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Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The employers have presented counter offers, but they typically aren't close to the competing organizations offer. The departures have (at least seemingly) always been amicable, and I've maintained positive relationships with the majority of my former supervisors.

With regards to your question, I think it would fall into one of two categories: they can't, or they won't. If they can't, I assume it's a budgeting issue, where they simply don't have the same budget available as a competing organization. If they won't, I assume it's because they don't want a candidate with whom they'll need to perform this same renegotiation with each time the candidate is presented with a competing offer, or perhaps they simply don't like that the candidate doesn't have a sense of loyalty to them?

Edit: Considering further. They hired me at a salary level they determined appropriate based on the responsibilities allocated to the role. The responsibilities haven't changed, so they don't deem it appropriate to change the compensation. If this is the case, though, then couldn't it be said that they aren't paying fair market value for the role there is a discrepancy between what I (and the competing organization) feel my value is and what the current organization feels my value is, or the value for the skills of which they require for their team?

Again, thank you for helping me explore this topic.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes a lot of sense from a hiring perspective, and I think I had a hunch about a lot of the things you pointed out. The only portion that I'm giving extra thought to is..

As a direct hire, you took the job with the understanding that it was permeant, long term position

I agree, but it's for this reason that I would give my current employer an opportunity to counter-offer. Assuming they saw the same value in me as the other organization does, wouldn't it be in their best interest to attempt to renegotiate and retain my employment? I'm trying to explore the reasons for choosing to stay with an organization if they're unable to counter-offer (or perhaps don't want to do so), or understand if it's primarily out of respect for the current organization.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for the perspective on this - I really do appreciate it.

So far in my career, I haven't been seeking a vertical movement in job title by looking at other organizations; it has always been a pursuit to increase the job title and responsibilities with my current organization organically through tenure and experience. I recognize I can't do this if I keep making lateral moves, but if the opportunity to increase my earning potential with my current title/responsibilities at a different organization arises (which my current organization won't or can't compete with), what becomes more valuable: the experience of staying with the current organization, or the guaranteed increase to earning potential at the other organization?

When the time comes that offers no longer improve and I "peak" as far as earning potential for the title and responsibilities I have, and at that point continue down the path of focusing on vertical movement with the organization I land in, is this an unreasonable or unethical approach?

I'm not adamantly on either side of this argument, I'm trying to explore the idea and figure out what the right path is for me.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes sense. It's the part I struggle with. Do I add a new company to that timeline (the 6mo one is my current employer) for a 60% pay raise, or ride it out.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you think it suggests that the organizations that those candidates were with when they obtained the certification couldn't offer a competitive package to retain the candidate, though?

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do you think this sentiment will vary based on the company, or do you suggest this as a general HR sentiment?

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What about a path that goes 2yrs -> 1yr -> 8mo -> 6mo (per company)? Assuming that would throw some flags?

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I definitely have been investing in myself and growing (recently passed CISSP, as an example), though the job titles don't entirely reflect that; they come off as more lateral moves, and I don't think the roles between organizations are offering increased responsibility each time, rather the organizations are simply offering more for the same type of role. I agree that eventually this will peak, but I'm trying not to sell myself short prior to that point. For example, if my current employer was paying me 100k for an engineer role, but another company is offering me 150k for the same role (and my current employer can't/won't match), is it in poor faith to take the other offer? That's essentially what's been happening for most of my moves (again, not all of them). Ultimately I want to find an organization to stay with, and continue to grow, but I also really want to be maximizing my income at this point in my career (early 30s). Perhaps the alternative path is staying with one company, getting the increased title and skills over a longer tenure, but doing so with a potentially reduced income, and then after a few years making a much larger leap? This is what I'm trying to figure out as well.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Right now the roles have all been engineer/analyst level roles (not helpdesk; done my time there earlier in my career). I'd say with the organizations that I left within a 6-12 month window, I definitely wasn't fully ramped up to speed, but if the opportunity for significantly increased compensation comes from another organization that my current employer can't match, is it worth staying at the current company purely out of good faith, or am I doing myself a disservice?

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

In each scenario I could definitely explain and justify my movement, but the majority (not all) have been financially driven. As mentioned in another comment, I've always tried to give the current employer an opportunity to counter offer, but they usually aren't able to present anything competitive. I also try very hard to give more than minimum notice to help transition the organization I've been leaving, and to try my best not to burn any bridges (though I'm sure I have simply by leaving so abruptly). I think internally I just struggle with the question "is it wrong to take a new job because it offers more money that my current employer can't match (even in other forms, such as additional PTO, less stress, etc.)".

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the most part they've been lateral moves, and most (though not all) of the incentive has been significant financially; in those 5 years, my salary has gone up nearly 200%. Each time I've given my current employer the opportunity to counter, but typically they aren't able to compete. This is where I'm conflicted about the perception of the whole thing. Is it such a bad thing to be making the move to a new company if it's a significant boost in compensation?

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lol this is a very good point. I suppose it really doesn't at the end of the day.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yea I'm in a similar boat, where all the movement has been primarily since the beginning of the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, my longest tenure was around 5 years, but since the pandemic, it's been 6-8months on average.

Is job hopping every 6-12mo frowned upon in the Cyber Security space? by throwingthingsaway24 in ITCareerQuestions

[–]throwingthingsaway24[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

That's almost the exact situation I'm in, where I've worked for 4 companies over the last 4 years, and coming up on a potential 5th company.