I Have Had Over 20-Something Jobs & This Is How To Job Hop Like A Pro
My first job was working as a floral assistant and cashier at a local flower shop. It was quite rewarding, engaging with consumers as they picked up bouquets and arrangements for various occasions. I kept that job for a year before transitioning into a completely different industry. From then up to today, I’ve had over 20-something jobs. Now, I know what you may be thinking: “How have you been able to have so many jobs and bypass the flood of questions that come with job hopping?”
Much of job hopping appropriately requires a clear strategy and understanding of what you are hoping to achieve. Leaving an organization preemptively because you are underpaid, undervalued, or treated poorly is a justifiable reason to job hop. Leaving an organization because you feel you have capped on growth opportunities, even if it's sooner than expected, is a justifiable reason to job hop.
You shouldn’t, however, job hop if you aren’t clear on the fundamentals of your job function. For example, leaving your well-paying role as Project Manager after four months because a TikTok video made you feel you could make more money elsewhere is not a good idea if you are still new to the responsibilities of a Project Manager.
There is a right and wrong way to job hop. To keep things easy as you navigate your corporate journey, here are the general steps you should follow:
@kyyahabdul Is Job Hopping Bad?? No, not inherently. BUT there is a right and wrong way to do it. If you have no idea what you are doing and just job hop to make more money, it will eventually catch up with you and somoone will without a doubt call you out on it. This could make it harder for you to get jobs in the future. The best practice for job hopping is to leave a role once you have mastered it. #corporatelife #corporatetiktok #corporateamerica #jobhopping #jobhopper #jobhop #howtojobhop
Step 1: Stick to the rule of 6 months for entry-level and 18 months for mid-level roles.
Entry-level jobs (0-2 years of experience) are not as challenging as corporations make them out to be. Depending on the industry, responsibilities for early career roles can be mastered in under one year as they tend to be more supporting roles than project-owning roles. Some people may even master their responsibilities within 3 to 6 months. Whether your reasoning is to make more money or have a higher title, you should start looking for new opportunities around the 6-month mark.
Mid-senior level roles are a little different as you’re more likely to own projects from inception to completion. It’s better to remain in these roles until a project completes which spans, on average, from 12 to 18 months. If you leave too many mid-senior roles after 6 months or so, future employers will question or ability to see a projection through completion. It will be a challenge for them to invest in you when you have not shown your ability to invest in a company project.
After this allotted amount of time, you should start to explore other opportunities for higher pay and/or a higher title. Another reason to remain in mid-senior roles for 12 to 18 months is to ensure at least a fraction of your equity vests if you are awarded any at the time of accepting your job offer.
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Step 2: Leave the job after you have mastered the role.
As mentioned above, it’s important to put a 'skill frame' on your job opportunities as opposed to a 'time frame.' The 6-month and 18-month rule in the first step is in regard to the minimum amount of time you should spend in a role. Many people will remain in a job, that does not serve them, for 5, 10, or even 15 years. They have mastered their role and won’t leave because they don’t think they have spent enough time with their organization.
To be frank, your allotted amount of time means nothing if you’re not growing. The reason a professional with 4 years of experience gets the role over the professional with 10 years of experience is that the person with 4 years (the job hopper) had robust experience. They left jobs that stunted their growth and matriculated into roles that diversified their skill set. Meanwhile, the person with 10 years of experience can only serve future employers in limited capacity. They lack a diverse skill set due to their stagnancy.
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Step 3: Address your “job hopping” when transitioning to new roles.
When you are interviewing for a new role, and they ask you why you left company a, b, and c, each after 1 year you explain that: (1) you outgrew your role and felt it was time to transition into a more challenging position or (2) you would have loved to continue growing with your previous organization(s), however, there were no opportunities for growth and no transparency as to when such opportunities may become available.
If you are wanting to job hop but fear what companies may say, don’t. I promise you, a good company will care less about the amount of time you spent and more about what you can bring to the table. Good companies will understand that leaving a toxic work environment or a place that stunts you professionally is a viable reason to job hop. Don’t let a company, recruiter, or colleague guilt you into staying in a role or at a company you’re not pleased with.
A recruiter once told me, “You’re going to ruin your career. You can’t just go hopping from job to job thinking companies will still hire you.” August 2022 marked my 9th year working within the pharmaceutical industry. I am gainfully employed, and content with my current employer. I turned out okay and you will too.
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
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Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
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Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
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