Dear Students,
LAST WEEK WE ASKED:
B–schools are worried about job hopping. How long do you think students should stick to their first job?
BEST RESPONSE
Job hopping is a besetting problem which happens because students are not cognitive about their achievement gap and thus do not feel the incessant need to improve on it. Ideally, a student must stay for at least two years in the first job as this exudes stability. Even if a student is not in his desired job, there is still room to learn about the work and upgrade skill level. Sticking to an organisation for a considerable amount of time demonstrates to potential recruiters that you are reliable and have the ability to think long term.
- Tushar Bakshi, Symbiosis Institute Of Management Studies, Pune
OTHER RESPONSES
Gone are the days when a person joined a company and retired from the same. Of late, the trend is that of job hopping. But as the adage goes 'a rolling stone gathers no moss', this practice can dilute the loyalty and sense of belonging of an employee to any particular organisation. Therefore, instead of jumping onto the bandwagon of job hopping, one should weigh the pros and cons very carefully and then conclude whether it is the right time to change the job.
- Dipika Sahoo, B.Tech, College of Engineering and Technology, Bhubaneswar
Job hopping helps as it gives the way to learn diverse skills and to know more about the particular industry. One may not be able to gain diverse experience in one place. But we also need to think about the growth aspects, learning and advancement opportunities, apart from the performance. Hence, if there is growth in the company there is no harming continuing in the same company and planning retirement from there.
- Debasis Mohapatra, Amity University, Noida
Everyone wants to achieve success. But success itself is not enough. Hence, a student thinks about growth, further opportunities and knowledge improvement. And if the student gets a better opportunity soon into his first job, he doesn't mind hopping out from his first job. However, there is no determined time for first job. Some stay for 3-5 yrs while some leave within a year also.
- Urvi Shah, LJ Institute of Computer Application
Job hopping definitely is an area of concern. However, in spite of an area of specialisation, initially one gets the job of marketing only. One may not have the slightest inclination towards marketing but still has to accept it since he or she has no choice. Such circumstances tend to force students to job hopping within a year into their first jobs.
- Dushyant Kale, SLIMS, Ahmedabad
Job hopping is more about a pattern than anything else. However, in some industries 'job hopping' seems to be norm. For instance, think about sales, advertising, clerical, call center, and manufacturing sectors.
- Piyush Mistri, Patel Group of Institutions, Motidau, Mehsana
B-schools are obviously worried about job hopping. It is evident from the fact that student as freshers change their jobs quite frequently. The main reason behind this is the present generation thinking of minting money and being self-centered. It is absolutely fine with students for being more career oriented. The students change their jobs to enrich their experience. But students as freshers should stick to their jobs for a minimum of 5 years otherwise companies would lose their purpose of selecting top management graduates.
- Shivam Chhabra, Integral University, Lucknow
It is 'human' to look for better opportunities in life; given the fact that one contributes his part to the project effectively. This is critical for sustained professional growth in the longer run. The duration, then, becomes secondary. Job hopping could either be a result of demand-supply imbalance or mismatch between the talents showcased by the colleges and actual placements results. One step the institution can take is to expose their students to other aspects of a dream job like freedom, respect, work-life balance rather than just salary figures which, otherwise, leads to frustration and one of reasons for switching jobs.
- Priya Agrawal, Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon
There is a 'huge mismatch' between the expectations of students in B-schools regarding their first jobs and the failure to meet those expectations causing them 'forced exits' abruptly.There should be clarity on the actual jobs in order to avoid a hazy picture which would lead to ambiguities creating false expectations.A realistic picture during job counselling leading to lesser attrition levels. But, all said and done, a great deal of responsibility lies with the students who should have ethics and honour commitments, time-lines stated during interviews, so that it does not portray their alma mater in poor light.
- Ruam Mukherjee, Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM), Kolkata
When a student joins a company after the end of his academic session the main priority is brand name of the company and the salary offered. But soon they realise that job satisfaction is more important and hence there is job hopping. According to me a student should not quit the job very soon or rather when they feel it's not a satisfying job. I think one should hold on to their job for at least an year or two to come to a conclusion about their job whether it is satisfying or not.
- Amit Asthana, Amity University, Noida
First job is the deciding factor which gives a direction to the one's career. Instead of seeking better salary it's better to first enhance your knowledge, skills and attitude by working for 1-3 years. After gaining the experience one can think of job hopping. Before changing, one should carefully study all aspects of a job profile like environment, responsibilities, history and value of organisation and then salary. So for the first 1-3 years one should stick with the first job to actually stimulate learning.
- Vinay Dahiya, Amity Business School, Noida
Harvard psychologist, Daniel Gilbert says, "We really don't know what we'll like until we try it." Switching jobs to keep the learning curve high and to seek fresh challenges and keep one's passion alive is not a bad idea. Imagine a Mr. X, who in his first job made a great IPL ad, then six months later went to Nike and launched a new shoe and a year later went to Google and re-branded some of their software to increase user base by 50 per cent. Most B-schools and employers would not care that this person was job hopping. It is the contribution that carries more importance, independent of the job duration.
- Nandeetha Venkataramani, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad
In today's corporate world, job hopping seems to be the mantra for success. In a quest to climb the corporate ladder, students have no qualms about quitting jobs for fatter pay cheque and lucrative positions. However, recruiters might have reservations about hiring someone who has a frequent job-switching history; essentially because the company wants to hire someone who will stay and grow with them. Hence, there must be a minimum time span where one should spend with a company, ideally 2-3 years.
- Vribha Gupta, MBA (2010-12), Amity Business School, Noida
Job hopping can be due to number of reasons including better salary, better designation, overseas opportunities, city preference or because they don't get along with their bosses. Students should ideally stick to their first job for at least a minimum of three years to completely understand the dynamics of the organisation and how and where they fit in. A little bit of patience, prudence, and a sense of maturity is expected from B-school students as they tackle issues in their organisation.
- Neha Damle, Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad (MICA), Ahmedabad
Anyone having acquired good academic and professional degree from B-schools would aspire for better placement in job, reasonably better pay package, timely growth opportunity and comfortable working environment. At times due to some domestic reasons the place of posting also deters a person to continue with the company for much longer period. However, students should stick to their first job only till they get better opportunity.
- Praneet Ranjan, Amity Business School, Noida
Looking at the bigger picture it is not always about salary hikes and promotion but also about one's job satisfaction. As long as one feels one is clear of his/her role in the organisation, one should stick around. This will also reduce job stress and attrition. A pleasant employee-employer relationship and flexible work environment further add to this.
- Priyank Jaiswal, Welingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai
People mostly change their jobs when they get a good package or when people get a good profile and jump to next level. People today are interested in earning more money, rather than job security and shift to other companies as soon as they get a chance. Students who are excited about entering the corporate change their jobs when their expectations are not met. However, as students don't have any experience, it is necessary to stick for at least two years and to understand the nuances of the corporate world.
- Mayank Nandwani, MBA(G), Amity Business School, Noida
Students should have high risk appetite in terms of job movement, career progression, and acquiring relevant experience on their resumes. Besides, they should be extremely fastidious toward choosing a job, as unsuitable job only leads to discontentment. Contentment from a job is much more important than clinging to any job. They must look towards personal satisfaction and should strive hard to achieve excellence, even if that involves changing multitudes of job as career is much more important then any intermediate job.
- Nilaya Mitsah Shanker, Shri Ram Swaroop Memorial College Of Engineering And Management (SRMCEM), Lucknow
Every B-School student has a dream of getting a good job with ransom salary irrespective of the practical experience. If you want to succeed in your life then you have to bring excellence in your work i.e. through repetitive work and experience. If you are not sticking to your first job you won't achieve enough experience, which leads to ineffective results. So, firstly students should get the job of their area and get to perfection in their work. Then no one will stop them from seeking proper experience and excellence in their work.
- Vinod Wadhwani, Tolani Institute of Management Studies (TIMS), Adipur
Young graduates passing out from B-schools with flying colours have very high aspirations and hopes. This reason triggers them to change jobs very frequently. However, ideal time for a graduate to spend on his first job should be around 3-4 years. B-schools can help in changing the mindset and attitude of graduates by making them understand that a stable career advancement and growth is necessary to be successful.
- Rishabh Nayyar, Amity Business School, Noida
Placements and job profile is the most important thing for any B-school. Students join a firm with certain expectations and aspirations but when they are not met they start looking for different ventures. This arises due to lack of knowledge about the profiles they are getting into or indecision about their goals. Students should give enough time to understand the roles they are in and get the best out of their firm before hopping to next company.
- Rajeev Upadhyay, National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), Mumbai
There is no stipulated period for a student to stick to his/her first job unless there is some signed bond in question. But students should also remember that once they quit the company where the B-School had placed them, they are on their own. Ideally in their first job, one can start from the lower level tasks, do a commendable job and then go around asking for help with more complicated tasks. By try to extend themselves and excelling at it, students can gain as much knowledge possible, before they move on.
- Varsha Manikandan, Amity Business School, Noida
B-schools play a major role in getting a student his first job. If the first step itself is wrong, then tables can turn around. B-schools have to analyse the potential of students by taking test and try to motivate them to get the best job of the career.
- Amit Kumar Singh, Amity Business School, Noida
One should work for at least a year or two in his/her first job. When a student moves from the student life in to the corporate life, his/her whole life changes. It takes time to adapt to the new environment. First job can be taken as the biggest opportunity to learn about the corporate world. It is important to establish your trustworthiness in the beginning itself. One should get some experience, build reputation and definitely put in a complete year before moving on. If one jumps ship so often, it signals to others that one can't commit to it.
- Sonali Goel, Amity Business School, Noida
Once a student has got an offer letter, he/she must stick to the same job for a minimum of two years. This is because most companies keep the students under training for good one year of their jobs. The next year gives the students greater responsibilities and an even better exposure as we are handling our domains individually and with full authority and responsibility. If a student gets a job in a well known company then sticking around in the same company for a longer period of time (more than two years) makes sense as this gives a lot of weight -age to one's resume for the future.
- Varuna Punjabi, Amity Business School, Noida
Students quit their first jobs to gain better career profile, money and brand equity of an organisation. But changing jobs reflects on their resilience and loyalty towards organisation. Sticking to one job gives the benefit of job security and an impression of stability. Recruiters also see frequent job switchers as less motivated towards work, not focused enough to succeed in the challenging position and dissatisfied. A major disadvantage of job hopping is that the candidate has to start all over again and thus a great deal of time is wasted. Thus students should stick to their first job and stay loyal if they wish to learn and grow.
- Kirti Vatsa, Amity Business School, Noida
Job hopping has become trend in today's corporate world as many students after completing their studies from various B-schools enter into professional world in pursuit of higher wages and better job profiles. They work in an organisation not for organisation's overall development but to add good points to their resumes in terms of their experience.
- Jay Bulchandani, Tolani Institute of Management Studies (TIMS), Adipur
One should not frequently shift jobs only because of some huge monetary expediency received through the next job. We should make more efforts with the available facilities and tools. One should try to continue the job with different circumstances and situations which would help one to gain the experience and meet realistic situation and problems which would add to the ability. This itself ultimately would lead to achieve what one wants, so frequently changes job would not help one to better conclusion or status.
- Garima Mittal, Tolani Institute of Management Studies (TIMS), Adipur
One should not frequently switch to different jobs because it would not help one personal upliftment in any way. Sticking to the same job would help one to know different situations and problems prevailing in an organisation; and also help one to find solutions for the same.
- Jigar Mehta, Tolani Institute of Management Studies (TIMS), Adipur
There is a need to counsel students about their career goals and to tailor-make the curriculum accordingly. When that is not done, the result is an obvious chaotic situation resulting in any body and every body trying for all possible jobs through the campus placement process. Add to that, the long term impact could be in the form of job hopping. There are cases of more than 25 per cent students of leading business schools changing their first job within six months of their joining. This is not in the interest of any one.
- BR Ramya, Christ University, Bangalore
There's nothing wrong with job hopping as it helps one learn diverse skills and know more about his/her industry. One may not be able to gain diverse experience if he/she stick to one job for way too long. But it's also important to consider factors like growth prospects, learning and advancement opportunities, apart from the company's performance record in order to take a wise decision. There's no rule for changing jobs as it's an intimately personal choice. However, there must be a minimum time you should spend with a company, ideally 2-3 years.
- AB Karthik Monnappa, BIMS, Trichy
While monetary increase is often a valid reason to change jobs, one should realise that work environment, long term career prospects, colleagues and company culture are equally important factors in determining an ideal job. It should be a mature decision carefully charted out after properly weighing varied factors like current job satisfaction, challenges, career development, company image, benefits and growth prospects. One should consider the suitability of whole package rather than being blindfolded with short term benefits.
- A Bhuvana Bhimaiah, Alagappa University, Karaikudi
Your responses should reach us at edu@businessstandard.com by Monday evening every week. Please ensure that your responses do not exceed 100 words. Avoid attachments and email your full name, institute’s name, batch and complete mailing address. The student who gives the ‘Best Response’ will be awarded Rs 500.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION:
Should there be a monitoring agency for overseas education consultants?