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Is Staying only 1 year in a company indicates unstability?

 
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Hi all,
What is the ideal time(means howmany months or years) to stay in a company?
Is Staying only 1 year in a company indicates unstability?
I have total 4.5 years exp( 1 year in first company, 2.5 years in second company, and 1 year in the current company) and looking for a change.
I heard if we change 3 companies in a 2 years period , companies keep us in black list(atleast Interviewrs does not like to take).
Pls discuss this in the view of Indian job market and US job market separately.
Regards,
Murali
[ February 17, 2004: Message edited by: Murali Mohan ]
 
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Hi,
In US and Taiwan, I will question your priority in life? If you said changing environment, I will recommend joining consulting firm. If you said money, I will give you the money with the job description, then watch you like a hawk.
During the boom time, a lot of IT folks jumping companies like butterflies, they were the first batch letting go when the boom time was over insight.
Regards,
MCao
 
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The US job market is getting to the point that a lot of employers want to see you stay with a company at least a year, unless your were laid off.
It used to not be uncommon to switch jobs about every 6 months, but I suspect those days are over.
However, I was snatched up by my current employer despite having been at my last employer for less than a year, and unemployed before that! So there are always exceptions. I admit they got me at a bargain rate, but I'm not complaining since I really like the company and the work.
 
Greenhorn
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This has actually bit me in the behind a couple times. In hiring for a position, I made the "journeyman" factor a large part of the final decision. The guy we ended up with had a low job turnover rate, in favor of someone who had had numerous short-lived jobs.
The other guy landed a job in another part of the company, and is still with us today. The guy I hired quit 3 months later to pursue another opportunity.
 
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I'm speaking as a hiring manager in the US...
I do look at job hopping with skepticism. I have seen many people who jumped for more money. I don't want them.
At the same time, I haven't held a single job for 2 years. Why? Because I work in startups, which tend to be very dynamic even over short periods of time. I've left jobs because:
- the research project grew into a startup, but I didn't believe in the business plan
- we changed focus from software to consulting
- we got sold and the parent company was going to run us into the ground
- contract work
Thus far I've made the right call in each case. The point is not whether or not you left, but why. I always ask candidates why. They may lie, and sometimes I might not be able to catch the lie, but most people are honest about what happened, and I don't hold it against them if they got laid off or if other things changed outside their control.
--Mark
 
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Hi,
What i beleive is the minimum commitment shud be 6-8 months. If u r not satisfied with the job-talk with ur manager and even then the things are not getting better-it's better to leave the job place rather than cribbing abt the workplace.
If u r good for the next job-they will take u. I have seen many peole who haven't stayed in their previous companies for less than 2 months also getting very good opportunities.
But then i wud say-ur priorities shud be very clear.
 
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I left my first job after a year and a half for more money and because I wasn't happy with the contract I was offered when that company was being taken over.
The second I kept for 4 and a half years until the company went bust, I tried to leave the sinking ship but couldn't get a new job in time.
The third I left after 6 months because I had doubts with the stability of the company (turned out I was wrong, they're doing decently well) and my chances of advancing my knowledge there (which were kinda limited, they were using old tech).
I don't plan to leave my current job, company is great and so is the work.
I too would be wary of people who constantly hop jobs, but there could be a valid reason.
Some people just thrive on change and can't sit still. Maybe those would be better hired for a single project only or as outside consultants (I did that during my longest lasting job, got tired of leaving projects unfinished all the time).
It indeed used to be that people told you to change jobs every other year if not more often else recruiters would see you as being rusted in place and inflexible.
That seems to be changing and longterm commitments are once again valued.
 
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In this town, the joke is that the average tenure of an employee is 18 months.
Irrespective of what did or didn't happen during the "dot-com" years, most employers around here have hired and fired programmers on a project-basis ever since the late '80s. One reason I went back to my early-80's employer in 1994 and put up with a lot of $$%^$% over the succeeding 6 years was that I don't care to job hop and they were about the only place left in town where you could have a career instead of being a migrant worker.
In 2001 they joined the majority. I was just one of the early casualties.
Once upon a time, a history of many jobs was an indication that either you were incompetent or lacked loyalty to your employers. These days, the whole concept of loyalty in either direction is pretty much burned toast. No longer can short terms of employment be used as a reliable indicator of a potential employee's qualities. Unless, of course you're talking never having held a job for more than a few weeks.
 
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As a permanent employee I've tried for at least 2 years tenure, usually successfully. With one exception I've managed 18 months minimum to date, but that one I regret leaving.
It can be difficult when you are in a stress-factory and they are dissin' you daily. You have to learn the gentle art of not listening to what they say while still caring about the work.
Balance off the pro's of staying or leaving. I'm currently in a difficult spot but still have things to learn here if I can stand the gaff for a while longer. I almost quit not long ago but things have improved. There is a lot to be said for technical side, we're doing the TDD (Test-Driven Development thing using all the xP-ish open-source tools (Maven, Cruise Control, several flavors of JUnit, Cactus, Hibernate, etc). Good stuff to know and it really works pretty well together. Thus far at least.
Problem is we're also doing SCRUM which can be a beast when the PM doesn't know how to pitch it.
[ April 19, 2004: Message edited by: Don Stadler ]
 
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is it possible to get a good reference and recommendation(for next job or apply for postgraduate degree at a famous university) from my director and even CEO(because he has a PhD from CMU and he was also the dean of computer science in a university with lots of industry connections) for working for my company for exactly 2 years if my performance and efforts are appreciated by my director and manager from IT projects.
if not 2 years then how many years?
 
Matt Cao
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Hi Billy,
Are you a clock watcher?
You could obtain a good recommendation letter from your CEO/Director/Janitor and it valid only if your works interface with him/her on daily basis.
Now, if you decided to pursuit advanced education, I recommend to obtain those letter as your additional ammunition for prestige institution. If you decided to change to another jobs, the burden of proof is rested upon you. If I decided to look at your resume, I wonder is the current company have no alternative solutions for a valuable employee like you. If the current company do not used Java technology, but you only stay there for two years to help them and continue on with your Java pursuit. I will think a lot to pick someone like you. I see the word arrogant, stubborn, etc. as you can tell they are all negative words.
If I were in your shoes, after the failures of convincing my chain command to switch the existence technology into Java, I will align myself into a liason position, it allows me to have contact with associate companies. I will let them see how valuable I am with this companies, I let them open their mouths to offer me a positions with them.
People work and study to advance themselves into a higher level all the times, why can not be you? Study is a discipline. If you have to shut down others distractions to concentrate into just going to school and study, I will doubt your future will be sucessful in management, you are not multidimensional.
Regards,
MCao
 
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