Are you doing the same tasks at the same job with the same company year after year? Do you feel like you’re on a slow train to nowhere instead of on the fast track?
If so, there’s good news-and bad news. The bad news is: The time of regular advancement through a company is gone. The good news is: There are steps you can take to get out of the rut. Here’s a rundown:
– Readjust your thinking.
Recognize that career paths in the 1990s look radically different from those of the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. The changes began in the late ’80s.
“Careers, as we’ve known them, are virtually gone in terms of upward mobility, vertical movement, that sort of thing,” says Gary Snodgrass, vice president of human resources-operation at USG Corp., Chicago. “In the past if you were with a traditional employer and kept your nose clean, you could pretty well guarantee that you’d have vertical moves every few years. Career paths were very well-defined . . . (but) that doesn’t work today.”
– Reassess yourself.
“Get as much input into that process as you can by talking to other people who know you-not just in your work life, but outside of the job as well,” says Rochelle Moulton, president of Qwest Consultants in Chicago.
“In the assessment process think about: Where do I want to be? What do I really enjoy doing? What am I good at? Then start to think about how well (your answers) fit in with the organization as it is.”
– Determine whether you’re still a good fit with your company.
“Are your organization’s needs and requirements, jobs and assignments and career opportunities consistent with your interests, your aspirations and your personal interests? Hopefully, in most cases the answer is yes, there is a linkage, a match and it’s a partnership,” Snodgrass says. “On the other hand . . . if you find that it’s no longer a match, then you have to consider exiting the organization.”
Don’t take it as a sign of personal failure if you don’t stay with your company for as long as you’d hoped. Companies-and employees-are constantly changing, and sometimes they grow apart.
“I certainly think it’s possible to have a long career with one company,” Moulton says. “But think about all the choices you have to make througout your career to still be with the same company.”
– Consider changings companies.
“In the ’90s, my personal opinion is, move from company to company,” says Gary Marchuk, a receiving manager for Montgomery Ward & Co., who feels underemployed with career skills not being used to the fullest. “Get experience in (one place) then go for another spot up (in another company) after a while.”
“If you’ve been passed up for a promotion or someone’s been brought in from the outside, then it’s a fairly safe bet that you’re not being taken seriously as a candidate to move up to another level, that they’ve pretty well settled on you right there,” says Tom Smith, associate director of the University of Illinois Alumni Career Center. “The danger of that is, when layoffs ultimately happen, those are the people who are targeted first.”
– Consider moving laterally.
“Up is not the only way,” Snodgrass says. “Consider lateral movements to add a competency or skill.”
According to Moulton, a lateral move can be a roundabout way of moving up.
“One of the advantages of networking internally is that you get a better sense of which department, which areas, which lines of the business might have real appeal,” he says.
What if you don’t want a lateral move? “There’s no rule that says you have to take a lateral move if it’s not going to be what you want,” Moulton says, adding, however, that your supervisor might not be happy with your decision.
Snodgrass suggests avoiding situations where you might have to turn down a lateral move.
If you want to stay in your department, re-invent your job. Attack old problems with innovative solutions.
– Network.
“Know other people in the city, other people in the industry, people who are in the same technical function you’re in,” Moulton advises.
– Be flexible.
“Recognize change is a constant,” Snodgrass says. “Get out in front of it. Take responsibility for managing your career and managing your morale. Be willing to take a few risks.”
