The Importance of Ensuring Career Longevity
Longevity is the length of time spent with each employer, and generally refers to those longer time spans at each job. Obviously, your resume showcases the strength, or absence, of it.
As a general rule, any job that you have kept for two or more years could be considered an example of job longevity. The longer, the better. This means that having had a history of stints for three months, six months or one year at a time is not the best route. Seeing this kind of job timeline might cue the employer to think you are a job hopper.
Longevity reflects commitment. Your potential employer wants someone who will stick around if the going gets tough. Sticking out a job once you’ve accepted it for the sake of commitment shows that.
Longevity reflects reliability and dependability. Think of people you know who can’t seem to hold a job- why is that? Typically, people lose their jobs consistently due to excessive absences or poor performance. If these problems are not an accurate reflection of your work ethic, don’t make a habit of letting temporary boredom or a tempting new offer lure you away from your jobs and damage your overall job longevity.
Employers have a unique phrase for people without longevity; Job hoppers. When presented with 2 very similar applications, the applicant with longevity will most certainly outshine the "job hopper".
Quick points on landing a new job
Develop your personal brand. Regardless of your age or field of expertise, how you present yourself and information sent out to potential employers. Your CV has to unfortunately do the selling for you. Craft this personal document to your advantage.
Finally, you should also consistently work on building and maintaining your network. The more people you know, the more career opportunities you can create.