Potential Next Move-Where Do You Fit? 5 Things to Do Even if You Are A Loyal Employee

Potential Next Move-Where Do You Fit? 5 Things to Do Even if You Are A Loyal Employee

Spent 10 years in one company. Had great moments together. Became expert in the domain. Also you have grown to managerial role. What If Your Company Does Not Need You?

Floated Resume. But got no responses. what is wrong?

  • For the open roles outside, you are a wrong fit.
  • Every company’s structure is different and role expectations differ.
  • They need at least the general skills. And some skills specific to the business.
  • You can be fit into a role. But pay you get currently is too high.

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How do you make yourself relevant outside your domain?  

You can not deal with it when it happens. Many I know never thought about these aspects. Before they realize they are stuck with the domain and are quite old to re-invent themselves. 

Even if you do not want to change, can you simulate your fitment in different industry and different company? If not exact picture, can you at least feel the direction? You may be the one who would take the life as it comes, but you better know the direction at least. Putting some time to think about this will go a long way.

As years pass, it is imperative that you need to have a story connecting most of/all the years you have put in. That forms your relevant experience. Every year, your profile keeps changing and also the market. You should keep track of where you fit. There can be surprises. For example, if you are an embedded architect who used microcontrollers from Atmel, the chances are that you could become a good product manager at Atmel. Because you understand the customer needs of microcontroller company. You need not be embedded architect alone.

5 Things To Do To Stay Prepared:

  1. Every year, just update the resume. and Introspect.
  2. List the organizations and the roles where you can fit. Make sure that the organizations hire for the roles from outside. There are many roles which are filled only by insiders.
  3. Do not jump into all promotion opportunities. Think about where it is going to lead you and then accept
  4. Try horizontal roles.
  5. Unsettle yourself before someone else does it to you

As you would expect, with passing years, the number of jobs would reduce. The real issue is 10 years later, you may not have a story to tell. If you are in that league, you have work to do.

Imagine this – You are a combination of subject matter expertise, have talent to look at large problem, analyze from all angles and break it down so that it can be handled by junior members. You could fit anywhere.

This case study story may help to get integrated view of how various roles interplay in an organization and where you fit the best. Then focus more on specific function such as line management, product management, program management or various shades of technical management.

Reviewing your career every year can save a lot of pain for you few years later. All the office politics you see have the roots in fear. The fear that you may not be useful outside your current company/industry. That drives people to steal credit and cheat.

So check where you fit today. Both your home and work lives will become much better. And the life of others too.

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[…] 3. Manage your time. – A schedule of your daily tasks can help you become better at stress management. If you don’t feel like you’re behind schedule every day, you won’t be feeling too much stress. Do not over-commit yourself and learn to say no if you know that you won’t be able to handle tasks. Prioritize urgent tasks and responsibilities that you don’t like doing since this means that you have the rest of the workday to improve your mood. If you consider changing job due to this, there is a checklist you could refer here. […]