Job Hopping & Happy
“And if none of this works, quit and look elsewhere.”
That was the closing sentence of Raise Ready, a piece detailing the ways in which you can secure a pay rise at your current employer. I was very clear in the fact pay rises don’t happen overnight, if at all.
If a business can get away with cutting costs — they will.
Frankly, the most successful way I’ve personally secured significant pay rises is by changing jobs. There’s a stigma attached to job hopping, and depending on how it’s done, it can be damaging to your career. How you job hop is detrimental to the success of your career journey, not the act itself.
- Gimme Some Mo: if your workload allows, ask for more responsibilities or show a genuine interest in the roles that others in your team do. Even if you learn a new skill or process that you’re not necessarily responsible for, you can include the fact you’ve had exposure to it in your CV which in turn makes your profile more attractive in the labour market.
- Great Taste: your references need to be glowing. Granted, some employers only confirm dates of employment as a policy, but even if this is the case, you need to be so amazing they can’t help but to rave positively about you. Be the best employee you can be in your current organisation so by the time you’re ready to move on your boss can’t help but say “you’re looking to hire *insert your name*? You have great taste”
- Best 2 out of 3: don’t be attracted to the number alone, chasing salaries will leave you unhappy and stuck. Your job hopping formula should be a variation of at least 2 of the following elements:
1. Pay increase
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2. Bigger/ more well-known company
3. More seniority and role responsibility
- Make it Make Sense: think about the minimum amount of money you need to increase to. In my opinion, there’s absolutely no point of moving roles for less than a £3000 increase as that works out to £250 monthly increase before tax. Work out what you require, and make sure the roles you’re aiming for will work for you in the long(ish) run.
- Time Flies: unless it’s absolutely unbearable, try not to leave after just a few months. If you’re in a permanent role, aim to stay until the 1 year mark, 6 months if you’re in a contract role. When speaking to recruiters or potential employers, you’ll always be asked your reasons for leaving. Your reason needs to pertain to career progression rather than just money. If you move around from place to place within less time than mentioned, it can be an indication of your performance/ capabilities before you’re even given the opportunity to explain your real reasons for leaving previous posts. Be patient.
Obviously, this will vary from industry to industry, so please take this as a skeletal guide.
Happy hopping.
