Mark Suster is a successful serial entrepreneur who sold a company to Salesforce.com and then joined GRP Partners in 2007 as a General Partner. Today, he focuses on early-stage technology companies and writes a popular venture capital blog, Both Sides of the Table.
Recently, Mark weighed in on the downside of job-hopping in the venture capital industry. More specifically, the value of being extremely loyal. His view: when managers look at the resume for a 30-something professional who has never worked longer than 18 months at a single firm, it just screams out that person will likely continue the pattern. If you’re doing the hiring, Suster says, you know how costly and time-consuming it is to find the right person. Better focus on people who are more likely to stay longer.
There is a lot of long-term value in the notion of loyalty, he says. Including what you learn when the going gets tough, instead of rosy. During the tech meltdown of 2001, Suster says he picked up many valuable skills he wouldn’t have otherwise: how to sell software, run a better product management process, how to set better goals, how to retain employees when stock options were no longer worth anything, and a lot more. In other words, how to survive when you suddenly find you are not working in a “hot” industry sector anymore.
Suster learned all this by not jumping ship after 18 months when things got rough. And the relationships and network of colleagues he built during those tough times continue to be the most important ones in his life.
Yes, you can usually make more money in the short-term by quitting and finding another venture capital job opportunity. But what you give up may play an even bigger role in determining your long-term career success.
What’s your opinion? Have you stuck it out in a difficult situation and come out ahead in the long run? Or has job-hopping been a better strategy? Add your comments below.
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