The great tightrope act: How often candidates should change careers

The question of how often you should change jobs in a career is like walking a tightrope. “If you change too often, you are denied continuity and loyalty and if you don’t change often enough, you are denied the ability to be flexible and adapt to new situations,” warns headhunter Patrick Riske from Fricke Finance & Legal in Frankfurt. “You have to find a healthy balance.” But what does this balancing act look like? The recruitment agencies we spoke to don’t always have a recipe. However, there are important criteria.

All good things come in threes

“I don’t think it’s advisable to change jobs every 24 months and thus end up with four employers in eight years,” says headhunter Raphael Rosenfeld from Argos Advisors in Munich. If the employer also hires the employee via a personnel consultant and has to pay their fee, many an employer would decide against the candidate. “All good things come in threes,” says Rosenfeld. “If you change every three years, that’s fine. But there should always be a certain consistency.”

Riske also considers three changes in three years to be a good figure. But there are a few things to bear in mind here too. “If you have one or two short stints behind you, then you have to be very careful that the third stint fits. You have to balance out the two short stations to a certain extent with the third station,” recommends Riske. This may then take five years or longer.

“At some point, people should have proven that they can also take one or two career steps within a company,” adds Rosenfeld. “This shows assertiveness within existing structures as well as recognition towards the employee.”

After many years with the same employer, the change is more difficult

However, being with a company for many years can also become a veritable career obstacle. For example, Rosenfeld has repeatedly observed that after ten years at the same large company, candidates find it difficult to settle into a new, perhaps even smaller company.

Riske recommends at least one change within ten years. Although there are also employees who are completely satisfied with a company and everything runs smoothly, without a change, employees often take a risk unknowingly. If there is a restructuring and these employees have to reorient themselves – for whatever reason – they are denied the necessary flexibility.

“A change in ten years is a kind of insurance policy. You acquire new skills and show that you have a certain flexibility,” explains Riske. “If you’ve spent 20 years at the same institution, candidates are assumed to have become inflexible.”

Frequency of changes should decrease over the course of a career

“When someone is at the beginning of their career, a station can be a little shorter; then you test things out,” says Riske.

Rosenfeld also believes that it is perfectly fine for someone to look for a new challenge after two years in their first job. “The frequency of changes should decrease over the course of your career,” recommends Rosenfeld.

Ein Wechsel muss sinnvoll sein

Headhunter Manuel Rehwald from Rehwald Associates in Königstein advises against changing jobs for purely financial reasons: “Candidates shouldn’t change jobs just for a bit more money – especially if the company is in a worse position or offers products with moderate performance.” In any case, since the financial crisis, more and more financial professionals – including an increasing number of investment bankers – are considering a change very carefully. “I see the trend that people are switching less and less for the money and are paying more and more attention to a long-term perspective,” says Rehwald. “You should only switch for a career move or a learning curve.” This could consist of taking on more responsibility or working with new products, for example.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

The frequency of change also depends on the profile

According to Rehwald, it depends on the job as to how often it makes sense to change jobs. Long-term commitment and loyalty tend to play a greater role in wealth management than in investment banking. However, Rehwald also observes a tendency towards longer-term commitment there.

Riske takes a similar view: “There are clear differences between ‘General Industry’ and ‘Financial Services’.” In financial services, the changes were more frequent than in the other sectors. The frequency of changes is also increasing in sectors where there is a shortage of skilled workers. “Where there is more demand, there is also more turnover,” observes Riske. “Employers encourage this by dangling the big carrot of more money in front of candidates.”

The underestimated risk

In Riske’s experience, many candidates underestimate the risk of changing jobs. A salary premium of 15 to 20 percent is certainly common when changing jobs. “However, this is a kind of risk premium,” warns Riske. The new employer could get into financial difficulties, restructuring could be imminent, you yourself could fail to meet expectations or the boss could simply change. “Ultimately, you only know where you stand once you’ve started at the company,” Riske points out. If things don’t go as hoped with the new employer and you have to look for a new job, then you already have two changes on your CV.

The buck stops with the candidate

“If you change too often, then you have to justify yourself,” warns Riske. Even if there are good reasons for the change that have nothing to do with the candidate’s personality, a negative impression always remains. “Germans tend to be skeptical.”

Manuel Rehwald
Managing Director, Rehwald Associates GmbH