Just like the corporate ladder, the traditional stigma attached to job hopping every two to three years is nearly obsolete in the startup world.
Startups are inherently volatile, flat and unpredictable. “There’s so much fluidity in the startup world,” says Allan Telio, VP and Director of Boston at the Startup Institute, an 8-week career accelerator program.
More and more employers and startup founders are starting to be more open minded about frequent job changes. The notion of staying decades at a company is just not plausible anymore at brand new, high-risk companies.
“I work primarily with startup companies and the duration of jobs seems to be somewhere between two to five years,” says Executive Recruiter Jennifer Merz of CyberCoders.
Why? “Startups, by nature, aren’t stable,” she says. “A person may have joined a startup that went under or lost funding. This can happen several times over to some people!”
Still, there’s a lot of unknowns that need to be addressed to ease an employer’s mind. Presenting yourself favorably can eradicate any doubt of unreliability or lack of success in your previous roles.
According to Merz, many of the hiring managers in San Francisco area are fairly understanding of this.
“They know that if they find someone really strong to join the team, they may have about three years before a person moves on,” Merz says. “Even Google and Apple are losing employees to startup companies because developers are constantly tempted by calls and emails from recruiters, so it’s more of a talent than a startup epidemic.”
“Now, depending on the industry, it's one to 1.5 years,” Ware says. “But what employers are really looking at is, did the person complete the project or commitment that they made?"
When you’re connecting with folks in your field or founders at startups that intrigue you, be prepared to tell your story.
“More important than the time you stay at a job is why you leave,” Telio says.
If you’ve only stayed at a company for less than year, most everyone will ask you questions. Connect the dots in a way that makes sense. Telio suggests you think about:
Ultimately, the answer to these questions should piece together a story that makes sense. Most importantly, your story should rule out any speculation that your short stints are a habit or pattern.
Some reasonable causes for short stints:
Note: The Startup Institute is currently accepting applications for fall 2014.
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