Nearly 90 per cent of Canadians must switch employers for more senior role: Study

Managers ‘judge internal candidates more harshly’

Most Canadians have to change companies in order to move up the corporate ladder — 88 per cent switch employers to attain a more senior role, according to a study by Workopolis based on its resumé database.

Canadians are working more jobs than ever before and can expect to hold about 15 positions throughout their career.

"Employees often leave companies for the same reason they join them," said Tara Talbot, vice-president of human resources at Workopolis. "Opportunity for career advancement is most often the deciding factor of accepting or leaving a position."

Frequent job changes have become a necessity. Only 11.5 per cent of workers are promoted within an organization and, on average, it takes 12 years at three or four different employers to move from an entry-level position to the rank of supervisor or above, found Workopolis.

"A key barrier to internal promotion is that managers tend to judge employees they know more harshly than someone they've just met," said Talbot. "Employers often do not have a succession plan in place. They're more likely to hire someone they've only met at a job interview over someone currently employed at their company."

Canadians are also more willing to switch location, found the study. Since 2010, about 16.5 per cent of people have started a new role in a different province — a 21 per cent increase in the last 10 years.

The full report can be found at: http://workopolis.com/research.

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