Job hopping can make, not break, your career

Like many of my fellow graduating class of 2020, my career plans were pulled out from under my feet when the world shut down. I was suddenly thrust into a practically nonexistent job market, worried for my future, competing not only with other new grads, but with people who had years of experience, searching for a job amid layoffs.

A little hopeless and desperate, I knew the most important thing was to get my foot in the door. 

My first post-grad job was a short-term media monitoring contract at an agency. I held a flicker of hope that the job could lead to another opportunity at the firm, but in a tight job market, it didn’t. However, it did get me something new for my resume: “agency experience.” The addition to my resume helped land a full time post-grad internship at another agency that served as a pipeline to an assistant account executive.

It didn’t take long to secure a job knowing I couldn’t be picky, but I didn’t care for the clients or the work I was doing and I wasn’t paid much. I tried convincing myself to do the proper thing and wait it out for at least a year, but one of the account managers gave me career-defining advice: “If you can show them you’re good at your job, employers won’t care about anything else.”

I started looking at jobs I was more qualified for with my new experiences that felt closer to what I always aimed to do. In college, you learn that internships are important experiences that can help you ladder up the talent pool. Internships are only a couple of months long, so by that same logic a couple of months at a full time job could boost you the same way. 

More company names, roles and experience provided more to say in interviews. In resumes, keywords and company names matter a lot and any extra bullet points highlighting different skills put you ahead.

To successfully job hop in a way that accelerates your career, you can’t just jump to greener pastures at the first opportunity. You need to have a good reason prepared to tell your boss and future employer why you’re leaving. If you focus on growth and aspirations, there are few who wouldn’t support your move.

I ended up leaving my first job after six months for a lateral move to a new agency with clients I was interested in, more-focused traditional PR work and a 29% salary increase. I enjoyed working with the people and the type of work we did but the nonprofit I interned for in college had an opening for a media manager. It would be a promotion to do new work I had aspired for.

Most people would warn against hopping again so soon, citing the old adage that you should stay at least two years in any job. I’m lucky to have mentors who empowered me to do the opposite and go for the better opportunities in front of me. At the end of the day it’s never personal, it’s business. 

In one calendar year I had three jobs, gained an exponential amount of new experience to leverage and increased my salary by about $29,000. I never would have achieved this level of growth so quickly if I had “stuck it out” at my first job.

Reese Castro is a media manager at The Texas Tribune, formerly an account executive at Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis and WE Communications.