Is It Nonetheless a Good Time To Change Jobs?

At the start of 2022, Grace Spencer was working as a digital content material coordinator for a kids’s craft firm in New Jersey. She had been there for a yr and a half, and deliberate to remain there—however her loyalty was not being rewarded. 

“I needed to combat for any sort of compensation, any sort of award, any sort of increase that I obtained there,” Spencer mentioned. 

After altering jobs 4 instances previously yr—two layoffs and quitting twice—she just lately began a job the place she is making $20,000 extra, as a digital supervisor at Taft Communications, a public relations agency in Lawrence, New Jersey.

“If I realized something from having two layoffs and regularly discovering work, it’s that I can discover a job inside two weeks,” she mentioned. “I don’t need to sound like I’m not humble about that, however that’s the kind of market that we’re in.”

Spencer could also be an excessive case, however she’s removed from alone. Jobs have been plentiful and switching employers has usually paid off handsomely previously yr. Individuals who switched jobs noticed their pay enhance 7.7% on common, in comparison with simply 5.5% for many who stayed put, in keeping with information from the Federal Reserve Financial institution of Atlanta.

Certainly, official measures of the job market paint a rosy image for employees—the unemployment charge was simply 3.5% in December, tied with a 50-year low. Nonetheless, main high-tech firms together with Google, Microsoft, and Amazon have all laid off hundreds of employees within the final month, and rising fears of an impending recession may imply extra widespread job losses as firms hunker down for a lean interval.

The contradictory alerts depart employees with a dilemma: Is it higher to change jobs to search for higher pay, or to stay with the safe job you could have in hopes of surviving potential layoffs?

The perfect technique varies by individual and business, in keeping with consultants. In any case, switching jobs throughout an financial downturn can backfire. 

“You possibly can be placing your self in danger for a ‘final one in, first one out’ situation,” Andy Kalmon, CEO of advantages administration agency Benny, mentioned in an e mail. “That is definitely a good time to community and see what’s on the market on the job market, however I’d proceed with warning in case your present job is safe.” 

Whether or not the time remains to be ripe for job looking largely is dependent upon the place you’re employed, in keeping with Aaron Terrazas, chief economist at Glassdoor. Whereas layoffs are hitting some sectors of the economic system, hiring remains to be going robust in others—which partly explains the blended alerts within the information.

“In 2023, we’re on observe to have a two-track labor market with a lot, a lot softer hiring circumstances for expert data employees, however nonetheless very tight circumstances for frontline service and trades employees,” Terrazas mentioned.

Gregory Pontrelli, president of HR consultancy Lausanne Enterprise Options, mentioned in an e mail there’s a large distinction in how his purchasers are approaching hiring, relying on what sector they’re in. Corporations in tech and finance are shedding 10% to fifteen% of their workforces, whereas these in manufacturing are providing sign-on bonuses, flex schedules, and extra pay to draw candidates.

There’s extra variation inside these broad classes, Terrazas mentioned. In tech, for instance, these laid off by big-name firms could possibly discover work—albeit with much less pay—at smaller companies. These firms nonetheless have open positions as a result of they’ve been unable to compete for expertise in opposition to tech giants in the previous couple of years. 

“Do not rely your self out simply because some large names are making reductions,” Kat Sabatini, CEO of Tuesday Resume, mentioned in an e mail. “These firms employed massively in the course of the pandemic and are ‘righting the ship’—some would say it is an overdue correction from the previous few years of progress.”

Given the alternatives that also exist, it would nonetheless be worthwhile to search for a brand new place, particularly if you happen to’re sad along with your present job, mentioned Andrew Lokenauth, a profession knowledgeable and adjunct professor on the College of San Francisco College of Administration. 

Along with staying or switching, there’s a 3rd possibility: not one of the above. Vanessa Steil, a Lengthy Island resident, just lately began her personal enterprise after quitting her job doing social media and public relations for a nonprofit group. Her new job offers her extra flexibility to be a caregiver for her 94-year-old grandmother, and he or she, like many different freelancers and consultants, thinks she may get new alternatives as firms lay off full-time employees.

Steil mentioned she’s seen lots of her pals take that possibility, too. 

“In the event that they had been within the full-time world, in the event that they could not get these raises or promotions, they then simply mentioned, ‘I’ll do one thing for myself,’” she mentioned.

However, if you happen to’re content material along with your present function, it’s smart to remain put, given the altering tides within the job market. 

“For those who’re presently in a job that you simply’re proud of and that gives stability and safety, it might be sensible to carry on to it,” Lokenauth mentioned in an e mail. “The potential recession could make it harder to discover a new job, and it is at all times higher to have a job than to be unemployed.”

Even Spencer, the 2022 four-time job switcher, would suppose twice about doing it once more.

“Given the present view of the job market? I’d be pretty reluctant,” she mentioned. 

Have a query, remark, or story to share? You may attain Diccon at dhyatt@thebalance.com.