if after a year you find yourself going day in and day out without being challenged or not enjoying what you are doing you should start looking. There are a million firms out there, someone will challenge you or give you what you are looking for . A year is a very short amount of time and can mislead a younger designer who is used to the time frame found in a setting such as academia however, I think enough time to know what it is you like or dislike or understand how your role in the firm will grow/change over the upcoming year or longer. I used the school comparision because it is provides the best contrast and I am not sure of your age. Also, it is always nice to see a project through but the ideal is not always possible because some projects never actually end!!
This firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too, but they're doing just one building type (healthcare)....and that is what is limiting me. Why did I join this firm in the first place?
Simply, the job market was screwed, and I latched onto the first job I got......
Now the market is a little better, and I don't want to be stuck doing healthcare for any longer than I have to....so...
when you decide you are ready to leave a firm it is probably time. I wouldnt put much faith in minimum time limits etc.. once your mind is made up that you will leave you should go.
I think there are several reasons. sure there is a feeling of guilt becase it cost your boss a lot of $$ to hire and train you but on the other hand once you decide you need to leave you no longer have the same loyalty to the firm that you did when you thought you would be there a while. There is no longer the commitment to quality control.. you begin putting stuff off to be dealt with by your successor etc.. even if it is not intentional your performance will suffer.. kind of a prolonged short timer syndrome. I have worked through one instance where a person knew she was leaving for 3 months and ended up costing us close to 20 grand in making up for poor work. I hope this is an extreme example but realize that it can happen.
once you know you are gonna leave start looking. it could take 6 months to find the right firm.. you never know.. there is no point waiting out an imaginary minimum time just to find that the firm you really want to work for just finished their last hiring cycle for 6 months or a year.
Very well put. I'm sure what you've described can very easily happen. I don;t think that will happen with me, coz, I'm always multi-tasking between production, graphics and 3D ( not many in this firm who can do that)....so there is no question of keeping work for my successor....I'll probably have to make myself available for a couple of weekends after I leave so that things I've done can be followed up on....
I wouldn't look at it strictly as a "how many years (or months) per job" equation, but as an overall 5 to 10 year picture. If you've been at this job a year and are bored and want a new perspective then leaving now will probably not hurt you at all. And if you're an intern then doing exactly the same thing a year later may also not hurt you in the long run (though it will make most of your interviewers in your 3rd job search ask your reasons for the hopping.) Many interns have 3 or 4 or more jobs during their internship - and most employers know this and have an "interns come and go" mentality.
But: if you keep this pattern up for more than your first few jobs then naturally it will become a problem. I have seen resumes from people who've had 16 jobs in 14 years - and while I can think of a few farfetches reasons that might be acceptable for this, in general it doesn't make them look like promising candidates. I mean, nobody wants to take the time and expense to hire and train someone who is practically guaranteed to leave in less than a year.
One other thing: I've known a bunch of people who've started new jobs and known almost immediately that the job was a mistake/bad fit for them. Some of these people left within 1 week to 2 months - and this didn't have any bad repurcussions at all, because they just left that job off their resume.
I'd agree that you'll probbly want to get a broader range of experiences with other project types eventually. But: jobs where the "firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too" are few and far between - so if you're still learning and advancing there, and reasonably happy, then you might want to give it a little longer.
While "firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too" holds true, I've come to realise that its not the kind of work that I would like to do for an extended period of time.
how about this:
i've been at a job for three years. i've worked on a few interesting projects and am being asked to really "step up" into a "leadership role". the caveat is that although i've on numerous occasions asked them to be mindful of my schedule as i'm working on an important personal project (a house for my parents), they continually put me into extreme deadline situations (i.e. major deadline every two weeks with very demanding clients and high expectations within the office). in many ways i'm interested in staying for a little while longer, but am feeling extremely "burnt-out" by my schedule. is it time to leave?
I think you need to decide what your priorities are. I don't really know if any firm would be willing to let you put their work aside to work on "a personal project".
If you feel that you should finish off this house for your parents, then you could maybe ask them for a leave of absence to finish off the house on a war footing...
my 2 cents..
Jul 13, 04 6:40 pm ·
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When is the Best time to change a job?
what is the minimum time one should spend in a job?
I've been in my present job for one year and am contemplating a change (type of work is not to my liking)
Is it too early to change?
2 yrs, although I typically can stand it for 1yr.
the best time would be before noon i think
ha ha mauOne,
you cracked me up with that one...before noon, you think?
why not after tea...at about 16:30:45 ??
=)
hehe,
i think it is a good time to change a job when u feel u will not grow professionally there, in one year you may have realized that already, ;o)
if after a year you find yourself going day in and day out without being challenged or not enjoying what you are doing you should start looking. There are a million firms out there, someone will challenge you or give you what you are looking for . A year is a very short amount of time and can mislead a younger designer who is used to the time frame found in a setting such as academia however, I think enough time to know what it is you like or dislike or understand how your role in the firm will grow/change over the upcoming year or longer. I used the school comparision because it is provides the best contrast and I am not sure of your age. Also, it is always nice to see a project through but the ideal is not always possible because some projects never actually end!!
Well,
This firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too, but they're doing just one building type (healthcare)....and that is what is limiting me. Why did I join this firm in the first place?
Simply, the job market was screwed, and I latched onto the first job I got......
Now the market is a little better, and I don't want to be stuck doing healthcare for any longer than I have to....so...
anyways...thanks for the comments.
ugh, healthcare. quit today.
Was talking to a well-known architect the other day. His suggestion was, (what he looks at a resume for hire),
Out of school.
1 year = shows s/he doesn’t jump around
2 year = shows loyalty and the will to suck it up.
After 3 years = doesn’t matter.
Over 40
Shouldn’t be jumping around
Think in 5-year intervals
when you decide you are ready to leave a firm it is probably time. I wouldnt put much faith in minimum time limits etc.. once your mind is made up that you will leave you should go.
I think there are several reasons. sure there is a feeling of guilt becase it cost your boss a lot of $$ to hire and train you but on the other hand once you decide you need to leave you no longer have the same loyalty to the firm that you did when you thought you would be there a while. There is no longer the commitment to quality control.. you begin putting stuff off to be dealt with by your successor etc.. even if it is not intentional your performance will suffer.. kind of a prolonged short timer syndrome. I have worked through one instance where a person knew she was leaving for 3 months and ended up costing us close to 20 grand in making up for poor work. I hope this is an extreme example but realize that it can happen.
once you know you are gonna leave start looking. it could take 6 months to find the right firm.. you never know.. there is no point waiting out an imaginary minimum time just to find that the firm you really want to work for just finished their last hiring cycle for 6 months or a year.
go for it
Gabriel,
Very well put. I'm sure what you've described can very easily happen. I don;t think that will happen with me, coz, I'm always multi-tasking between production, graphics and 3D ( not many in this firm who can do that)....so there is no question of keeping work for my successor....I'll probably have to make myself available for a couple of weekends after I leave so that things I've done can be followed up on....
Thanx
I wouldn't look at it strictly as a "how many years (or months) per job" equation, but as an overall 5 to 10 year picture. If you've been at this job a year and are bored and want a new perspective then leaving now will probably not hurt you at all. And if you're an intern then doing exactly the same thing a year later may also not hurt you in the long run (though it will make most of your interviewers in your 3rd job search ask your reasons for the hopping.) Many interns have 3 or 4 or more jobs during their internship - and most employers know this and have an "interns come and go" mentality.
But: if you keep this pattern up for more than your first few jobs then naturally it will become a problem. I have seen resumes from people who've had 16 jobs in 14 years - and while I can think of a few farfetches reasons that might be acceptable for this, in general it doesn't make them look like promising candidates. I mean, nobody wants to take the time and expense to hire and train someone who is practically guaranteed to leave in less than a year.
One other thing: I've known a bunch of people who've started new jobs and known almost immediately that the job was a mistake/bad fit for them. Some of these people left within 1 week to 2 months - and this didn't have any bad repurcussions at all, because they just left that job off their resume.
I'd agree that you'll probbly want to get a broader range of experiences with other project types eventually. But: jobs where the "firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too" are few and far between - so if you're still learning and advancing there, and reasonably happy, then you might want to give it a little longer.
Thanks Ormolu,
While "firm is full of great people and there is plenty of opportunity to grow too" holds true, I've come to realise that its not the kind of work that I would like to do for an extended period of time.
Thanks for your advice. Its invaluable.
how about this:
i've been at a job for three years. i've worked on a few interesting projects and am being asked to really "step up" into a "leadership role". the caveat is that although i've on numerous occasions asked them to be mindful of my schedule as i'm working on an important personal project (a house for my parents), they continually put me into extreme deadline situations (i.e. major deadline every two weeks with very demanding clients and high expectations within the office). in many ways i'm interested in staying for a little while longer, but am feeling extremely "burnt-out" by my schedule. is it time to leave?
Good question futureboy,
I think you need to decide what your priorities are. I don't really know if any firm would be willing to let you put their work aside to work on "a personal project".
If you feel that you should finish off this house for your parents, then you could maybe ask them for a leave of absence to finish off the house on a war footing...
my 2 cents..
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