That was a conversation I had with my skip level manager one fine day.

A normal day just became a “not so normal” day for me.

Losing a job can feel like the ground beneath you has suddenly given way.

When I was laid off after 17 years of loyalty, dedication, and countless late nights, I felt bad. But I wasn’t as stunned as a lot of the others would be.

Why?

I will discuss that a little later.

But, it was a call I’ll never forget.

A “brief conversation” about how the company was trying to maneuver the difficult times and my role had been deemed redundant.

This after the company had made a profit that was x% better than the previous year.

The years of hard work, the weekends spent meeting deadlines, and the loyalty I had shown were distilled into a cold, impersonal announcement.

That is the value that a company attaches to one of its employees.

If you happen to face such a situation, what would you do.

Let’s talk about what to do next and how to turn this moment into an opportunity.

First Reaction in Job Layoffs: Shock, Anger, and Acceptance

In the immediate aftermath of job layoffs, it’s natural to feel shocked, maybe even betrayed.

You’ve invested time, effort, and perhaps even your identity into your role.

But don’t let that emotional cocktail of anger and disappointment make you feel stuck.

The first thing to remember: this layoff doesn’t define your worth.

Companies make decisions based on profits, market trends, or strategic changes—not because of who you are as a professional.

Accepting this reality is the first step toward regaining control.

Take a few days to process your feelings, talk to family or friends, and remind yourself that while this chapter may have ended, a new one can begin.

Handling the Situation Like a Pro

While it’s tough, handling the job layoff professionally will help your career in the long run.

• Ask for a Positive Reference: If you had a good working relationship with your manager, ask if they’d be willing to provide a recommendation. A strong reference can be invaluable, especially if your layoff was due to restructuring and not performance issues.
• Negotiate Severance and Benefits: Many people don’t realize they can negotiate severance packages or extended health benefits, so don’t hesitate to ask. If you were in your role for a significant period, use that tenure as leverage to negotiate a better exit package.
• Get Your Finances in Order: Make a budget and assess your finances. Having a clear picture of your finances will help relieve stress and guide your job search or next steps.

Taking these practical steps immediately helps you keep a proactive mindset and positions you for a successful transition.

The Bigger Picture: Layoffs Are Part of the New Reality

In recent years, thousands of professionals across industries have been through layoffs.

According to recent reports, over 150,000 tech workers were laid off in 2023 alone, a number that has continued to rise as companies respond to economic changes, shifting priorities, and technological advancements.

Tech giants like Meta, Amazon, and Google made headlines for letting go of large groups of their workforce. This trend reminds us that no industry is entirely secure, no matter how high we’ve climbed.

These statistics show us two things:

1. Layoffs are not personal: It’s a reflection of the shifting market and company strategies, not individual performance.
2. Having multiple income streams is critical: We can’t rely on a single paycheck forever.

This brings us to an essential lesson from today’s corporate landscape—the importance of a side hustle.

Why You Should Start a Side Hustle?

A little while ago, I spoke about the fact that I was not as impacted as a lot of the others, when I was told that I am laid off..

The reason was this.

I had been building my side hustle for some time and had built it out into a full time income source by the time I was let go off by my company.

A side hustle isn’t just an extra income stream.

It’s a way to protect your future, develop new skills, and even explore passions you may not get to express in your primary role.

Here’s why a side hustle is invaluable:

• Builds Financial Resilience: A second source of income means that even if your primary role is impacted, you’ll have another stream to support you. It acts as a financial cushion in times of uncertainty.
• Allows You to Explore New Interests: Use this time to explore interests outside of your main job. A side hustle can be something as diverse as consulting, freelancing, teaching, or even starting a small business.
• Helps You Grow Professionally: Skills like marketing, finance, or customer service are often part of running a side business, adding to your toolkit and making you more resilient and versatile.
• Prepares You for Independence: Having a side hustle gives you a taste of entrepreneurial life and may even lead to a full-time venture down the road.

I started a side hustle years ago, which gave me confidence and stability when my job was unexpectedly cut. Having that extra stream of income helped me feel less shaken when the news hit. Now, I’m grateful for that decision every day.

Final Thoughts: Embrace the Change

Losing a job doesn’t mean you’ve lost your career.

It means you have an opportunity to pivot, learn, and even pursue paths you hadn’t considered before.

Start small, with manageable actions like organizing your finances and updating your resume, then begin exploring roles that align with your career goals—or build something of your own.

Layoffs are more common than ever, but resilience and adaptability are what will set you apart. Use this time to reinvest in yourself, explore new avenues, and build a future that isn’t reliant on a single source of income.

When one door closes, remember, you have the power to build another.

Success is not as easy as winners make it look nor as hard as losers make it sound”

Success isn’t easy and it shouldn’t be easy. Else there wouldn’t be any motivation to succeed.

The other day, I was reading the book “Atomic Habits” by James Clear and there was this particular quote of his that struck me –

He says, “When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow, it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it—but all that had gone before.”

The difference between success and failure is “persistence”. The winners persisted with what they were doing without worrying about the lack of results until the day they were called “Winners”.

And probably that is why success isn’t difficult.

All you need to do is to persist.

Make a commitment to yourself today. To persist until you have achieved your goals. Comment below on what is your most important goal in life and tag a friend who needs motivation.

He was either an employee or, an audience.

Since start-ups are a craze these days, you will find a lot of such charismatic young founders on social media helping and supporting other aspirants.

But how much of their advice is practical and should be implemented?

It is a cautious evaluation left for the people who are consuming such content.

Back to the question from the young man.

Here’s what he asked, “Is it ok to work for 17-18 hours and should I be doing it to succeed?”

The question was pretty straightforward and the answer should have been straightforward. But the founder in question chose to answer it in some detail with some examples.

He quoted two such instances from real life where we never counted the number of hours that we put in and then went on to give an unclear response saying, “put it as many hours as required to grow and succeed”.

The examples that he quoted were –

1. We have put in endless hours into school. First, the 8 hours that we will spend in school and then another 3-4 hours for the different tuitions for the various subjects.
2. When we were preparing for competitive exams we again put in countless hours to crack the exams which is unlikely if you don’t put in those hours.

Both these examples were very practical.

But there was a flaw in where it was used. Here are a few things you should know about these two phases of life and why you had to put in these hours.

1. When you were working for donkey’s hours during school and after school, your only goal was to pass out with good marks or, get through a professional course that you were eyeing.
2. Most responsibilities were taken care of by your parents. Your only responsibility was to study.
3. You had no other family indulgence except for the weekends, which was fine when you were at school.

Compare it to a phase when you get into a job and are working for a company. Here’s what happens in those phases –

1. You are paid for the number of hours you are putting in. So if you put in additional hours, will you be paid extra, or is there a guarantee that you will be paid more in the future?
2. Your responsibility is not only towards your career. Instead, it is to your parents, your wife, your children, etc.
3. You cannot sacrifice family time for work because it has long-term repercussions on your relationships, your kids, and your overall health and well-being.

Are these two phases in life the same?

More hours at the office don’t guarantee more pay, better positions, or faster growth. In fact, it shows lower efficiency.

As a company owner, I would love to see my employees putting in more hours and working more because that gives me better returns for the dollar I am spending.

But as an employee, you need to keep in mind that the salary that you negotiated when joining the company was for 9 hours and not 15 hours.

So if you are working for 15 hours, you are essentially devaluing yourself and your worth.

But does that mean that you shouldn’t look at a career or, growth in your company?

No. That isn’t what I mean!

Here’s a story from the time I was working in my first organization.

I had to stay back at the office for some critical data that was to be sent to a client. And that data needed some inputs from the sales team which was placed remotely in the UK.

I received the data pretty late and that meant that I was in the office for more than 18 hours. It was 9 AM and as usual, my CEO came on his rounds to the floor. The entire floor was empty and he saw me in a corner and walked up to me.

He looked at me and noticed that I was in the same dress that he saw me the previous day.

“You don’t seem to have gone home yesterday”, he asked.

“Yeah! I had to send this critical data. I was waiting for the inputs from the UK office and hence had to stay back”, I responded.

He smiled and said, “Oh! that’s so nice of you”.

As he turned and walked, he looked at me once again and said, “Don’t make it a habit. Remember that if you can’t finish your work in 8 hours, you will never be able to do it in 16 hours. Plan better.”

That stayed with me through all my years.

Remember that efficiency is what is more important. Better efficiency will give you more productivity.

More hours doesn’t mean better efficiency and hence productivity!

People around me told me a big secret to success –

“Come to the office before your boss comes. And leave only after your boss leaves”.

I was naive and didn’t understand. But the people around were helpful.

I remember asking them, “But why should I wait in the office if my work is done?”

And they said, “That is if your work is done. The secret is in not doing it until your boss leaves”.

I was confused and couldn’t fall in line with that advice. I was just getting into the groove.

One day, I had to stay back because I couldn’t finish my work. Others around me had left. The boss was still in the office.

As she got ready to leave, she saw me and walked up to me.

She asked me, “What you are doing this late? You always left on time.”

I replied, “I have some pending work”.

She smiled and said, “Don’t get into this habit”.

And she walked off.

As she walked, she turned and looked at me. Then she smiled again and said, “By the way, if you weren’t able to finish a job that was meant to be finished in 8 hours, you will not be able to finish it even in 15 hours”.

If you’ve ever been preached the success mantra of staying back, then you have been lied to.

Being on time – both to office and from the office is still a virtue.

And true leaders do realize that.

I was to take over this team as part of a new responsibility that I was being handed over.

My manager called me and said that the department leader wanted to speak to me.

It seemed a little unusual but I knew there was something that wasn’t right.

As soon as he picked up my call, he congratulated me and said, “Dilip, this isn’t the kind of conversation I would like to have with an able leader like you. And this certainly isn’t the kind of team I would have wanted to give you. But, I couldn’t find a better person to do this dirty job.”

I was a little surprised. I could see that my leader had confidence in me but then what was the “dirty job” that he wanted me to do and why?

My leader continued, “This team is full of problem makers. They know nothing but creating problems. They have done everything including skipping 2 levels to complain about the 2 managers”.

I was shocked. Because that isn’t normal. I haven’t seen that ever happen in my career.

“You know why?”

“Why?”, I asked.

“Because their managers wanted them to come to office and start their work on time. Isn’t that funny?”

I didn’t know what to say. By then I knew that I was getting into deep shit.

“So”, He continued. “I am not expecting miracles from you. Nor am I expecting you to correct these lost souls. All you need to do is create a case and terminate them from the organization”.

“Wasn’t that something even my earlier manager could have done?”, I thought.

“I know what you are thinking”, he continued. “Anybody could have done that. But the problem is that these guys know how to game the system. So I wanted somebody who could efficiently handle the issue”.

The reason why I was picked for the job was becoming clearer.

“John (my manager) would give you more details. Particularly there are 2 people who are the biggest problems in the team. Get rid of them and the rest should fall in line. If they don’t, then continue until the team is free of problems”.

The conversation ended after which I spoke to my manager who sent me some details of every individual in the team.

I was about to click the document to open it, but then I thought to myself.

“If I open the document and read the profiles of these people, I will build a perception for them. Anything that I do after that, will be driven by these perceptions. So, what not go in there with a clean slate and assess the people for myself”.

I decided that was the approach I will take.

My first one-on-one discussion with the team members wasn’t that good. None of them spoke anything. They just simply seemed to be frustrated with something.

It appeared as if, someone had told them that they shouldn’t open their mouth when they talk to me.

The reason was understandable. The previous manager was a friend of mine. And their stint with the previous manager wasn’t that good.

So, they were justified in assuming that I was there to continue where he left.

It took at least 2 weeks and 3 attempts to make them talk.

And that too after doing a bit of groundwork in order to win their confidence. (I will talk about this in another of my post).

Anyhow..

After they began to talk, the conversations became interesting. There was quite a bit that was happening.

The stories that I was told before I started these conversations were the same but there was a different perspective to it.

The Vantage Point.

Yes, things could appear totally different depending upon what your vantage point is.

There was one thing that was clear. Not reading the document that was sent to me was probably the best thing I did.

The next couple of weeks went in conversations and discussions, taking notes, analyzing their perspective and putting an action plan in place.

But before I could do anything, I had to win their confidence. And doing that wasn’t very difficult.

All I had to do was comfort them.

And after I had their confidence, it was time for implementing the action plan.

The focal point were the so-called 2 problematic kids.

Again, it wasn’t difficult.

All that they were looking for was for somebody to listen to them and support them. They had problems managing their personal life and work, together.

I made the required arrangements like giving them a flexible shift, working from home, flexible rostering etc. And I was to be always informed about any changes they wanted in their work routine.

They very promptly did it.

It was then time to implement the action plan.

It took barely 6 months for me to do all of this.

In the next skip level meeting that I had arranged for them, the team was a changed one – lots of positivity, people that willing to talk and express and a huge improvement in enthusiasm.

This in turn translated to better efficiency and productivity.

I didn’t have to fire anyone. Yet the end goal was achieved.

Fast forward to 3 years and the 2 so-called problem kids were the first to get promoted and given additional responsibilities.

Conclusion

Preconceived notion is bad, irrespective of what role you are in.

I have had multiple instances where going in with a clean slate has helped me better manage and lead people.

Preconceived notions are always built from the wrong vantage point. In order to be a good leader that people can trust and follow, you need to change your vantage point.

And you can do that only by listening to people actively and understanding how they feel about a particular situation.

Keep perceptions out and you will be a better leader.

Do let me know your thoughts in the comments below and share any experiences you have had where a pre-built perception about somebody proved to be an incorrect assessment.

How to be a Good Manager?

The yearly metric which was being used to measure the success of a manager, which a lot of organizations call “employee satisfaction scores”, were at an all time low. People were not coming to office and would call in sick very frequently. Low attendance was impacting the overall delivery and the team performance was getting impacted.

The amount of reprimands increased and except for a couple of people in the team who, as a result of the situation in the team had grown closer to the manager were the only ones who were putting in their 100%. In fact they were putting in their 110% in management terms. The rest were all showing a downward trend.

Attrition increased and this further added to the overall performance of the team. The skillset required for the team was niche and hence the learning curve of every new entrant in the team was high.

To compensate the low efficiency of the newbies in the team, the tenured ones had to put in more time and the team members who were getting the most taxed were the ones who were closer to the manager.

Gradually they started feeling used and got bogged down with work and eventually moved into other roles.

That’s the picture of a disastrous team.

In fact it is a vicious circle. What starts as a cut on the body slowly grows into a gangrene and the eventual remedy is to amputate the part. This is exactly how a good team could turn into a poor team and perish.

Where did it all start?

You guessed it right and so did everybody else. It is hence said that,

People don’t leave organizations. They leave managers.

He was frustrated as he walked into the pantry. He was one of the go-getters in the organization and a top individual contributor. Nobody even came close to him in individual performance. But the last year or, so was disastrous.

How to Be a Good Manager – A Genuine Question

I was sitting along with the org leader as he came and sat down alongside us.

“Boss, how to be a good Manager?”, he asked.

I felt like he had it was my question. A question that I was so desperate to ask but because I didn’t want to look like a “Bad Manager”, I was holding myself from asking.

The boss looked at me and then he turned towards him and smiled.

“What were you in your previous role?”, he asked.

“I was a part of the procurement team”, the manager replied.

“Great. Then go and become a team member again”, the boss said.

There was not one but 2 shocked faces there – me and the frustrated manager.

The manager looked inquisitively and a little shockingly at the boss as if asking what he meant. The boss smiled again and said, “Yes. Forget about how to be a good manager and go back to your team and become a good team member”.

We were still trying to understand what he meant.

The next few words from him were the biggest wisdom that the two of us got in our corporate lives. It was more than what any training could offer.

“The problem with most new managers is that they start to think that it is their responsibility to manage people and make them deliver by holding them accountable for their deliverables. They start to micro-manage things and start getting under the skin of their team members because they think they are the custodians of every individual in the team and that every individual is answerable to him”.

We were looking at him like 2 kids watching a horror movie.

He continued, “The culprit is the mindset. Every individual in the organization has the same responsibility. Everyone of us come to work because we know we are responsible for something and that responsibility, if discharged appropriately will earn me the paycheck at the end of the month”.

“Then do we really need to push somebody to do what he is supposed to do?”, he quipped.

“Not really”, he himself replied.

“Instead what we need to understand is that, the responsibility of a manager is to facilitate – facilitate things that your team members need in order to discharge their responsibility without a problem. And while you do that, if you find one of your team member losing sight of what his key deliverables are, just put your arms around his shoulder and guide him to the right direction”.

“And that is how you become a good Team Member”. As he finished speaking, he put his arms around the manager’s shoulder and said, “And when you do that, you will not be worried about becoming a good manager”.

He left the two of us there, still trying to get out of the aura that we were surrounded with in the 10 minutes that just ended.

As he walked into the bay towards his office, I looked at the manager’s face. He had just then realized the biggest mistake he did.

That 10 minutes of experience did what no grooming could have done, to two young managers.

And I asked myself, “Is it really relevant to ask how to be a good manager?”

The answer for anyone who still felt that this question was relevant, the answer was simple. “Go and be a part of your team. Be a team member and look at everything from their perspective. You will find simpler and better ways to help every individual in the team. And even before you realize that you are a manager, you will be labelled as a GOOD Manager”.

And Yes. Don’t forget to be transparent with your team!!

This article is by a guest author.

The rapid development of technology has a great impact on all of the industry branches out there, and the BPO industry is no exception. Informational technology is quickly becoming an integral part of the service, so lowering costs while becoming more effective has become priority for many businesses.

This is why BPO is starting to use process automation, social media platforms and business analytic software technologies to help companies achieve that.

Before we come to a final conclusion on whether new technological achievements are hurting or helping the BPO industry let’s quickly go through the current facts.

Is Rapid Growth of Technology Hurting the BPO Industry

Currently, BPO is the fastest growing branch of the outsourcing industry, which comes as a consequence of many businesses realizing the potentials of this type of strategy. It can shorten the product development cycle, enrich the enterprise with new, valuable knowledge, reduce risks and increase efficiency.

Global Industry Analyst, Inc., states that the global market for business process outsourcing is projected to reach 220 billion US dollars by 2020. At the moment, USA remains the largest market in the world. Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing market with a compound annual growth rate of 10%, while the Philippines and India remain strong competitors.

Many innovations in business models and new technologies are the pillars that make outsourcing so important these days. Traditional model of outsourcing is being abandoned because the labor cost reduction that it was built around is no longer functioning. It is being replaced by a new model, whose main goal is to provide value-added services.

Many business will not be willing to invest into buying all that new hardware and new tech solutions, let alone to hire experts who are capable of using new technologies. The BPO will face new contract terms because businesses will want to purchase all client’s assets – intellectual property, hardware, software etc.

Also, with the rise of software robots, companies that provide robotic process automation (RPA) software will be available for hire to any BPO. You can already see many BPO’s incorporating RPA in their solution. This is a great way for industries to cut on their expenses by replacing workers that were handling simple operations.

It is bad news to BPO industry when it comes to mobile apps. There are already apps on the market that help businesses with banking, insurance and financial operations. Also, there is a software solution for project portfolio management that allows complete real-time feedback on project status and status of specific assets and resources.

The bright side is that with all this data being stored in the cloud, BPO should expect business that want to outsource information security. The BPO experienced in managing unstructured information in a secure way (secure private cloud infrastructure) will be in high demand.

The Verdict

As you can see technology achievements are in many ways helping the BPO industry to strike many deals. But on the other hand, new technologies are putting extra pressure on BPO. The BPO industry has to be able to quickly adapt to these new terms in order to stay up-to-date and competitive.

About the Author:

Catherine is content developer who works in BackOfficePro. A talented writer by day and a good reader by night. She expresses her feeling and thoughts with the writing. She is loathe to discuss herself in the third person, But can be persuaded to do so from time to time

I was walking towards my workstation in a normal work day. As I passed through other workstations, a glance at most of them showed one thing in common.

Every one of the computers there had one or, the other social media site open on it. While Facebook was the prominent one, a lot many others had Twitter and Instagram as well.

Though the debate that Social Media is interfering in the productivity of employees is still hot, a lot of companies have realized the importance of social media and is in fact promoting its use amongst its employees.

Why?

Because these employees act as their brand mascot on these Social Media platforms. And what better way of promoting your brand than through your own employees.

Social Media is the biggest thing today. And if companies don’t adopt to the changing environment, they are sure to find themselves in a difficult situation. Organizations have realized this and it is hence that Social Media marketing is becoming an integral part of their Marketing Strategy.

The Importance of taking to Social Media

With Social Media accounting for more than 70% of the time that people spend online, it was imperative for companies to take to Social Media sites to converse and interact with their customers. After all that is the place they would be able to find their customers the most. And with customers using Social Media to discuss about their experiences with products and services, it was just the right forum to find people with problems and provide them a resolution.

It had a two-fold effect – first they were able to resolve their customers’ problems and retain a customer and at the same time, they can build that trust factor in their brand. With a lot of people getting to see that the brand is serious about addressing their customers’ problems, it served as the ideal platform for new customer acquisition as well.

This led to companies looking for dedicated social media managers and firms to help them. While some of the companies found it handy to employ a full time Social Media personnel to manage their social media requirements, yet others found it better to hire a Social Media company.

Advantages of Using Social Media Marketing Firms

It is always advisable to hand over the responsibility of specialized activities to specialized folks. Just as in SEO, if you really want to see results, social media marketing has to be done by teams that have exposure and expertise in doing that. Else, it will only mean another expense in the profit and loss account.

Handing over social media marketing activities to a specialized firm has its own advantages.

Each of the social media platforms require a unique approach. Facebook marketing and Twitter marketing cannot be the same. Each platform has its own uniqueness, both in terms of the audience and how they interact. Hence both of these platforms have to be dealt with accordingly. The biggest advantage with Social Media marketing firms is that they will have dedicated personnel for each of these platforms. If you are looking for Facebook marketing services, you will be allocated somebody who is specialized in doing that. This will get you better ROI and at the same time help you in your marketing strategy as well. Same is the case with all the other social media platforms.

With the increasing salaries and employment costs, it made perfect sense for organizations who did not want to spend a lot of money on salaries for dedicated Social Media managers, to hire Social media marketing firms. These firms served as cost-effective options and with their tailor-made services, organizations could get just what they wanted for a fraction of the cost that they would have otherwise incurred in employing a social media personnel. You could also be saving a lot of money on Social Media tools as well.

Statistics show that about 46% of web users look to social media when making a purchase. This means that a strong social media strategy could mean more sales and customers for your business and at the same time, better customer retention by better targeting and instant feedback. And hiring an experienced Social Media marketing firm would take care off everything from creating the strategy to implementing it.

How mobile are you?

Strange question, isn’t it? But bear in mind that if you don’t have an answer to this question, then you might be in for a challenge with your career growth.

I had a strange phobia towards moving to newer places. And that was probably the reason why I did not want to move out of the city that I studied in. But what would you do in a place where there were no job opportunities?

Eventually after spending a couple of years trying to find a job in whatever companies existed in the small city that I lived in, the truth dawned upon me that if I was to get a job, I had to move out. And, the next week I found myself in a train to one of the metro cities.

I went mobile. I was convinced by the hard truth that your career depended entirely upon how comfortable you were with changing cities. And there started my career growth and it went on for about 7 years. I was completely focused during this time and changed roles and cities. But, at some point in my career (I never realized when) I just decided to stay put at the place that I was in.

The result: 5 years of stagnancy!

The Choice between “Being Mobile” and Career

Organizations are global these days. While most organizations have multiple branches operating in different cities, a lot of them have their branches in different countries. And these organizations are more than willing to retain their best talent by letting them move countries and pick up better positions.

Pick any of the top executives in the world today and ask them about the number of times they refused to move. You will hardly get an answer to it because they would have never refused to move. And that is what has taken them to the position that they are in today.

But, that doesn’t mean that you have to always move cities!

It is a choice that you make.

I had to pick between two things – my family and my career. While most career oriented people would pick their careers, I decided to pick my family. I had my own reasons to do that.

People asked me if, I was not career oriented. My response was simple, “I was career oriented, but wanted a career where my family was a part of it”.

The stagnancy, at times pulled me down, demotivated me and strangled me.. but every time that happened, the core reason why I decided to take that upon myself helps me get out of it.

You need to make that choice – a choice between your career and being mobile.

There are multiple aspects that you might want to consider when you are picking one of them.

• Are you okay with sacrificing about 5-7 years of your career?
• Are you okay with seeing your juniors and subordinates get promoted to higher positions and an eventual stage where you might report into them?
• What are the benefits of the new role – both monetary and non-monetary?
• How comfortable are you with staying in that particular city?
• What is the opportunity cost of the movement, in terms of the time that you will be spending with your family?
• Are you okay with staying away from your family?
• Can you take your family along?
• Will your family be comfortable at the new place?

This is not an exhaustive list of questions that you might want to ask yourself. Your questions might differ depending upon your reason to move or, not move.

But, it is extremely important that you understand each one of them.

If you have been in your career for anything more than 5 years, it is time that you sit down and start writing each of these questions that you think, you will want to evaluate before deciding on what to choose – your career or, being mobile.

And while doing that, you need to keep one thing in mind. Your decision to not move will entirely be at the cost of your career.

Long back when I had just started working for a BPO, I was sent a forwarded email from one of my friend who had quit the company and moved onto a better paying company. (Note the 2 things in this sentence – First, he had joined on the same date as me and Second, what he moved onto was only a better paying option and not a better position).

This email was an interview with a Job Hopper. You can search the internet and you will find that article on a hundred different sites today. Anyways here is a link to one of those from CiteHR.

The great mind behind Infosys, Mr. Narayana Murthy once said –

Love your job and not your company because you never know when your company will stop loving you.

Since it was Mr. Murthy who said this, there had to be something of value in that. Ain’t it?

Does that sentence really advice you to become a job hopper?

Job Hopper Vs Job Keeper

Job hopping is not a solution to a better pay and unlike the interview of Mr. JH, it is not always easy to land a job if you CV shows that you are a job hopper. I have come across thousands of CVs and every time I sit for an interview, I ensure that I jot down every thing that looks a little off, in the CV – one of the things being the job continuity. If there is a gap that doesn’t look rite or, if there is one too many companies in the CV with only a few years of experience… it makes me suspicious. I prepare my questions accordingly and more often than not, the interviewee falters in answering one of those.

My judgement is then very simple – REJECT on Stability Factor.

I don’t really remember anyone with a poor stability records clearing in any of my interviews.

From a Company’s perspective, they are doing the right thing. It is not the 70s and the 80s, where training was all OJT only. You are hired and put into the role and you learn as you work.

Time has changed. Companies invest a lot of money to train you to bring you up to the expectations in terms of skills. It just doesn’t make any practical sense to hire somebody whose average tenure with an organization is about 8 months, when I know that the training period in my company is about 4 months. Hence, it is more likelier that you will get rejected, if you CV doesn’t look good.

The Advantages of being a Job Keeper – an Employee’s Perspective

Now let us look at it from another perspective – the perspective of an employee.

Is Loyalty is not the reason why you stay with a company? I don’t think so. You don’t need to be loyal but that doesn’t mean that you should be honest and truthful to your work (we can discuss more about this in another post).

My stay with a company is for a lot more than proving my loyalty. It is to grow in my career, which can only happen if you acquire new and better skills and get groomed for your next role.

If you noticed the above statement, you would have seen that acquiring newer skills is a by-product of that primary objective of mine.. but that is another real reason why I stick to a company.

Staying with an organization, gives you access to a lot more things. You are considered as worthy of the next role only when you build that confidence in people. And confidence comes with time.

Of Course, you might compromise on your package a little but that is all taken care off in the long term, if you keep growing in the organization.

So, back to what Mr. Murthy said. He was right in saying, “Don’t love your company, instead love yourself”. When you are training yourself, learning new skills and acquiring knowledge, you are loving yourself. Your reason to stick around with a company is not because you love them, instead it is because you love yourself.

The only thing you should keep in mind in being a Job Keeper is to not start to love your company and expect that they will love you in return and keep you forever. You are just a part of a balance sheet for them. The day your side of the balance looks heavy, they will shed some load. And that load could be you..