In today’s hyper-competitive marketplace, the most sought-after and desirable employees are the ones whose bags are always packed – not because they are disloyal or disinterested – but because they recognize that “up or out” is the way of the world today.
If you’re not ready, willing and able to step forward and seize the next best opportunity – within or outside of your own company – then you’ll discover pretty quickly that the people making the decisions and the key personnel selections will start to look right past you when the best opportunities are on the table.
They need people who will jump at the chance to move across the country, take on new and uncertain challenges without the slightest qualms, and – most of all – who understand that there are no guarantees of comfort, security or success these days – just the guarantee that anyone standing still (or “just” doing their job) will be blown away by the people who are doing a whole lot more and who make their interest, aptitude and attitude known.
The world today is divided into targets and gunslingers. Hot shots and has-beens (regardless of your age). Everyone is in someone else’s sights and plenty of people are gunning for your position. That’s why it’s a good idea to keep your boots by the side of your bed – just like the firemen do.
And it’s also important to remember that it’s not so much a case of taking you for granted (although there are certainly elements of that) or any dissatisfaction with your current performance – it’s much more about attitude and the feeling on management’s part that you’re not likely to be the person to take the business to the next level – regardless of the level that you’re at and regardless of how important the particular assignment is.
If it’s not abundantly clear that you want it (whatever the “it” happens to be) a lot more than the next twelve guys and that you’re prepared to make the commitment and the sacrifices necessary to see things through and get the new job done and done well and on time and on budget, then it’s very easy today for the company to find someone else who’s a better bet.
So what can you do to increase your favorable odds and your visibility without overstepping the bounds of propriety or pissing off your peers? Here are a few things you can do now to get ready to be great.
(1) Sharpen Your Sights and Step Up Your Skills
It helps a whole lot to know specifically what you’re shooting for. Chasing too many rabbits usually results in ending up empty handed. Set a goal, make a plan, and go for it. And while you’re waiting for good things to happen, make sure you’re constantly honing and updating your skill sets, adding new tools and technologies to your war chest, and learning all the while from anyone and everyone willing to share with you. Good listeners are in terribly short supply and you’d be amazed at how much valuable information people will part with if they know you’re interested and that they’re appreciated. Soak it all up – lifetime learners are superb sponges – and that’s a good thing.
(2) Streamline Your Story and Skinny Down Your Price Tag
It’s actually quite possible to be too much of a good thing in the job market and to be perceived as over-qualified for a new position that you’d absolutely kill for. It’s nice to be subtle and to stay above the fray, but that’s not what people are looking for today. They want people who want it and want it bad and who aren’t afraid or ashamed to admit it. Those who never ask rarely, if ever, get what they want. Most of the things in life that just drop into your lap don’t really belong there, aren’t really worth that much, and generally result in a mess of one kind or another.
Don’t try to be so delicate or oblique that your message and your interest get lost in the process. You want to be sure that, when the time and circumstances are right, you’re in the game and on the short list and that you make your interest, appetite and aptitude for the new position known to all concerned. Don’t ever assume that anyone besides you knows what’s best or just right for you and shame on you if you don’t tell them.
And, if you’re not careful, you can also easily price yourself out of a new opportunity before you even get a chance to have a conversation with the people doing the search. You never really want to negotiate against yourself, but it’s very important to make sure that the folks around you (and above you) know that money isn’t the thing that matters the most to you.
Money is just the way that people without talent try to keep score. Doing important work; doing it exceptionally well; and getting the right, timely results is what ultimately counts and where the real satisfaction in your work will be found. Making it critical that you get a bump in your current compensation into the prime consideration in your ongoing search for your next career move is a major mistake that is most likely to lead to a very rocky road going forward. Prove yourself first – it always pays off in the long run.
(3) Scrap Your Sidekicks (Entourage) and Bag Your Baggage
Package deals may work great for travel agents and casinos, but they don’t help in the hiring process. In fact, they’re a drag and a major hindrance. People who try to bring too much baggage with them don’t get a shot at the brass ring. You need to worry about yourself – first and foremost – and then, once you’ve made it over the hurdles and beyond the barricades, you can always reach back for your buddies. But, in the beginning, the old, time-tested rule still applies: he travels fastest and furthest who travels alone. It may be a lonely journey at first, but at least it’s not crowded.
And try also to lose as many of the other typical kinds of impediments as possible if you really want to make a successful move. As sad as this is to say, the fact is that the more integrated into and tightly bound you are to your community and your surroundings and your outside activities, the less likely you are to make it onto many a short list. There’s nothing wrong with this (from a social and family standpoint it’s probably a very good thing), but you should understand that there’s an embedded choice that it represents unless you actively signal and communicate otherwise which will have serious career consequences.
We’re in a global race these days and you’ve got to be willing to get up and go where the action is whenever you’re asked. And - make no mistake – you will rarely be asked twice because there’s a long line right behind you of folks ready, willing and able to step right over you and into those new, bigger shoes if you hesitate in the least. They might be younger, unmarried, childless, not house or condo bound, etc. and they are raring to go.
So, while it may be a conscious decision and the right choice for you and your family, just be aware that family and community ties are just that – “ties” that can restrict and limit your chances to move onward and upward – whether anyone ever admits that to you or not.
PP: “You Get What You Work for, Not What You Wish for”
