Shaadi.com founder and Shark Tank India judge Anupam Mittal has weighed in on the ongoing debate about Gen Z employment, calling out what he describes as “career gurus” for shaming young professionals who frequently switch roles in their 20s.

In a recent LinkedIn post, Mittal argued that frequent job changes early in a career should be seen as exploration rather than instability. According to him, early career years are meant to discover passions, try industries and understand workplace cultures.

“Early in our careers, we’re essentially bouncing around industries, roles and cultures to find the right fit,” Mittal wrote, adding that young professionals shouldn’t feel guilty about moving on if a role doesn’t align with their interests.

However, the entrepreneur drew a clear line between early experimentation and long-term inconsistency. Mittal said that while exploration is healthy in the early 20s, prolonged work later can become a red flag, especially for senior leadership positions.

“When I’m hiring for senior or level 1 leadership positions, I almost always reject resumes that don’t show at least a four- to five-year tenure,” he said.

In explaining his reasoning, Mittal noted that the real impact of career decisions often becomes visible only after several years. “The first year is learning, the second is execution, and the third is dealing with the consequences of those decisions and scaling what worked,” he noted.

Drawing on his experience as a founder and investor, Mittal outlined a simple career framework: aggressively explore and even switch roles, if necessary, and identify what they really enjoy when they’re 21-24.

Mittal added that when you’re 25 or older, you should commit to a company or role that’s worth investing in and delve into for four years or more.

He also linked long-term commitment to leadership preparation, stating that aspiring founders and CEOs must demonstrate the ability to sustain themselves through difficult phases. “You have to show you can stay in the kitchen when it’s hot,” he said.

He concluded by stressing that while it may take a year to understand a job, it takes three to five years to really understand an industry, “and that’s when you really start to win.”