In one’s quest to become CEO, whether to job-hop or spend an entire career with a company depends on several factors, including the industry, organizational culture, and individual career goals. The two paths have merits, and the most successful leaders often combine elements of both approaches to gain the diverse skills and experiences needed to reach the corner office.
The argument in support of job-hopping is that it demonstrates adaptability and helps professionals gain exposure to various environments and leadership styles. This approach is especially beneficial in fast-evolving industries like technology, where innovation and rapid change demand flexibility and continuous skill generation. However, frequent job changes may raise concerns about employee loyalty, making it crucial to demonstrate significant contributions in each role and explain why each job change was warranted.
In contrast, staying with one company allows employees to gain deep institutional knowledge, build strong internal relationships with key stakeholders, and establish credibility while advancing through the ranks. When done correctly, this path also offers professionals insights into nearly every level of a business, preparing them for senior roles. The downside is that without outside experience, individuals may lack the external perspective and well-roundedness needed to navigate modern challenges.
A blended approach—combining depth from long-term roles with the breadth of experiences from new opportunities—is often the most effective approach. As Jane Edison Stevenson, Korn Ferry’s global vice chair of board and CEO services and global leader of board and CEO succession, explains, leaders need to have “across and beyond capability” to manage large-scale operations effectively.
Job-hopping
Employee tenure in the U.S. is at its lowest since 2002, averaging just 3.9 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And it’s not just early-career employees who are to blame; this trend is also reflected in the C-suite.
In 2018, 88.5% of executives worked for only one company before reaching the C-suite, compared to just 62.6% in 2023, according to a LinkedIn report. Aneesh Raman, LinkedIn’s chief economic opportunity officer, attributes this shift to the growing need for leaders to be flexible and responsive to the many factors that affect businesses. “You’re starting to see leaders rise up who have built that skill set,” he says. The report also found that in 2018, 89.2% of executives worked in only one industry versus 66% in 2023. What’s more, a larger share of professionals are moving not just from company to company but also from industry to industry. “The era of the career ladder is ending, and the era of the career path is here,” says Raman. Having diverse work experiences might be more desirable, per the study, which showed a 10% decline in internal hires between 2018 and 2023.
While adaptability is vital, reliability remains equally important for aspiring executives. Companies need to be able to trust a CEO candidate’s dedication to the firm, says Elena Lytkina Botelho, a partner at management consulting firm ghSMART. “If your résumé looks like a bunch of jumps, it raises the question: If the going gets tough, will you stay committed?”
However, she acknowledges that modern career paths don’t require lifelong loyalty. Spending five to 10 years at a company before moving on demonstrates a healthy balance of dedication and growth.
Ashley Constable, a senior managing director at executive recruiting firm Robert Half, notes that job-hopping is more acceptable in the early stages of a career, when individuals are exploring their strengths and preferred work cultures. “If someone’s been an early job-hopper, that’s okay. But as they grow, that’s when you need to see more longevity in terms of tenure within the organization,” she says.
Climbing the ladder
Staying with the same company throughout a career offers clear advantages as well. Prominent Fortune 500 CEOs like General Motors’ Mary Barra, Walmart’s Doug McMillon, and Disney’s Bob Iger are among chief executives who’ve climbed from entry-level roles to the corner office and, in doing so, developed a strong understanding of their company’s operations and culture.
Company lifers are uniquely positioned to grow and transform alongside the business. “As the company has evolved, changed its business model, made investments, or moved into new markets, those executives have had the opportunity to essentially run a new business, take on a new challenge, or lead a new function within their organization,” says Tierney Remick, vice chairman and co-leader of board and CEO services at Korn Ferry. “They’ve been getting all of those diverse experiences within the confines of one organization.”
Deanna Strable, the incoming CEO of Principal Financial, exemplifies this ascension strategy. Over her 35 years at the insurance company, she’s held 14 positions, including, most recently, CFO. “I got to job-hop at the same company and got to then build upon what I had learned and the relationships that I have built versus starting over,” she says. However, she highlights the importance of maintaining connections at different companies to learn from others and gain fresh perspectives. Strable says she does this because otherwise, your thinking can get too insulated.
While a long tenure offers depth, successful leadership requires breadth. Stevenson emphasizesgaining diverse experiences across different functions. “Being in a silo and growing only vertically doesn’t develop the right skill base,” she says. Horizontal moves—taking on roles in operations, finance, and product development—are critical to building the versatile skill set needed to lead an organization effectively.
While they might not be job-hopping between different companies, company lifers can still gain cross-functional knowledge and experiences. HP’s CEO, Enrique Lores, joined the IT company as an intern. On his climb to the corner office, he worked in research, marketing, and sales, and played a starring role in HP’s 2015 separation from Hewlett-Packard. “I was changing jobs almost every two years,” he recently told Fortune. “And when you change jobs, even in a big company, it’s like going to a different company and learning new skills.”
