Anupam Mittal's 'stop shaming Gen Z for switching jobs' post gets people talking
In a post on LinkedIn, Anupam Mittal called out "career gurus" who criticise 22-year-olds for changing roles every year. Early job-hopping, Mittal said, is not a lack of commitment but a necessary phase of self-discovery.
Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group and Shaadi.com, has triggered a debate on social media after urging people to “stop shaming” Gen Z professionals for frequently switching jobs.
In a post on LinkedIn, Mittal called out “career gurus” who criticise 22-year-olds for changing roles every year. Early job-hopping, Mittal said, is not a lack of commitment but a necessary phase of self-discovery.
“Early in our career, we’re discovering our passion. We’re ‘dating’ industries, roles and cultures to find what vibes. If you’re not feeling it, move,” he said, adding that young professionals should not feel guilty about exploring.
However, Mittal added that this freedom to experiment comes with an important caveat. Once a person finds the right path, frequent switching becomes a red flag, especially for leadership roles. “When I’m hiring for senior leadership or ‘Level 1’ roles, I almost always reject a resume that doesn’t have at least one 4–5 year stint,” he explained. The reason, he said, is simple: meaningful impact takes time. “Usually, one cannot see the consequences of their own decisions in 12 months,” he said.
Drawing his framework, Mittal broke career growth into stages. In the first year, employees are largely learning; in the second, they begin executing; and by the third, they are dealing with the outcomes of earlier decisions while scaling what worked. “It takes one year to understand a job, but three to five years to understand an industry. That’s when you win,” he said.
Mittal suggested a clear strategy: explore aggressively between the ages of 21 and 24, but after 25, commit to a company worth investing time in. For aspiring founders and CEOs, he added, longevity is proof of leadership: “You need to show you can stay in the kitchen when it gets hot.”
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Several professionals shared their take on Mittal’s post in the comments section of the post. One user called it a “rare take” for holding “both truths without diluting either,” saying that staying long enough to fix the mess one creates is an “underrated form of discipline” where character and judgment are forged.
“I resigned today for this exact reason. I realised I never gave myself enough time to truly explore what kind of role, environment, or position worked best for me, and building my own thing felt like the right way to do that. Thanks for sharing,” another user added.
However, not everyone was in full agreement. One user said they initially disagreed until the “big BUT,” but argued that tying exploration and commitment strictly to age does not always work in the Indian context, where careers are often non-linear.
Others shared personal experiences of hopping roles early in their careers or founding journeys, saying the real compounding began only after finding something worth committing to long-term.
Several others also suggested that career switches are valid at any age as long as they are intentional. “What matters most is that the switch isn’t just for a salary hike or random hopping,” one user said, adding that meaningful growth and learning should guide every move.
Anupam Mittal, founder and CEO of People Group and Shaadi.com, has triggered a debate on social media after urging people to “stop shaming” Gen Z professionals for frequently switching jobs.
In a post on LinkedIn, Mittal called out “career gurus” who criticise 22-year-olds for changing roles every year. Early job-hopping, Mittal said, is not a lack of commitment but a necessary phase of self-discovery.
“Early in our career, we’re discovering our passion. We’re ‘dating’ industries, roles and cultures to find what vibes. If you’re not feeling it, move,” he said, adding that young professionals should not feel guilty about exploring.
However, Mittal added that this freedom to experiment comes with an important caveat. Once a person finds the right path, frequent switching becomes a red flag, especially for leadership roles. “When I’m hiring for senior leadership or ‘Level 1’ roles, I almost always reject a resume that doesn’t have at least one 4–5 year stint,” he explained. The reason, he said, is simple: meaningful impact takes time. “Usually, one cannot see the consequences of their own decisions in 12 months,” he said.
Drawing his framework, Mittal broke career growth into stages. In the first year, employees are largely learning; in the second, they begin executing; and by the third, they are dealing with the outcomes of earlier decisions while scaling what worked. “It takes one year to understand a job, but three to five years to understand an industry. That’s when you win,” he said.
Mittal suggested a clear strategy: explore aggressively between the ages of 21 and 24, but after 25, commit to a company worth investing time in. For aspiring founders and CEOs, he added, longevity is proof of leadership: “You need to show you can stay in the kitchen when it gets hot.”
Read the entire post here:
Several professionals shared their take on Mittal’s post in the comments section of the post. One user called it a “rare take” for holding “both truths without diluting either,” saying that staying long enough to fix the mess one creates is an “underrated form of discipline” where character and judgment are forged.
“I resigned today for this exact reason. I realised I never gave myself enough time to truly explore what kind of role, environment, or position worked best for me, and building my own thing felt like the right way to do that. Thanks for sharing,” another user added.
However, not everyone was in full agreement. One user said they initially disagreed until the “big BUT,” but argued that tying exploration and commitment strictly to age does not always work in the Indian context, where careers are often non-linear.
Others shared personal experiences of hopping roles early in their careers or founding journeys, saying the real compounding began only after finding something worth committing to long-term.
Several others also suggested that career switches are valid at any age as long as they are intentional. “What matters most is that the switch isn’t just for a salary hike or random hopping,” one user said, adding that meaningful growth and learning should guide every move.