Welcome to Edition #27 of Ask Gorick Anything. This AMA is part of Gorick's Newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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ASK GORICK ANYTHING
“Should I job hop?”
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Subscriber’s question:
“I am a graduate student and will soon enter the industry after a few months. I went straight from undergraduate to graduate school and don't have much industry experience (have 1 internship & research experience).
While I search for my first 'proper' job, I am trying to optimize the process and trying to make sure I end up at a place where I can enjoy the work, do something meaningful, and have room to grow.
I have heard from so many sources that job-hopping is the best way to grow and earn more. I would ideally like to find one company where I can learn about the place & its work, move up as much as I can and make myself valuable, and contribute meaningfully. I think that has many more advantages and stability instead of just switching and learning all over again.
Any advice on these 2 different paths? Or I would love to know where my thinking is blocked about this! Thanks!”
—Vanshika in Davis, CA, USA
Gorick’s response:
Hi Vanshika,
I love your question! You’re also right to question both paths (of staying vs. job hopping) because there are lots of pros, cons, misunderstandings, and overlooked details to consider.
Here’s my overview:
- Yes, research has shown that job hoppers generally make more money than those who stay in their jobs.
- But, times are changing—and job hopping may only make the most sense if there are no upward mobility opportunities and your role models have done the same.
- Either way, go where you can build human, social, and reputational capital!
Let’s go a little deeper…
Do job hoppers make more money?
Yes, job hoppers often make more money.
The first reason is market forces. To attract someone to a job, companies need to offer compensation that’s competitive against whatever the “market rate” is. As market rates keep increasing, so does the pay of new positions—leaving behind the people who stay put.
The second reason is negotiating leverage. Each time you switch jobs, you have an opportunity to say the equivalent of “My prior job paid me X; what can you do to match or beat this number?”
If job change #1 gets you $X+$Y (where $X was your prior salary and $Y is the bump you get), then job change #2 gets you $X+$Y+$Z (where $Z is another bump on top of what you’ve already gotten). Sounds good, right?
A strong economy favors job hoppers
The extent of market forces working in your favor (and the extent of your negotiating leverage) depends on how the economy is doing.
When the economy is on the upswing, companies grow—and go on a hiring spree. The result? A “war for talent” where companies keep trying to one-up one another to hire good people.
When the economy is uncertain or even in a dip, companies become more hesitant to hire. Meanwhile, the job market gets flooded with job seekers who are desperate for anything. The result? The job-hopping advantage closes.
The economy is uncertain at best at the time of this writing (June 2025), so it’s no surprise that economic data is already suggesting that job hoppers aren’t getting the same pay bumps as they used to during the “Great Resignation” that ended in ~2023.
What does this mean for you?
Don’t count on getting a glorious pay bump by job hopping—at least until the economy starts booming again.
When job hopping makes sense
That’s the economic side to job hopping. Here’s my take on the career side of things. Job hopping makes sense for your career if you can answer “yes” to 3 questions:
1. Is there little to no upward mobility where you work?
This question is about where you are. Another way to figure this out is to ask yourself: Does my organization promote insiders or outsiders?
If your organization promotes insiders, you’ll know because you’ll notice plenty of people joined at the entry levels (or when it was still a startup) and stayed there, gradually ascending the ranks over the course of a decade-plus. Think twice before job hopping if this is the situation you’re in!
If your organization promotes outsiders, you’ll know because you’ll notice that nearly every leader built their careers elsewhere before being poached for some top job. Or, they started at the company, left after a few years, built their career up, and then got poached back later at the senior ranks. Job hopping may be the right move if this is the situation you’re in!
2. Is it true that people job hopped to get the job(s) you’d most like to have?
This question is about what path you’re on. Another way to figure this out is to ask yourself: What does the pinnacle of career success look like to me?
Find people who have the jobs you want to have and have achieved the things you want to achieve.
Then, reverse engineer their path to figure out what steps they took, paying careful attention to whether or not they job hopped. Some might have—and others won’t have at all.
3. Does this other job better help you build your human, social, and reputational capital?
This question is about picking your “best next move.”
Go where you can build all three things!
- Human capital: What you know and can do (i.e., your skills and knowledge)
- Social capital: Who you know (i.e., your networks)
- Reputational capital: Who knows you and what they know you for (i.e., your brand)
This last question is one of the most important questions to ask yourself—whether or not you’re job hopping. In fact, if you like where you end up + there’s upward mobility + you’re able to build your human, social, and reputational capital + you’re able to show your Three C’s, then don’t let others’ job hopping give you FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). Invest where the grass is already green!
After all, chances are a job hopper may get a nice salary bump in the short term, but long-term, there’s also a high probability that anyone reading their resume will wonder: “Wait… you jumped from finance to product management to crypto to startups to SEO. Why? And what on earth do I even do with you??”
Hope this helps!
Gorick
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