"So you've spent 10 years in one workplace?", he said, looking admiringly at me.
"And you've spent 5? That's commendable", this time addressing Mitu, my colleague.
This was in late 2005. Mitu and I had gone to pitch for a real estate business in a market that was shooting through the roof. The client, one of the owners of the firm, was assessing his prospective team, should he assign his advertising duties to us.
Advertising is one of the most incestuous industries with people hopping jobs from one agency to another, and back to the old one with the ease of water flowing to fill up gaps in its path. I know people who've quit and gone back to the same workplace as many as 4 times in less than a decade. And they've been accepted with open arms.
The reasons are several and obvious - growing industry, limited talent, high stress,cut-throat competition, unabashed commercialism, to name just a few.
This post, however is not about the pros and cons of frequent job-hopping. It is about how loyalty is perceived in a milieu of rapid attrition .
I spent 10 years at Ogilvy, my first workplace. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I saw people come and go, I saw a handful stick on. It was, and continues to be my belief that the ebbs and flows at workplaces, as indeed in life, are cyclical. 8-10 years in a place would usually ensure that one gets to be a part of not just the highest highs, but also the lowest lows. Not just do they hone one's professional chops, they also contribute to character building. Besides, longevity also helps one understand the lay of the land, as it were,making it easier to map one's way around the organisation.
And so it was, that a great deal was made about Ogilvy's culture that resulted in more 'loyalists' than the industry average. It was a badge that both the organisation as well as its employees (the ones who'd made the journey) wore with pride.
It leapt out every time we presented our credentials - how longevity of employees necessarily translating to less churn in a client's business. It worked with every single client. It was about to work with another.
"I'm extremely impressed by the two of you", he continued, "to stick on to the same workplace for as long as you have, in the face of so many things that have been changing around us. Kudos to you"
"It's a grudging admiration, I confess. There is another part of me that sees two people stuck to the same place in such a dynamic environment. In real estate, being static in any sphere is not as option. We can't even afford to go with the tide - we create our own. Only deadwood goes with the tide. This part of me tells me that the reason you've remained in the same workplace could be because you aren't good enough for any other"
Ouch!
Six months later, both Mitu and I had moved on to new jobs. And no, we didn't get that business.
"And you've spent 5? That's commendable", this time addressing Mitu, my colleague.
This was in late 2005. Mitu and I had gone to pitch for a real estate business in a market that was shooting through the roof. The client, one of the owners of the firm, was assessing his prospective team, should he assign his advertising duties to us.
Advertising is one of the most incestuous industries with people hopping jobs from one agency to another, and back to the old one with the ease of water flowing to fill up gaps in its path. I know people who've quit and gone back to the same workplace as many as 4 times in less than a decade. And they've been accepted with open arms.
The reasons are several and obvious - growing industry, limited talent, high stress,cut-throat competition, unabashed commercialism, to name just a few.
This post, however is not about the pros and cons of frequent job-hopping. It is about how loyalty is perceived in a milieu of rapid attrition .
I spent 10 years at Ogilvy, my first workplace. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. I saw people come and go, I saw a handful stick on. It was, and continues to be my belief that the ebbs and flows at workplaces, as indeed in life, are cyclical. 8-10 years in a place would usually ensure that one gets to be a part of not just the highest highs, but also the lowest lows. Not just do they hone one's professional chops, they also contribute to character building. Besides, longevity also helps one understand the lay of the land, as it were,making it easier to map one's way around the organisation.
And so it was, that a great deal was made about Ogilvy's culture that resulted in more 'loyalists' than the industry average. It was a badge that both the organisation as well as its employees (the ones who'd made the journey) wore with pride.
It leapt out every time we presented our credentials - how longevity of employees necessarily translating to less churn in a client's business. It worked with every single client. It was about to work with another.
"I'm extremely impressed by the two of you", he continued, "to stick on to the same workplace for as long as you have, in the face of so many things that have been changing around us. Kudos to you"
"It's a grudging admiration, I confess. There is another part of me that sees two people stuck to the same place in such a dynamic environment. In real estate, being static in any sphere is not as option. We can't even afford to go with the tide - we create our own. Only deadwood goes with the tide. This part of me tells me that the reason you've remained in the same workplace could be because you aren't good enough for any other"
Ouch!
Six months later, both Mitu and I had moved on to new jobs. And no, we didn't get that business.
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