Taking a Poll About How Long You Should Stay at a Job

Depends on the industry. In some anything less than 5 years is considered flighty and unstable / untrustworthy. In others 1 year is considered extreme loyalty. My husbands field (tech) is a 'Why did you stay so long?' if someone has been at a job for over a year. Lots of answers are legitimate, but one gets raises by changing jobs and having companies compete for you. Every 6months he's usually changing employeers. People come on for s specific project, and sometimes stay on, but usually move on out and up.

It depends on his work history prior to the current job. If he has a series of short-term jobs, I think he should stay longer at the current one. However, if he had a long term job prior to this (5+ years), I think it's ok to start looking. Companies don't really want to hire someone that seems unstable or that they believe will leave within the first couple of years. He needs to have at least some history of stability and a solid job. I'm a former recruiter and stability was very important when I was reviewing resumes.

I agree w/ Mommyc ... if, prior to this job, he was previously employed for longer lengths of time (4-5 plus years at each job), then I'd start looking right away. A long commute is a drag on the budget, family and health and is easily explainable in future interviews.

There are other factors of course but in general, I tend to think of 2 years as a "respectable" amount of time. But a one year stint for someone who had always held the same job for 5-10 years in the past is better and I think understood as a one time thing vs someone who has had ten 2-year jobs... I think past pattern and therefore age are important in answering this question.

my husband has been with the same company for 34 years!!! he has a terrific 401 saved up and believe it or not he is not top on the list of sonority(he is something like 4th). i believe nowadays it depends on what you want out of life and your job!!

Depends. If he was with his previous employer for a long period 5+ years, then it really doesn't matter.

What type of industry? In construction turnover rate is high. If he's an attorney, turnover rate is low.

Think of a prospective employer and how they would look at the situation. If he's had a lot of short term jobs, he would appear unstable. After explaining that you quit because of the commute, they might ask why he took that job in the first place.

In general, he should stay a minimum of 18 months.

I agree that it depends on the field. I work in social work and there is a pretty high turnover rate in this field. I stayed at my first job a year and a half. Coming up on a year at my current job. Most people I know 5-10 years is considered a LONG time! I would say at least 2 years, but that's just me. I'm hoping to stay at this one AT LEAST that long, maybe longer. Depends on how long I can stand my co-workers.

I think that "how long you should stay" depends on many factors - like will he lose benefits the family needs, will it be a good change, is the current job not as expected? I stayed with one company for 6.5 years until the B.S. got so bad I was physically ill thinking about going to the office. But for the previous 5 years or so, it was a good place to be. I didn't make a change to one other job I was offered because I would only have 2 weeks of time off, ever, and the job I had just offered me 4. To me, the time off was really important. Etc. There are also some jobs where longevity is valued and others not so much. I know someone who bounced around a lot in retail and seemed to do just fine not being at a particular store for years and years. When I was younger, I tried to stay for 1 year at each job, but I think that being fresh out of college or in college the jumps and skips were not as important. I was entry level, not mid-career.

ETA: He should bear in mind that most jobs don't get found in a week. I would wait til 18 months and then look around.

It depends on the job and whether suffering the long commute justifies the perks of the job. where I work, people stay anywhere from 5 months to 10 years (at our service lunch today one lady had stayed 45 years, but clearly she is an oddity). I think it would be better to leave now, and find a place he can build up tenure with for the long haul, then to put time into a job that he isn't interested in. just my opinion though...

Minimum of 2 years, 24 months otherwise it looks VERY questionable on a resume.

I think 2 years shouls be the minimum.

Prior to my job being eliminated and laid off, I was at the company for 12 years. If I had it my way, I would have retired from there.
Quite a few other employees have been the 20 years or longer.

My husband has been with the same company for the last 6 1/2 years...so there is no set amount of time a person should stay at a job.

Why does he want to look for a new job so soon? Is he unhappy? Does he want more money? What would be the reason for looking for a new job?