Brittany Harris-Nelson describes her career journey as “a frog moving across lily pads” – and over the past decade she has had 10 different jobs at six universities to prove it. The 32-year-old, now an assistant director of student engagement at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, says she leapt from one college role to another for close to a decade, using each new position to build skills she lacked. “Each step brought me closer to where I ultimately wanted to be, even if the path wasn't always linear,” she says. Starting while still a student, she worked as an office manager, an admissions counsellor and a student advisor before landing the job she had long coveted. Her salary did not increase much with each move, Harris-Nelson says, but she gained extra paid leave and bigger pension contributions. “Each role helped me build skills and perspectives that I didn't yet have, and together those experiences prepared me for the work I do today,” she adds.
Industry professionals have identified this phenomenon, dubbed “lily padding”, as a growing trend among Gen Z – those born between 1997 and 2012. Rather than staying put at one company, young adults hop from job to job to improve their skills and chances of more senior roles and higher pay. The data backs it up. A 2024 global survey of 11,250 workers by recruitment agency Randstad found the average tenure of a Gen Z employee in the first five years of their career is just 1.1 years, compared with 1.8 years for millennials and almost three years for older generations.
“Gen Z workers hop jobs every 1.1 years on average, earning 31% more than those who stay put.”
In the UK, the strategy appears to pay off. A 2025 study by financial company Wealthify reported that people who changed jobs four or more times over the previous decade earned an average of £39,276 versus £30,088 for other workers – a 31% premium. Those who describe their career strategies as “lily padding” are always on the lookout for the next opportunity. Adam Smiley Poswolsky, a 42-year-old public speaker and author based in San Francisco who talks about improving workplace cultures, says the traditional career ladder mindset of staying at one company and working your way up is outdated.