Appraisal season is no time to jump ship, say experts

Unhappy with your performance appraisal? Thinking of switching jobs? Think again.

HR professionals say that in the current state of the economy, the job market does not offer many opportunities. "It is prudent to adopt a "wait and watch" approach and defer career transition decisions during periods of business uncertainity," said R Nanda, vice-president, corporate HR, Tata Chemicals.

Other recruiters echoed similar views. "After an average appraisal, its better to identify and fill up the gaps and improve your skillset in the present organisation as poor skills may create problems in a new place of work," said Mayank Chandra, managing partner, Antal International, a UK-based executive recruitment firm.

"We don't recommend people to hunt for jobs as a reactive step to lower-than-expected salary hikes," said Aditya Narayan Mishra, president of US-based staffing firm Randstad India.

Changing jobs impulsively may land a candidate in a wrong profile or industry altogether. "Generally when hiring becomes challenging, companies 'over-sell' a job, and it is possible that candidates experience a mismatch between their assumptions about an organisation and what they actually encounter," Nanda said. People shortchanged in such cases would have no recourse, HR experts pointed out.

Also, changing jobs abruptly may give a wrong impression to prospective employers. If, for instance, one's current employer is in an expansion, seeking a job outside may backfire. "Such a move will give prospective employers doubts about the candidates' performance in the former organisation," said Chandra.

So what should a person do, while looking out for a new job?

Evaluate opportunities and compare them with the job you already have, before trying to switch. "Change jobs when you get an opportunity that is better than what are are doing currently, and gives you an opportunity to produce higher impact," Mishra said.