A job for life: is it possible and is it desirable?

Last month my dad celebrated 50 years with the same company  https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-way-30173843/.  Having read hundreds of thousands of CVs over the past 17 years, it struck me just how unusual this was. In fact, I was with my last firm for 17 years, which also puts me in a distinct minority. That was until I decided to trust in my spiritual guru Michael Jackson and did indeed make that change.

I took a prolonged period of downtime, or as is more commonly known, gardening leave.  Of course, as is the way, not much gardening happened.  To be fair, I did manage to chip off (read: “outsource”) some of the long outstanding “to do” list items around the house.  Most importantly I got to spend some time with my young family – who found the whole idea of Daddy being at home each day initially as strange as I did.  Time flies and I got thinking about my next career move.  I took advice (and many, many lunches – thank you all!) from former colleagues and contacts.  What I quickly ascertained was that it is the belonging to something that is important to me.  The realisation kicked in that the only way I’ll ever enjoy another 17 years with the same business will be by building something for myself.

Based on all those CVs I’ve reviewed and people I’ve met over the years, I estimate that the average senior accountant currently spends just 2½ years in each role before seeking a move or achieving a promotion.  The average financial recruiter lasts under 18 months in their roles before seeking greener fields, although the vast majority leave recruitment altogether.  As such continuity is the biggest challenge our industry faces; I believe that professionals want to work with specialists that they know and trust and can assist them in building their careers over a prolonged period of time.

I have a kindred spirit in my good friend and fellow protagonist Tim Hedger and together we are building HedgerWay from this foundation of longevity and the fact that opportunities to stay with one company for a long period are diminishing.  We believe there’s a huge opportunity to be found in setting up a business that means you are only working with only the most proficient, experienced consultants who hold the best relationships, specialist knowledge and track record of delivery in the industry.  But to get this you need to make it attractive to them.  They not only get to work with fellow specialists and run their own business, but they are handsomely and uniquely rewarded for doing so.

But above all of this, it is important that we are building a business for the right reasons.  This is at the fore of HedgerWay. We’re building for success and development over the long term.  And whilst one day I would like to retire to the yacht, we are not setting it up with a sale in mind or partnering with those who do not share our unswerving commitment to sustainability and longevity.

Our founding team, Nick Connor, Jonny Way and Oli Lampkin all join with outstanding pedigree and track records, having shown faith in our vision.  The client and candidate support has also been tremendous – notably when I was working from my Hotmail in the summerhouse for all those months.

 So as we launch HedgerWay, with a benchmark set for others to come and join us, I can once again reflect on the past 17 years.  I’m not only confident that HedgerWay will provide me with the same if not longer tenure than I had with the last mob, but that now more than ever this will add value to the recruitment process. And whilst I am unlikely to emulate my dad (unless I want to be working when I am 90), I do aspire to be one of the unusual people who do indeed have very few jobs over their lifetime.