enjoying it and feel like I am strongly inhibited by my lack of local language skills. MBB/Tier 2 has been my career goal for since graduating but I was convinced by others to stay in financial services in Asia due to ‘better career opportunities’ (feel very differently now). Long story short, how long should I wait before applying for other roles back in North America?

Answer 1

Whoever offers you a contract next obviously does not care about your tenure at your current job. So there is no need to worry in terms of immediate next step. There is merit in cutting ties with a job that does not hold up to expectations and you have good reasons for doing so.

Of course what you don't want is to create a resume for yourself where you have many roles/employers of less than 1-2 years. That would make you look like a job-hopper who seems rather unreliable from an employer's point of view

Answer 2

You shouldn't wait. If you want to move… move right away. Wasting your life to have a pretty resume only result is… wasting your life.

Furthermore, moving after 3 months means you don't like the job. Moving after 9 months is job-hopping. So taking into account your concern, 3 months is better than 9 months.

By the way, spending one year play pro-sports is seens as valuable experience, but not as part of your professional work history. Having a fellowship also does not qualify into “job hopping”. You did you fellowship, and found something else when it ended.

So it looks like you feel you are a job hopper when in reality it just seems that you don't like your first job.

Answer 3

Hi there,

It's ok to make one switch like this. Two in a row looks very bad, but one short-term role (with an immediate transition to a longer length role or 2+ years) is perfectly fine!

Answer 4

Apply now! Life is too short to be somewhere that you're not enjoying. We all take jobs from time to time that are not suited - we move on quickly and learn from them. If you move every year or two multiple times over then you may start to create the impression that you can't commit to a role, but leaving one role after three months is totally fine.

Good luck!

Answer 5

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