Latest / Job Hopping with Fexingo: Tenure, Loyalty, and the Modern Career Resume / How a Five-Year Stay Changes Your Negotiating Power
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this assumption that's become conventional wisdom over the past decade — that the only way to get a meaningful raise is to switch jobs every two or three years. And the data does support that, broadly. Job-hoppers tend to see bigger percentage bumps than stayers. Luna: Right, the whole 'loyalty is a liability' framing. But I feel like that's a bit of a blunt instrument. Lucas: It is. And today I want to argue the other side — specifically, that staying put for five years or more doesn't have to be a career dead end. In fact, if you play it right, that tenure can become a real negotiating asset. Luna: How so? I mean, if you've been in the same role for five years, isn't the assumption that you're coasting? Lucas: That can happen. But there's a difference between five years of experience and one year of experience repeated five times. If you've actually grown — taken on bigger projects, expanded your scope, maybe managed people — your internal value compounds. And that gives you leverage. Luna: Leverage for what, exactly? A promotion? Lucas: Promotion, sure. But also for renegotiating your current role without leaving. Here's a concrete number I came across: according to data from the compensation software company Payscale, employees who stay with an employer for five years or more and receive a promotion see an average cumulative pay increase of about 30 percent. That's not trivial. Luna: Thirty percent over five years — that's like six percent compounded annually. Compare that to someone who job hops every two years and gets, say, a 10 to 20 percent bump each time. Lucas: Right. The job-hopper might come out ahead in raw percentage, but there are costs. The risk of a bad fit, the loss of accrued benefits like vesting stock or pension, the transaction costs of switching. And there's something else — something that's harder to quantify but matters a lot for certain careers. Luna: What's that? Lucas: Deep institutional knowledge. If you've been at a company for five years, you know where the bodies are buried. You know the unofficial power structure, the real decision-makers, the history behind why certain processes are the way they are. That knowledge is valuable to your employer — and it can be valuable to a competitor, too. Luna: So you're saying that if you've built that institutional knowledge, you can negotiate from a position of strength. Lucas: Exactly. Let me give you a hypothetical. Say you've been a product manager at a mid-sized software company for five years. You've shipped three major releases. You know the codebase, the customer pain points, and you have relationships across engineering, sales, and support. If you go to your boss and say 'I have an offer from a competitor for 20 percent more,' your boss knows that replacing you isn't just a recruiting problem. It's a six-month ramp-up problem. The institutional knowledge you have would take a new hire at least a year to replicate. Luna: And that gives you leverage to ask for a retention package or a promotion without actually leaving. Lucas: Right. But here's the key — you have to be willing to walk. If you're not, the threat is hollow. And that's what separates a successful negotiation from just venting frustration. Luna: I've heard that internal promotions often come with smaller raises than external offers. Is that always true? Lucas: Not always. It depends on the company's compensation philosophy. Some companies have strict bands — a promotion might only give you 8 to 12 percent. Others are more flexible, especially if you have an external offer in hand. But there's a structural reason internal moves can lag external. When you hire externally, you're competing in a market where the candidate has multiple options. Internally, you're often negotiating against a budget that's already set. Luna: So the trick is to bring the external market into the room without actually leaving. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the five-year stay helps. Because after five years, you've built enough credibility that your manager will take you seriously if you say you're exploring options. It's a delicate dance, but it's doable. Luna: Let me push back a little. Isn't there a risk that even if you negotiate a raise internally, you're still leaving money on the table compared to what you could get by switching? Lucas: Absolutely. And that's a real trade-off. If your only goal is to maximize short-term income, job hopping probably wins. But not everyone optimizes for that. Some people value stability, or a specific work environment, or a path to a role that's hard to find externally. For them, the five-year stay can be a strategic choice, not a failure. Luna: What about the perception of long tenure on your resume? Do recruiters view a five-year stint negatively? Lucas: Depends on the industry. In tech, there's a bias toward movement. But in other sectors — utilities, manufacturing, professional services — a five-year stay signals reliability. And even in tech, if you can tell a story of growth within that tenure, it's a positive. The red flag is five years of exactly the same responsibilities. That's stagnation. Luna: So the narrative matters. You have to frame your tenure as a period of increasing impact. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the negotiating power comes from. It's not just 'I've been here five years, pay me more.' It's 'I've been here five years, and here's the value I've created, and here's what the market says that value is worth.' That's a much stronger position. Luna: I want to jump in here because I think this is a good moment to mention something. If today's episode was useful to you and you want to keep it ad-free, buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo helps. That's literally what funds these conversations. Lucas: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for us. We don't run ads, and listener support is what keeps it that way. So if you've gotten value from the show, that's the place. Luna: Okay, back to the negotiation piece. One thing I've heard is that if you do get a counteroffer, you should never take it. Is that still the conventional wisdom? Lucas: It's common advice, and there's some truth to it. The risk is that your employer sees you as a flight risk and starts planning for your departure. But I think the advice is too absolute. If you have a good relationship with your manager and the counteroffer addresses the real reason you were looking — not just money, but maybe scope or title — it can work. Luna: But you have to be honest with yourself about why you were looking in the first place. Lucas: Exactly. If it's just money, a counteroffer can fix that. If it's culture, or lack of growth, or your boss is the problem — money won't fix it. And you'll be back on the market in six months. Luna: So let's say you've been at a company for five years, you've grown, you've built relationships, and you decide to negotiate from within. What's the actual playbook? Lucas: First, do your market research. Know what your role pays externally. Sites like Levels.fyi or Glassdoor can give you a range. Second, document your impact. Have a one-page summary of key achievements, metrics, and projects. Third, schedule a dedicated conversation — not a hallway chat. Frame it as wanting to discuss your career trajectory and compensation in light of the value you've delivered. Luna: And if they say no? Lucas: Then you have a decision to make. If the answer is no and you're underpaid, you should start looking. But if the answer is 'let's revisit in six months' and you believe them, that's a signal that they value you but are constrained. You can work with that. The worst thing you can do is threaten to leave and then stay when they call your bluff. Luna: That damages your credibility. Lucas: Significantly. Once you show your hand, you have to be prepared to play it. If you stay after an ultimatum, your manager knows you'll likely stay again. The leverage evaporates. Luna: So the five-year stay can be a strong position, but only if you're willing to walk. Lucas: Exactly. And that requires you to actually build your external network and keep your resume updated, even when you're happy. The best time to look for a job is when you don't need one. That way, when you negotiate, you have real options. Luna: I think that's a good note to end on. The five-year stay isn't a trap — it's a platform. But you have to treat it that way. Lucas: Right. The loyalty discount only applies if you let it. If you actively manage your career, tenure is a feature, not a bug.