We often get candidates coming to us because they feel their career isn’t going where they want it to. However, it’s important to make sure you’ve explored all your options before you make the decision to move on. Here we talk about some of the common reasons for wanting to move on and the steps you can take to make sure you make the right decision:
I CAN’T PROGRESS ANY MORE
A common, and obvious reason for changing jobs is for career progression. So you need to ask yourself honestly; Is the company big enough to help me climb the career ladder and get me where I want to be? Is the scope of work broad enough to grow my experience? Have I got as far as I can within this current position? Is there room to grow? Am I going to be able to reach the salary I want?
I’M BECOMING INSTITUTIONALISED
The fact is that more than five years in one agency is viewed as a long time. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing to stay at the same company for more than five years though. It can demonstrate commitment and stability, but how it is viewed will depend on what you have been doing since joining and what you have achieved.
If you’ve been in the same role for a long time without any progression, you’ll need to be prepared for a few questions. A potential employer will understandably want to know why you haven’t progressed. Of course it might not be a negative conversation, you just need to make sure you’re prepared with your answer.
I KEEP GETTING PASSED OVER FOR PROMOTION
It can be so frustrating to be stuck in the same position without moving forward. Our advice here is to look honestly at the skills you have and the way you are being perceived.
Sometimes bosses pigeonhole even their best people into certain categories, which they can’t see beyond. For example, if you’ve been in the same position for a while and you’re producing great results, your employer might be loathed to change things in fear of jeopardising the business. Of course this isn’t beneficial to you or your career, so you need to make sure you’re not being held back, especially when you’re doing everything right.
THE SCALE AND BREADTH OF WORK IS HOLDING YOU BACK
It’s a reality that people can outgrow the business they are in. Love the people, love the work, but if you want to work on bigger and better and they just don’t have that type of work then it may be time to move on.
If this is the dilemma you’re facing then the key to making an informed career move is clarity. Often the grass can seem greener, but you need to get as much information as possible about the career opportunities out there to ensure you’re making an informed decision.
Here are some things to think about:
- Which businesses do this kind of work?
- What will the day to day of this role be?
- Will I realistically be able to secure a position?
- Will I need to take a salary cut – if I do is this really feasible?
- Who can I talk to find out more?
THE NEXT STEPS…
So you have thought it through, looked at the options and now it is time for something to change. What’s next?
TALK TO YOUR BOSS
Before you make any life changing decisions, it’s important you sit down, talk to your current employer and make sure there isn’t anything you can both do to help your career progression or to give you a motivational boost. After all, you already know the business inside out and you should be comfortable talking to your manager.
It might seem obvious, but people rarely do this before they start looking for a new job. Instead they wait until resignation day and find their employer was completely unaware of any issues, but then it’s too late to resolve them.
Before having the meeting however, you need to evaluate what you want to come out of it. This is an important decision so you want concrete, tangible steps that will lead to the promotion / career progression / further experience / job satisfaction / salary you desire.
No demands, no threats, just sit down and outline what you like about the company and your current role. And, if you want to stay, be honest: “I want to stay, but how can I progress?”
Once you have these steps agreed – write them down and send them to the person you had your meeting with (your line manager, head of department or boss). It may seem a bit formal but in todays frantic world it is easy to let these discussions come and go without any action being taken. It also shows that you are serious about progressing at the company, and that can only be a good thing.
Be wary of platitudes and half promises though. If an employer values you they will listen to what you are saying and put in place the training and milestones to help you to reach your potential.
If they don’t, it’s time to move on.
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
If you need advice on where you should be on the career ladder, a guide to the kind of salary you should be on or just general industry insights, a good recruitment agency will be willing (and able!) to give you this information. The team at LIVE Recruitment are always on hand to offer industry insights and help you to work out whether it’s beneficial for you to stay or whether you’d be better off moving on.
You might think it strange that a recruitment agency would encourage a potential candidate to stay put, but we’re not about getting people to move from job to job simply to make us money. We only want you to move on if it’s for the right role and the right reasons. Then we want you to be happy and successful for a very long time. It might sound cliché but we are truly passionate about the events and marketing industry and we want to see it thrive. That’s why we always make sure our candidates have explored all their options before they decide to move on.
WHEN IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON
Sometimes though, it is just time to move on and when it is, that’s when the relationship you’ve built up with a good recruitment agency pays off. You can simply pick up the phone and your account manager will start working on finding you the right role, to give you the career progression you deserve.
If you want to discuss any of the topics we’ve covered in this post or need advice on getting that promotion or a pay rise, or if you feel you’ve done all you can and now’s the time to move on, give us a call or drop us a line. You can also check out our discussions, news and views on any one of our social media platforms: Twitter @LiveRecruitment, LinkedIn or Facebook. Or read more of our blog posts for career advice, tips and industry insights.