Career Mobility

26 May 2023

A persistent myth is that employers do not trust people who have 'too many' job moves on their resume.  This is a hangover from a time when there was much higher job stability and working for one employer for your entire working history was common.  

Today no one employer can provide all the learning, opportunities, experiences, and development that any of us need in order to keep our careers healthy and flourishing.  Additionally, most organisations (or bosses) don't want this level of responsibility.

Your employability (or attractiveness to a new employer) is made up of the skills, knowledge, experience, learning, personal characteristics, and potential you have.  These are enhanced through your exposure to new ideas and novel technologies, through experiencing different thinking, and through the adjacent learning you glean from diverse networks.  

Organisations and the people in them change slowly, yet when you move to a new organisation you get instant exposure to new ways of working.  This enhances your cognitive flexibility and your capacity to connect ideas, making you substantially more valuable and employable.

Mobility also widens your networks giving you greater access to insider information.  You also get to benefit from the 'reputation' vibe that comes when a wide range of people know what you are capable of.

Don't let fear of moving around 'too much' stop you from opening yourself to new roles.

So action this today - sign up on some job boards and receive regular emails about new jobs.  The first step in getting more mobile is knowing what is out there.  

As always, wishing you a flourishing career.

Katherine