Transition and Reflection
You have done a lot of work to survey your assets and goals, up to this point. With those assets and goals in mind, take the time to learn about other jobs within the same organization. There are two basic criteria for your choice, before you consider anything else:
- Does the job match with your overall career strategy?
- Do the skills and knowledge you currently have, or plan to acquire, qualify you for the job?
Once you have answered these two questions, you can move on to the rest of the list. After all, it is clear that your overriding goal is to be in charge of your career, not riding at the whim of fate. Unless you keep your strategy in mind at all time and compare where you are today with where you plan to be, you will not meet your goals and achieve the success you desire.
- Does the job appeal to you? While you may do things from time to time for purely strategic reasons, realistically you will be more successful if you enjoy what you do. So ask yourself this question with each choice.
- Who can you learn from if you take on a new job in the same organization? Are there managers or subject matter experts that you would particularly like to work with and learn from?
- How would you make yourself appear to be an ideal candidate for the job you want? In looking over your assets, are there others which, if acquired, would contribute to your overall career plan and make you particularly qualified for other positions?
- Who knows the most about the job you want? It is worth your time to get to know people either in the job you want or responsible for the job you want. It is also important to get to know people whose roles require them to interact with the person in the job you want. In this way, you will get to know not just the specific details of the job, but the context in which you would be fulfilling that role.
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