The Perks of Being a Job Hopper

It's good to change jobs. The world is too big to stay in one place.?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics says workers change jobs on average every 4.2 years.

Interestingly, the median tenure of workers ages 55 to 64 is 10.1 years.

Ages 25 to 34? 2.8 years. We're just not sticking it out anymore.

We learn so much every time we change jobs. We gain all new experiences, with new leadership, new priorities, new technologies, new goals, new customers, new teammates, and new environments.

My husband spent his college years working at a hardware store in the country. He's a successful IT director, but at that little hardware store, he learned enough about plumbing that in our 13 years as a couple, we have never once needed to call a plumber. He has fixed dishwashers and air conditioners, installed washing machines, hot water heaters, sinks and toilets, Frankensteined our furnace back together with replacement parts, and fixed countless busted lawn sprinklers. He is the handiest person I think I've ever met. Helping people year after year at that hardware store put him in a place of comfort with learning and tinkering and doing it himself. I can't even estimate the value of his having worked in that hardware job before pursuing his passion in IT. For this and a trillion other reasons, I am blessed.

Every company I've worked for has taught me new skills. How they get the filling in the donut, how many yards of topsoil fit in a standard bed pickup, how to keep at-risk kids out of the juvenile justice system, how to figure out what charities deserve my donations, how to market Detroit as a center of transportation and logistics for business development, how freight gets from Shanghai to Halifax, how to automate Twitter posts, how to train a team to use Salesforce, how collective bargaining works, how to run a 50-person newsroom of global, virtual, IT-people-turned-journalists, how to adopt Agile methods for internal communications. Just so many skills. Silly, enriching, pointless, priceless, meaningful, impressive, invaluable skills.

Sometimes the stuff I learn is complex and specific business or nonprofit information, and sometimes the skills are about political navigation, asking or not asking questions (i.e., "when to keep my mouth shut," though I'm still working on that), and making mistakes. Most frequently, I learn skills about dealing with different people and just getting through life.

I guess I'm just trying to say that experience is priceless, and no education is ever wasted. To me, that's reason enough to change jobs every few years.

Another good reason to change jobs, of course, is that a week and a half ago, my company politely eliminated my position and sent me on my way.

But there are other reasons, too. Searching for a new job teaches you how to market yourself, practice networking, build up your online presence (hi LinkedIn!), negotiate, and think on your feet. The process of applying and interviewing is precious. It's all about exercising those muscles. Every time, that experience teaches us something. And we either succeed or we earn a story to tell.

Changing jobs keeps us fresh when it comes to keeping in touch with the outside world. Spending 20 years doing the same IT work with the same people doesn't position you in the same way that proactively learning new skills with new people can. People who have never seen the world outside their cubicle walls are falling behind.

Who knows you best and values you the most? Aside from family, it's the people who have worked with you closely, collaborating on the same team, overcoming challenges together and building trust. The more jobs you have, the more that circle of trusted colleagues grows. Your reputation in your business community will grow along with it. It's a good thing.

Another good reason? Getting paid. Half of the people in a Conference Board survey said when they switched jobs, they made more money. In fact, 29% of them said their compensation went up by more than 30% in their new role, and 20% of them received 10-20% more compensation. That kind of pay jump makes jumping jobs look even better. Better benefits and flexibility are also common.

Listen, would I have stayed at my job longer if they had not laid me off? Yes. I absolutely loved what I did there. But changing my point of view to appreciate the benefits of finding a new job definitely can't hurt. And if my journey helps another person out there spark some new perspective, that's what I'm aiming for. More power to us.

Stay challenged. LEARN. Meet people. Make money. Get on top of your industry's trends and technology. Get in touch with your purpose. Gain priceless experience. Be fulfilled. I'm telling myself all of these things. Finding a new job is a step in a positive direction. I know I keep saying this -- but it really is going to be OK.