Advertisement

How long do you need to stay in a job before you quit?

How to know when to quit your job. Source: Getty
How to know when to quit your job. Source: Getty

Knowing when to call it quits on a job is tough.

Do you need to stay for a certain length of time so it looks good on your resume? How long does that need to be?

Almost half of all Australians have only been in their current role for less than two years, with one-in-five of us in our gig for less than a year.

Just 10 per cent of us have been in our role for over 10 years, with tenure becoming less and less common amongst employees.

But there’s some good news: Indeed’s head of career insights, Jay Munro, told Yahoo Finance “there’s no hard and fast rule” when it comes to how long you need to be in a job for anymore.

“A lot of us are starting to have shorter tenure on our resumes due to contract work, and the requirements of businesses have changed too, where they don’t necessarily employ someone full-time.

“Over time, employers will start to recognise that shorter than 10 years is a good thing, or it's acceptable and not something to be afraid of.”

So how do you know when it’s time to quit?

“It's up to the candidate really,” Munro said.

“It's really important to understand why you're looking to leave your job, and why you’re applying for a new one - you have to have that really clear in your mind, if you're going to have success in the job search.”

According to Indeed’s research, most people tend to leave their job because they feel like they’re not being paid enough or they’ve had a poor experience where they’re disappointed or demotivated, or they’ve hit a ‘ceiling’.

“It's a really tricky spot to be in, but as long as you have a clear idea on why, then why not go for a new job?”

Munro said self-reflection is also a really important part of knowing when to leave your job.

“If you feel that you’re not getting everything you need out of your current job, it’s important to look at that and think about what ownership or accountability you have over your career with your current employer where you could have changed that,” he said.

According to Munro, you might find that you don’t actually want to move on, you just need to “change or reframe” the way you think about where you are.

I had a bad experience at my old job. How do I tell my potential employer this?

While some of us might be leaving an old job after just a few months because of a bad experience, Munro said it’s important to make sure you stay positive in a job interview.

“Regardless of how short [your time at your previous employer] was, there are so many experiences and skills that we gather along the way...and those are the things that you need to identify when you're talking to a new employer,” he said.

If a potential employer asks, ‘why were you only there for six months?’ Munro said you could say ‘it’s not the right fit for me, but I’ve really enjoyed my time because I’ve developed these skills and experiences’.

Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit is on the 26th of September 2019 at the Shangri-La, Sydney. Check out the full line-up of speakers and agenda for this groundbreaking event here.

Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit is on the 26th of September 2019 at the Shangri-La, Sydney. Source: Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance’s All Markets Summit is on the 26th of September 2019 at the Shangri-La, Sydney. Source: Yahoo Finance