I used to reject applicants who moved jobs often. I was wrong.
A few months after I started my first company, we had the opportunity to hire someone who was well known and respected; obviously talented; a good cultural fit; and extremely keen. There was, in my opinion, just one problem: this person had moved jobs almost every year (sometimes twice a year) in their first decade in the industry.
My attitude was that we were trying to build something long term, so we needed long term employees. I was sure this person would move on in a year, but my co-founder convinced me that we should hire them anyway.
Guess what happened.
Our new hire gave their notice a year later. But what a year it was. This employee:
1. Brought us business: some of our customers appointed us as their supplier/partner because of this person’s reputation and they introduced us to people in their network.
2. Got people talking about us: during the time they were with us, they promoted us to anyone who would listen (which turned out to be a lot of people).
3. Helped define who we were: they were a big personality. Everyone had an opinion about them, and that meant they had an opinion about us. They didn’t just fit our culture; they improved it.
4. Did great work: they left us with case studies which we still talk about, even after some of us are no longer involved in the company.
5. Made me realise that tenure is just a number, baby: some of our hires are here for a good time, not a long time. I’m still really grateful for what they did for our fledgling business (and grateful to my co-founder for convincing me to flex my opinion).
(I’ve redacted the name but feel free to guess.)
A few months after I started my first company, we had the opportunity to hire someone who was well known and respected; obviously talented; a good cultural fit; and extremely keen. There was, in my opinion, just one problem: this person had moved jobs almost every year (sometimes twice a year) in their first decade in the industry.
My attitude was that we were trying to build something long term, so we needed long term employees. I was sure this person would move on in a year, but my co-founder convinced me that we should hire them anyway.
Guess what happened.
Our new hire gave their notice a year later. But what a year it was. This employee:
1. Brought us business: some of our customers appointed us as their supplier/partner because of this person’s reputation and they introduced us to people in their network.
2. Got people talking about us: during the time they were with us, they promoted us to anyone who would listen (which turned out to be a lot of people).
3. Helped define who we were: they were a big personality. Everyone had an opinion about them, and that meant they had an opinion about us. They didn’t just fit our culture; they improved it.
4. Did great work: they left us with case studies which we still talk about, even after some of us are no longer involved in the company.
5. Made me realise that tenure is just a number, baby: some of our hires are here for a good time, not a long time. I’m still really grateful for what they did for our fledgling business (and grateful to my co-founder for convincing me to flex my opinion).
(I’ve redacted the name but feel free to guess.)
