Meet the 'serial quitter' who has left 30 jobs - and say it's the best way to get your dream position. Shaina Barrett, 35, says the "boomer" view that loyalty at work is rewarded is "outdated".
Instead, she says ambitious people should move around to increase their salary. Mum-of-one Shaina started work as a teenager - and she claims her shortest stint in a job is just one day.
Shaina said: "I was raised to think that you get a job, you stay there, get a promotion and just continue to make progress at one place. But those opinions are outdated. No company now offers that route and development these days, you have to move on to get better benefits, pay and job.
"If you were to pass away, your job would be posting your position next week. Everyone understands that's the culture now.
"If you're going to treat me like I'm disposable, why shouldn't I do the same? I've worked around 30 jobs in my life. Most of them were when I was younger when I worked in a lot of different restaurants, clubs and bars.
"The longest I've stayed at one place is three-and-a-half years - and the shortest was a day. There's no point staying somewhere that makes you particularly miserable. If you start to feel overwhelmed, just leave. You can negotiate pay in your next interview and find something that works better for you."
Shaina said her mum's experience at her long-term job shifted her mindset on workplace loyalty. She had been at the same job for several years, but was let go close to her retirement and was forced to retire early, she claims.
Shaina said: "She put in all this work. Stayed late, got in early, did everything she was supposed to do and they just let her go. That's when I realised that you can give your time and effort just to be thrown under the bus. You have to look after yourself."
Shaina's job-hopping began when she started working as a paralegal - and she's "never looked back".
She said: "That was the first time I got the feeling of 'just walk out, girl'. That's when I got the first 'you can just leave'. So I just left.
"They were always trying to get me to start early and stay late, but I was 25 years old. I just wanted to go to happy hour with my friends.
"I wanted to work a nine to five; that's why I got a nine to five job. Then they tried to say how great of a worker I was and gave me a promotion, but they didn't give me the pay.
"I went along with it because I was young, but I was so overwhelmed. I was working two jobs essentially, but when I told them I was drowning in work they wanted to write me up for not coming in early and staying late. So I just left."
Shaina found another job as an administration assistant "pretty easily" after quitting. She stayed at her next job for eight months, before quitting once again and taking up a job at a large tech company. Here, she had a longer stint of two years before moving on once again.
She added: "I use job-hopping as a way to find jobs that work for me better. Since the pandemic I really don't like going to work in person.
"I wanted to work remotely because I save so much money on lunch, office clothes and commuting. I don't think it benefits you to stay in a position when you're not happy. No one likes to go to work, but there are jobs that make it particularly miserable to be there."
Shaina's average time at a job is around two years, but says 2023 has been particularly hectic - as she's managed to have three jobs so far since January. While some older people don't understand why she continues to change jobs, Shaina, from Queens in New York, USA, isn't fazed.
She said: "Some people especially of the older generation are like, 'Why do you keep leaving? What happened to your job?'. I don't pay attention to those kinds of comments. Whether you like it or not, that reality that the boomers lived in is just not happening anymore.
"Unless you work at your own company or you were one of the first five people at the start-up you will get cut when the chips start to fall. If you're happy and well paid and you think then that's the best place for you then stay and have fun. But if you feel like you could be happier somewhere else then I'd definitely recommend taking that leap."
