JPMorgan MD: "Changing job frequently is like changing partner frequently"
Filippo Finelli has worked for JPMorgan for quite a while. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the bank in July 2010 in New York and is currently a managing director and global head of commodities automated trading strategies in London.
Commodities traders had a strong year last year and if Finelli wanted a new job, he could presumably get one - maybe even at one of the hedge funds or trading houses that are busy hiring in the sector. But the indications are that he will be going nowhere. "Changing job frequently is like changing partner frequently. It just means you haven’t found your perfect match," he wrote recently on the social networking site. "If you do, you will have everything you would ever want, and you just won’t let go; instead you will make every effort to make it better every year, you will build something real and rewarding and it will be worthy."
Changing job, or not, is a particular issue in financial services this year. After most banks cut bonuses for 2022, the temptation will be to move on in search of something better.
Finelli isn't the only person who thinks this is a mistake. Nicholas Foster, a former global head of derivative trade management technology for risk analytics at Credit Suisse who is now an executive coach, says knee-jerk restlessness is bad. "I would always advise evaluating what's making you unhappy and creating a plan to resolve these issues," says Foster. "Investing this additional effort considering all the time and personal sacrifices you have made at your current company adds up."
It doesn't help that any move now will necessarily be negotiated on the back of last year's generally much reduced bonus. And yet, staying put can be read as acceptance of last year's pay. As banks engage in selective upgrading, New York headhunter David McCormack says switching jobs is the only way "quality candidates can get back to their 2021 high watermark."
Pay can be a trigger for moving jobs, but it's not the only one, says Dan Whitehead, a former head of talent acquisition at BlackRock-turned coach. Disliking a boss or working in a toxic environment are equally valid reasons, he says. The best time to look for a new job is "when you feel like you are no longer growing and learning and the job feels too easy/comfortable," says Whitehead. This doesn't mean you have to move, he adds, but you should at least look.
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