Is It Wise to Stay in My Current Job or Am I Just Job Hopping?

I have 5 years of experience as follows: one year in a startup, then 3 years in MNC A. After that, I joined another MNC but left after just 7 months and returned to MNC A. Now, I have received a good offer with a 50% salary increase. However, I am concerned that switching jobs again may make me appear like a job hopper. Therefore, I am contemplating whether it is wise to stay in my current position. Is it foolish or right to continue in the same job?

You have not stated how long you have been with MNC-A after returning from the startup. No one would expect you to work there for more than a year unless it was well-funded and, therefore, paying fabulous salaries.

Second place, you were there for 3 years.

Third place - 7 months. It's possible that a particular place does not suit you. Exceptions are not a rule, and HR understands that.

So changing to a third company for a 50% hike is pretty correct and accepted. But you must go only if you are sure it's a longer-term move. Another 3-6 month stint will be bad on your CV.

However, also realize that your current company is unlikely to take you back a third time if you didn't like the new one you are going to...

Lastly, in today's scenario, refusing a 50% hike is kind of unwise.

I do not suggest what is the right decision for you because you are the best judge, being in the thick of the circumstances, and there are also gaps in the information furnished by you. For example, it is not known why you made a 360-degree jump when you returned to MNC A. It appears that hikes and packages might be the predominant criteria for changing jobs. Then, when you left MNC A and joined another MNC, you might have encountered other issues, which might be culture issues, a bad boss, or any other reason that might not help your cause or goal, and then you came back to MNC A. In this context, I consider the inputs offered by Mr. V. Raghunathan and Nathrao as helpful for your analysis, though without discounting the financial aspects of one's career.

You need to sit and reflect, in light of your experiences hitherto, on what you are looking for while accepting an offer apart from the package. If so, are you sure of getting it, or is it only the package that matters? Probably you might come across questions on your job hopping. Job hopping itself is not bad, but you need to come out with convincing replies and should not come across to the prospective employer that you are sitting on the fence more than at your desk.

Regards,
B. Saikumar

Clarifying My Career Dilemma

I worked with a startup for a year, then moved to MNC A and worked there for around 2.5 years. After that, I went to MNC B, and after 8 months, due to a job profile change, I moved back to MNC A but with no hike. It has been just 6 months with my current job, and I am not too happy with it. Now, I have received an offer from Qualcomm with a 50% hike. Although I declined it, they are still persuading me. I am also unsure if I will be happy there. I am in complete confusion, and I once read somewhere that you should not change your job if you have even 1% doubt.

Regards