On being 'Jumpy'
I've been 'jumpy'. I was triggered by this tweet.
Since my graduation in 2017, I've changed 3 organisations and also tried my hands at starting up. All roles had a through line of team-work and product but spanned widely different sectors. So I've stayed at one place for less than 2 years on average. That does make me jumpy.
I attempted to find hard stats on this, but available data on churn rates in India offer only vague estimates for my context. However, observing my peers and professional circle, I've noticed many with a similar tapestry of professional journeys. Transitioning between roles, such as from consulting to product to VC, or shifting sectors, like moving from non-tech to tech (or vice versa), seems not a rare thing at all.
If few change jobs often, it's personal; if many do, it's likely systemic.. ?
I wonder how else it could have been in my case. Even though I wish I had spent more time to
- fully realise the feedback of decisions I drove
- and deepen the work relationships I had built
But nobody would award me for staying put at the cost of inner-personal chaos.
For each of my job switch, I have good explanations — and I don't just mean in the David Deutsch sense.
For others I can only guess their reasons behind being jumpy- they might chose any or more from
- feeling hindered from making impact,
- stagnation in personal growth,
- toxic culture, or
- compensation and work-life balance related factors.
A blanket advice that warns against being jumpy is what irks me I guess;
- one must have the freedom to focus on their evolution both outer and inner
- and to imply jumpiness as an inability to stick around and see things through
is to me a skewed perspective.
Just as in relationships, where it's unrealistic to always find the perfect match on the first try, a career too might require exploration before settling into a context that feels like home.
And of course, there are 'bad jumpers' who:
- switch roles primarily for monetary benefits, often leaving chaos behind
- lack awareness of how their skillset is evolving (I think T-shaped is a good aim)
- move on not because of professional reasons, but due to a limited threshold for challenges or discomfort
How may recruiters disceren between two profiles is also a talent.
Because these are not two types of people in the world - jumpers and non jumpers - they are just two phases of the same person.
If you would like to talk, please send me a note.