Career Change Advice: Why Not Look Within Your Own Company?

Zac Efron, teen heartthrob, turned down the lead role in the remake of Footloose because he didn’t want to get typecast or pigeonholed. Efron was the male lead in Disney’s made-for-TV High School Musical. Others of us who do our job too well may also find that we become the person to “git-r-done” for the same problems time after time, even if it’s something for which we may have little passion. And we have a tough time broadening our horizons because we’re so good at what we do.

As the economy is improving, more opportunities are arising in the job marketplace. If you’re not happy where you’re at, there is a better chance you’ll find other companies hiring in an area in which you have an interest.

But before you jump ship, there are a few things to at least contemplate. And, if you think about the work that goes into getting a new job (which is like going on a million blind dates and having the same conversations over and over), staying at the same company where you already know the key players and the culture might sound pretty good.

Think about what aspects of your job you love, even if you don’t get to do them very often. Are there ways you can expand those? What opportunities do you have within the company or through volunteering that will help you get the experience you need for a different role? In other words, what kind of training can you get? The training might be informal, but look at the outcomes as learning objectives for you. The role reversal—seeing the objectives as a learner and not as a trainer—may give you some “a-ha” ideas for how to proceed on this new path.

Now, think about the conversations you have with your managers, co-workers, others who might be considered the training function’s clients. Are they technical? To the point? Or are they relational? Frequently, when someone is pegged as the go-to person, the conversations become shorter and shorter until the go-to guy or gal is almost seen as an automaton, not a human. Work on building relationships. Those connections you make and conversations you have can only help you as you expand horizons and make in-roads to where you want to be.

If you have the right skills and experience, have you made your wishes known about where you would like to see yourself? Perhaps you’re seen as too valuable in the role you currently hold; go armed with ideas on how this new role for you would make you even more valuable to the company and its bottom line.

Go into the in-house job hunt knowing what’s in it for you—and what’s in it for them. 

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