Some, or rather most organizations reject his CV today because he has changed jobs frequently (10 in 14 years). My friend, the 'job hopper' (referred here as Mr. JH), does not mind it.... well, he does not need to mind it at all. Having worked full-time with 10 employer companies in just 14 years gives Mr. JH the relaxing edge that most of the 'company loyal' employees are struggling for today. Today, Mr. JH too is laid off like some other 14-15 year experienced guys - the difference being the latter have just worked in 2-3 organizations in the same number of years. Here are the excerpts of an interview with Mr. JH:
Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years? A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.
Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009? A: Well, I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without a job and with compromises.
Q: Which number of job was that? A: That was my third job.
Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years? A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after a lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying 'employer loyalty'. But I was an idiot.
Q: Why do you say so? A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a 'permanent' job, so I need not worry about 'what will I do if I lose my job'. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.
Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009. A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being 'company loyal' and not 'money earning and saving loyal'. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving - I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.
Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day? A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me - can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.
Q: What have you gained by doing such things? A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs. 3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs. 24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about the variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.
Q: So you decided on your own hike? A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in the future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a 'debt-free' life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.
Q: So are you debt-free now? A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan-free 2 BR flat (1200 sq. feet) plus a loan-free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of a lack of money.
Q: Who is complaining? A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me - why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.
Q: What is your advice to professionals? A: Like Narayan Murthy had said - love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; the family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.
Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies? A: When a company does well, its CEO, etc., will address the entire company saying, 'well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you.' But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO, etc., will say, 'It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go.' So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.
From India, Mumbai
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2Q: Why have you changed 10 jobs in 14 years? A: To get financially sound and stable before getting laid off the second time.
Q: So you knew you would be laid off in the year 2009? A: Well, I was laid off first in the year 2002 due to the first global economic slowdown. I had not got a full-time job before January 2003 when the economy started looking up; so I had struggled for almost a year without a job and with compromises.
Q: Which number of job was that? A: That was my third job.
Q: So from Jan 2003 to Jan 2009, in 6 years, you have changed 8 jobs to make the count as 10 jobs in 14 years? A: I had no other option. In my first 8 years of professional life, I had worked only for 2 organizations thinking that jobs are deserved after a lot of hard work and one should stay with an employer company to justify the saying 'employer loyalty'. But I was an idiot.
Q: Why do you say so? A: My salary in the first 8 years went up only marginally. I could not save enough and also, I had thought that I had a 'permanent' job, so I need not worry about 'what will I do if I lose my job'. I could never imagine losing a job because of economic slowdown and not because of my performance. That was January 2002.
Q: Can you brief on what happened between January 2003 and 2009. A: Well, I had learnt my lessons of being 'company loyal' and not 'money earning and saving loyal'. But then you can save enough only when you earn enough. So I shifted my loyalty towards money making and saving - I changed 8 jobs in 6 years assuring all my interviewers about my stability.
Q: So you lied to your interviewers; you had already planned to change the job for which you were being interviewed on a particular day? A: Yes, you can change jobs only when the market is up and companies are hiring. You tell me - can I get a job now because of the slowdown? No. So one should change jobs for higher salaries only when the market is up because that is the only time when companies hire and can afford the expected salaries.
Q: What have you gained by doing such things? A: That's the question I was waiting for. In Jan 2003, I had a fixed salary (without variables) of say Rs. X p.a. In January 2009, my salary was 8X. So assuming my salary was Rs. 3 lakh p.a. in Jan 2003, my last drawn salary in Jan 2009 was Rs. 24 lakh p.a. (without variable). I never bothered about the variable as I had no intention to stay for 1 year and go through the appraisal process to wait for the company to give me a hike.
Q: So you decided on your own hike? A: Yes, in 2003, I could see the slowdown coming again in the future like it had happened in 2001-02. Though I was not sure by when the next slowdown would come, I was pretty sure I wanted a 'debt-free' life before being laid off again. So I planned my hike targets on a yearly basis without waiting for the year to complete.
Q: So are you debt-free now? A: Yes, I earned so much by virtue of job changes for money and spent so little that today I have a loan-free 2 BR flat (1200 sq. feet) plus a loan-free big car without bothering about any EMIs. I am laid off too but I do not complain at all. If I have laid off companies for money, it is OK if a company lays me off because of a lack of money.
Q: Who is complaining? A: All those guys who are not getting a job to pay their EMIs off are complaining. They had made fun of me saying I am a job hopper and do not have any company loyalty. Now I ask them what they gained by their company loyalty; they too are laid off like me and pass comments to me - why will you bother about us, you are already debt-free. They were still in the bracket of 12-14 lakh p.a. when they were laid off.
Q: What is your advice to professionals? A: Like Narayan Murthy had said - love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you. In the same lines, love yourself and your family needs more than the company's needs. Companies can keep coming and going; the family will always remain the same. Make money for yourself first and simultaneously make money for the company, not the other way around.
Q: What is your biggest pain point with companies? A: When a company does well, its CEO, etc., will address the entire company saying, 'well done guys, it is YOUR company, keep up the hard work, I am with you.' But when the slowdown happens and the company does not do so well, the same CEO, etc., will say, 'It is MY company and to save the company, I have to take tough decisions including asking people to go.' So think about your financial stability first; when you get laid off, your kids will complain to you and not your boss.
From India, Mumbai
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Hello,
Thank you for the post, but this was posted last week on citehr: https://www.citehr.com/166861-what-d...ght-track.html.
No harm, but it is preferable to do a search before reposting. We all know that you have more interesting topics to share. Please share the ones that have not been recently posted.
Good day!
From India, Madras
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Thank you for the post, but this was posted last week on citehr: https://www.citehr.com/166861-what-d...ght-track.html.
No harm, but it is preferable to do a search before reposting. We all know that you have more interesting topics to share. Please share the ones that have not been recently posted.
Good day!
From India, Madras
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I am not really sure about this, but what is the value addition Mr. JH has achieved for himself? It's agreed that he has a debt-free life (house, car, etc.), but what about knowledge and skills? Well, one thing is for sure, Mr. JH does have a lot of planning skills.
Anyways, interesting post.
Ankush
9971131459
From India, Gurgaon
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Anyways, interesting post.
Ankush
9971131459
From India, Gurgaon
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Well, in an interview, questions can be of a similar type. But I do not expect interviewers to think in a similar line as was put in, even in economic meltdown situations. Let me make it clear to all that, yes, there is a crisis, but how many employees have been affected by that, including the IT and ITES sectors? Only less than 5%. And which type of people? Those whose percentiles in performance ratings were less than 10-12%. So there is nothing to panic about. If people perform well, they have a job; otherwise, they do not.
Gopan
From India, Kochi
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Gopan
From India, Kochi
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Agree with Gopan to some extent...
Practically, whatever candidate has given the answers is correct. As an individual, he is very realistic. But do you think with these kinds of answers he will get selected or his profile will get shortlisted?
I had come across the candidate who has worked as a freelancer, contractor throughout her career with 6+ years of experience. When I asked her the question why is this? She answered, "Whether permanent or contract, none of the jobs are secured, so I am not bothered whether it's permanent or contract." I was not convinced with her answer because she was just using the current situation, and I felt she is money-oriented. (Most of the time, contract employees or freelancers cannot grow to the senior positions compared to permanent employees, but they do get very good salaries.)
From India, Kochi
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Practically, whatever candidate has given the answers is correct. As an individual, he is very realistic. But do you think with these kinds of answers he will get selected or his profile will get shortlisted?
I had come across the candidate who has worked as a freelancer, contractor throughout her career with 6+ years of experience. When I asked her the question why is this? She answered, "Whether permanent or contract, none of the jobs are secured, so I am not bothered whether it's permanent or contract." I was not convinced with her answer because she was just using the current situation, and I felt she is money-oriented. (Most of the time, contract employees or freelancers cannot grow to the senior positions compared to permanent employees, but they do get very good salaries.)
From India, Kochi
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I think the best option is to, after one year in the present company with good performance, ask for a considerable hike. If the company does not agree, then you can consider making a jump; otherwise, stick to the same company.
From India, Madras
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From India, Madras
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Hi,
It is a very nice post. I have seen interviewers ask these questions about will you stick around for 2 years and all that. The funny thing is that even these interviewers will change jobs before the stated time. I feel during an interview, you should not focus on how many jobs a person has changed but rather on their caliber. If an employee is valuable, companies will do whatever is necessary to keep them happy.
I saw two posts in the same thread discussing the experience and skills of job hoppers. They will have a wide variety of skills, knowledge, and great adaptability too. That is what I feel.
Thanks,
Dhannya
From India, Alappuzha
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It is a very nice post. I have seen interviewers ask these questions about will you stick around for 2 years and all that. The funny thing is that even these interviewers will change jobs before the stated time. I feel during an interview, you should not focus on how many jobs a person has changed but rather on their caliber. If an employee is valuable, companies will do whatever is necessary to keep them happy.
I saw two posts in the same thread discussing the experience and skills of job hoppers. They will have a wide variety of skills, knowledge, and great adaptability too. That is what I feel.
Thanks,
Dhannya
From India, Alappuzha
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This is how it is actually... Being company loyal doesn't help every time. Actually, as per my experience, I have learned one thing: it's not your hard work that counts. And as it is, there is a saying "Never love your company, you never know when the company will stop loving you."
From India, Mumbai
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From India, Mumbai
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I must say, the interview would have been really fun for the interviewer. I would not buy the idea of jumping jobs to have financial stability. Somewhere, the idea of learning was lost. I don't think it's just about making money... it's more to do with professional growth and learning. You may change jobs and have great salaries, but you would end up being a loser if you run behind money. Every interviewer has seen such characters, and trust me, it's fun to hear their stories and their perspective about job hopping. Whether you buy their idea or not is strictly your choice.
Arun.
From India, Bangalore
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Arun.
From India, Bangalore
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JOB- HOPPING presentatoion.p pt
Career Growth Meter-check.doc