Why IT people often change their job and what happens because of that.
Though I am from IT industry, I couldn’t resist myself from writing about this.
India is shining like never before. So many job opportunities in IT and ITES. Students getting out of any good engineering college from any stream are having multiple yet competitive offers in hand. We are paid to an extent which has made every one envious of us and project us as the root cause of inflation in our country. Even after being paid well, one thing is really deficit with ITians which people working in other sectors have in abundance, Job Satisfaction. 9 out of 10 people from IT industry feel dissatisfied despite being paid well and enjoying the luxury of employee friendly HR policies. We always compare ourselves with a better earning friend in another MNC, feel discontented and prepare for a jump.
If the reason or problem for the jump is genuine and irreconcilable, there’s definitely a necessity for a change. But, without trying to conciliate the problem, if you decide to quit, what’s the assurance that you won’t be facing the same problem with your new employer. At one point of time in my career, even I was put into a similar situation. When I started trying outside, I got numerous, tantalizing offers with lucrative figures. But then since I was able to resolve the issue with my employer, the jump became totally unnecessary.
I have seen people jumping from one company to another within a very short span of time just for the sake of making their pockets heavy. What happened to belongingness and loyalty in this country? Of course, we are skilled enough to ditch the employer at any time and the prevailing market conditions allow us to do so. Any dilettante will be able to jump to another company easily. But is it a good culture to change the job like changing the shirt?
Some of my friends with 3+ years of experience are with their 3rd or 4th employer now. Most of them have shifted only for the sake of a hike and not for exploring new opportunities. With less than 4 months with the current employer, one of my friends is all set for another jump. They all claim that it gives them a moral boost that they are capable and most sought after in the industry when they get a new offer but I feel that they are simply narcissists who don’t bother neither about their employer nor about the values.
On the other hand, does it mean that people like me who are sticking to the same employer from the beginning are duds? I don’t know about others, but I have some principles defined for me. If it was all about money, all the IT companies must be running high on attrition above 40-50%. Current attrition in IT industry is the highest when compared to other sectors but still the majority stay with the same company which is a positive prophecy.
If there’s a justifiable reason behind the jump like learning opportunities, career growth, better prospects then it can definitely be accepted. This is what being suggested by the rest of the world too.
But, if one jumps too often, it reduces the credibility of that person and looks ugly on the profile after 4-5 years. If you are just jumping for the sake of a hike (at regular short intervals), you must be a swellhead who is disregard of everybody else and analogous to a politician who jumps between parties for a seat. Only good sign is that the job hopping percentage is coming down (very slowly) in India nowadays. But still IT and related jobs top attrition and job hopping in our country.
