A recent PWC study (Graph seen below) has led the Robertson Sumner team to question whether social norms and the job market have changed. People used to leave education imagining that they would stay with the same company from graduate scheme or apprenticeship through to retirement however after looking at the stats below, it is clear that this has now changed…
This may be a sign of the fast paced lifestyle people have these days as a number of people mention in conversation that after a few years with a company they find themselves bored and in need of a new buzz. Indeed this is also starting to show itself in some of our clients preferences when they are talking to us about candidate requirements for a new opportunity. Significantly someone who has worked for a company for over four or five years is no longer seen as an extremely loyal employee but rather someone who may have become institutionalised and could find it difficult to move to a new organisation or adapt to internal changes. It was certainly expected that the results of the PWC study would show that the majority of graduates wouldn’t expect to be in the same company forever. However it was shocking to read that 9% of graduates expect to work for 10 or more companies, in comparison with 4% whom see themselves only working for one business.
This seems to be more relevant in the IT sales channel as technology is constantly evolving and a small niche technology provider could grow to be ‘the next big thing’ in a matter of months/ years. Staying at one company that is not known to be innovating, simply climbing on board the technology grave train once everyone else has developed the market could mean you are missing out on some fantastic learning opportunities which could help you progress up the career ladder.
A number of the candidates our team have spoken to readily admit that they have stayed at a company for a couple of years, learned all they could about the technology and ways of working before moving on somewhere else. This is a double edged sword from a recruiter and hiring manager’s point of view. If you have the sales figures to back up your talent and knowledge then you are in the driving seat. Failure to have any proof that you are a proven target hitter and skilled salesperson could earn yourself the title as a journeyman which no company is going to want to take a chance on.
In this day and age who can say they will still be in the same “career” in ten years’ time? Do you consider your current employment a job or your career?
