Originally published 20th April 2022

Throughout my working life, I have come to know that changing your job regularly has a negative stigma attached when it comes to then applying for other jobs in the future. Some reasons I have heard for this are that it may show “a lack of commitment”, “inability to see things through” or even that you may have been so bad at each job, that you were swiftly ousted.

Opportunities are rife, and people are more self-aware and not afraid to grasp the abundance of these opportunities.

In my opinion, these ideas are outdated and not reflective of the times we live in. Of course, 40 years ago it was normal for people to work in the same company (and maybe even the same role) for 20+ years. But the career landscape has evolved and flourished since then. Opportunities are rife, and people are more self-aware and not afraid to grasp the abundance of these opportunities. The internet has made it possible for us to work flexibly, remotely, and even for ourselves. It has made it possible to learn about career paths that we would have never known about, as well as accelerate in developing our own skills along the way.

My own story has some nuance — before starting my part-time masters, I had been in the same company and role for 1.5 years. I was also very much in the mind that I should just stick it out until I get promoted and just march ahead with the trajectory that was laid out within consulting. However, I wasn’t feeling fulfilled and wanted to explore the world of technology… hence why I undertook the part-time Computer Science masters degree.

Since getting my ‘student status’, I have been a lot more willing to explore opportunities and not worry so much about dates on my CV. In the duration of 2021, I had been working as an Analyst in a management consulting firm, to being a Business Intern at Google to then a Software Engineer at Accenture. People are sometimes shocked at each new job announcement — but my reply to that would be that I have been wholeheartedly following my interests and passion, and I am lucky enough to be able to do so whilst I am young and fairly responsibility-free!

You don’t have to trail the same career path as everyone else just so that you can be viewed more favourably by CV reviewers.

Obviously, 3 different roles in a year are quite excessive and not advisable as a regular occurrence, but the experience has opened my eyes to understanding that you don’t have to trail the same career path as everyone else just so that you can be viewed more favourably by CV reviewers. If you have legitimate and compelling reasons to pursue new opportunities regularly, then you have nothing to worry about.

Some of the main benefits I realised when reflecting on my own dynamic career path are:

• Massively expanding your network in a shorter amount of time — both professionally and personally!
• More opportunity to develop skills that you actually want to improve on rather than settling for what is available.
• Increasing your compensation at a faster rate.
• Insight into new and exciting ways of working and company culture.

Essentially, the main takeaway from this article is that you should take control of your own career, and do what you want without fear of negative judgment on your choices. A career path is exactly that… a path. Whether you change directions a few times (or a lot), or even just stay on that same path for 40 or more years, if it feels fulfilling to you and you get to your end destination, then that is all that matters!