"Where do you see yourself in 5 years"?

[Anonymous]

I wonder if this is a cultural/regional thing. I lived in NYC for 6 years where it was not uncommon to change jobs frequently. Since I've moved here, I've def gotten flack for being at a job for only 2 years or less. Before no one even mentioned it, in fact it was somewhat frowned upon to stay at a job for too long. Many people I work with now have been at the same position for 20+ years, which seems insane to me! Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if this is a cultural/regional thing. I lived in NYC for 6 years where it was not uncommon to change jobs frequently. Since I've moved here, I've def gotten flack for being at a job for only 2 years or less. Before no one even mentioned it, in fact it was somewhat frowned upon to stay at a job for too long. Many people I work with now have been at the same position for 20+ years, which seems insane to me! Thoughts?

I think it's actually more of a generation thing. Older (40+) people tend to stay forever in a job and if you interview with someone older, they will indeed frown upon what they term as "job hopping". I work in BigLaw and besides the partners, there are many legal secretaries who have been here 20+ years. While I would never do that, I don't blame them, you get certain perks with tenure that may make it worth it to stay.