If you are like a lot of people working for Corporate America,
continuously working in the same job becomes too repetitive and
a change is needed. We call it he "two year itch". But looking
at wear to land after taking your next leap forward is not as
easy as it sounds. Job profiles are very misleading, and for the
most part, do not reflect the reality of the daily routine.
Aside from certain migratory patterns one follow, sometimes it
may be more advantageous to stay in your current job rather than
making an informed choice towards something that may sound
promising, but ultimately ends up "being your Waterloo".
Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of France and a feared war general,
was considered at the time to be unstoppable. He would have gone
on to conquer Europe until he lost at Waterloo. Such is the fate
of many aspiring Joey P's who spend limited periods of time in
different departments, proving their worth, excelling at their
positions, and jumping into new challenges, until one day,
disaster strikes. Whether it be a jealous co-worker, an
incompetent boss, or worse yet, failing at a highly visible task
that you simply could not deliver despite your best efforts, we
are all human and that means that failure can happen in a moment
that can be seized by others to gain an advantage over you.
There are preventative measures that should be followed that
will reduce the risk when moving to a new position.
Spend time with the staff. There is no better way to find out
how a perspective department is running that to spend time with
some of the employees. Look at the systems they use and the
manner in which they are dressed. Find out how many internal
meetings are held, and what topics are covered. It is a good
idea to get a series of consecutive meeting minutes to see what
progress, or lack thereof, is being made. Find out how long they
staff has been working in that department, and their rate of
turnover.
Talk with your perspective boss. Find out why the position was
created, or vacant. Look at what projects he expects to be given
to you in the near future, and what resources you will have at
your disposal in order to complete them. Try and get a sense of
his sense of humour and management style. An interview should be
a two-way street, with you deciding if the position is as right
for you, as you are to the team. Talk about what you see
yourself doing in the job as a daily routine, and get feedback
to see if that is in line with the hiring manager's
expectations.
Patience. No decision should be made in haste. The bigger the
company, the more opportunities that are out there, so there is
no need to rush into something without weighing the
alternatives. Do not take any contradictory information lightly
either. If you were told something contrary to what you thought
your tasks were going to be, take the time to truly think on the
differences. Do you have the necessary skills and training
yourself to do those tasks. Offers of support are nice, but do
you really want to put yourself in a position that will require
the support of others or text book type training? You need to be
able to step into a new position with less than 2 months of
additional support before becoming independent. If you think
that there is a legitimate chance that you will not be able to
accomplish that, wait for another opportunity. If you realize
that it is indeed the direction you want to head towards, get
the additional training and knowledge while at your existing job
before moving over.
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