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You're stuck.
Yes, you're
working harder than ever -- especially since all those
recent
staff
cutbacks. Yes, you're as ambitious as ever -- and see any
number of
jobs you
could do at the company.
But you
haven't had a promotion in several years and don't see one
in
sight. New
opportunities at other companies are equally scarce, which
rules out
employer-hopping.
So what do
you do when you're running fast -- and going nowhere? How
can
you rejuvenate your career when you feel trapped
in the same old job?
For many
employees, that is the question in today's jobless
recovery. With
so few
companies hiring, and so many workers staying put, there
just isn't
a lot of
movement in workplaces these days. Many who survived
layoffs
and took on extra work to fill job gaps are eager
for new challenges. But when
they ask for
assignments that will expand their experience and move
them
up the
ranks, their bosses often tell them, "Just do what you're
doing now
and we'll
get back to you next year," says Laurence J. Stybel,
co-founder
of Stybel
Peabody & Lincolnshire, a Boston career-management firm.
"It's
hard to have
an intelligent discussion about career development with
managers who
are still stretched thin on resources and feel uncertain
about what
lies beyond the next quarter," Mr. Stybel adds.
So does that
mean that the bored and restless are doomed to slump at
their desks forever, or at least until it's their
turn to be pushed out?
Absolutely
not. Those who understand it is up to them to drive their
careers can
change and grow without walking out the door.
How do they
do it? Let's count some of the ways.
Broaden Your Horizons
Consider
Laura Terbough, a 30-year-old manager at Intel Corp., a
Santa
Clara,
Calif., chip maker. Last spring, she felt unhappy with her
job as a
consumer
marketing manager, which she had held for 21/2 years.
"There was
just a
feeling that I wasn't connecting," she says.
At first she
thought she would have to leave Intel to find more
satisfying
work. But
few companies in her region and industry were hiring. Then
her
counterpart
at Intel in Germany decided to take a five-month
sabbatical
and
suggested she fill in for her, beginning in April 2003.
Ms. Terbough
jumped at that opportunity, which turned out to be just
the
right remedy
for her malaise. "International experience was the shot in
the arm that
I needed," she says. "And being away from my old job gave
me
more
perspective, and I was able to figure out what I liked and
didn't
like."
On her
return to California in August, she cast a wide
job-hunting net.
Because she
was interested in education, she considered educational
software and
toy companies as well as universities. But she also
focused
on options
at Intel. She arranged informational interviews with Intel
managers and
networked with colleagues at lunch. She researched
different
departments,
such as corporate communications, and searched the company
intranet for
job information.
In October, she learned about a
possible job as program marketing manager
for Intel's
world-wide educational group. The position involved
collaborating with educators and governments to improve
students'
conceptual
skills by focusing on technology, math and science. It was
in
her area of
interest, so she quickly arranged to meet with the group's
hiring
manager, whom she had worked with before, and stressed why
she
thought it
was a perfect fit.
When the job
finally materialized in December, she got the offer and
immediately
accepted. "If I hadn't assessed what I wanted and needed,
I
would have
had a lot more anxiety about recommitting to Intel," she
says.
But what
most helped her reinvigorate her career, Ms. Terbough
says, was
her decision
to fill in for her colleague in Germany. Being in a new
environment
with a different culture and language was exciting and
boosted
her
self-confidence and determination to try something new
when she
returned to
the U.S. The international experience she gained also
broadened
her résumé and was an asset as she looked for new jobs at
Intel
and other
companies.
"I could
show that I understood different perspectives and
different
market
dynamics," she says.
It's the Little
Stuff
Sometimes
making very subtle changes at work can trigger career
gains. "We
all read
about makeup artists who become lawyers or pilots, but few
people
reinvent
themselves that completely -- and sometimes all that is
needed is
a small
change," says Barbara Moses, a career coach in Toronto and
author
of "What
Next: The Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working
Life."
A Web
designer at a large hotel chain who sought Ms. Moses' help
felt
stale and
was having difficulty coming up with new ideas. So she did
something
simple: Instead of remaining blocked in front of her
computer
screen, she
spent time outside the office visiting department stores
and
taking in
new visual displays. "That opened up her creative side,
and she
started
producing new work that was softer and more beautiful than
what
she had done
previously," Ms. Moses says.
She felt
revitalized, happier with her job and more confident about
her
abilities.
She also was assigned bigger projects and received a
raise.
Focus Less on Work
Another way
to combat career doldrums is to focus less energy on work
and
more on activities outside the
office. This can be particularly effective
for Type A
high achievers. "These are the driven people who are
always
producing
more and more -- but if it is more and more of what you
don't
like, you
end up feeling oppressed," says Dory Hollander, a
workplace
psychologist
and president of WiseWorkplaces, an Arlington, Va.,
executive-coaching firm. She urges such employees "to do
the minimum
required to
produce reasonably good work and focus on something you
care
about
outside the office."
By letting
go of a single-minded, all-consuming focus on their jobs,
Dr.
Hollander
believes, employees will not only derive more personal
satisfaction
but also become more productive and effective at work.
They
will be able
to bring new interests and energies to their jobs, which
in
turn should
help them advance their careers.
A
40-year-old business unit-manager at a midsize consulting
company in
Washington
adopted that tactic about 18 months ago. "After six years
at
the company,
I felt I couldn't develop the business into something I
felt
proud of,
and I wasn't encountering any exciting new challenges," he
says.
In addition,
because of the economy's weak state, he couldn't offer his
staff
promotions or pay raises, or get these for himself. "The
news was
always about
someone leaving or a client downsizing, and that lack of
good
news
deflated energy levels," he says.
He
contemplated quitting but realized he couldn't easily
replace his
six-figure
income. So he sought career counseling from Dr. Hollander
and
subsequently
started writing a business book, which he is currently
completing.
He also enrolled in acting classes.
Both
activities "are far outside my comfort zone and require
that I work
long hours,"
he says. But both are interesting and therefore energizing
and have
buoyed his spirits and performance on the job.
For one
thing, because he wants more time for after-work
activities, he
has learned
to be far better organized and productive at work. He
delegates a
lot of administrative work, which he feels he used to
waste
time on, and
focuses intently on partner-client relationships, where he
can build
business for his firm and add to the bottom line. "I'm
working
more
intelligently," he says.
He also
thinks he has become a better people manager. "I used to
be
extremely
remote and was entirely focused on driving the business,"
he
says. He
didn't spend much time talking with his staff, gauging
where
different
people needed help or figuring out who was best at what
tasks.
But since he
enrolled in acting classes, he says, he has become more
outgoing and
better able to converse with employees. He discovered that
when he
talked about his acting classes and writing, his employees
and
co-workers
responded by sharing more about their lives. The exchange
has
resulted in
closer work relationships, better teamwork and greater
motivation
on his staff, he believes.
As a result,
he no longer wants to land a job at another company. "I've
become a
happy prisoner of this job," he says.
Make Lateral Moves
Not everyone
can move up, at least not right away, but it's often
possible
to move
sideways to escape an unsatisfying job or a career rut. As
special
assistant to
the president of Gap Inc.'s Gap Brand Global unit, Sarah
Dey
knew she had
a plum job. She wrote speeches for her boss, facilitated
meetings,
conducted research and supported him through his
day-to-day
activities.
"Getting exposed to senior executive life was phenomenal,"
she
says.
But in early
2002, after nearly two years on the job, Ms. Dey concluded
that her own
career needs were getting "lost in the shuffle" of
day-to-day
pressures.
"The spotlight was never on me, and I was just a support
person," she
says. "I wanted to be accountable for my own results."
Unsure of
what she wanted, Ms. Dey, who is 35, took stock of her
work
history,
which included a stint as a consultant at Boston-based
Bain & Co.
She also
went on informational interviews at Gap and talked with
colleagues
in different departments. Still, she couldn't see a way to
advance to a
higher-level position at Gap that provided more job
satisfaction.
Then a new
job opened up -- as senior manager of internal brand
strategy
-- that was
a lateral move for the same pay. But she realized it would
give her
more independence and a chance to emerge out of a support
role.
She sold
herself by using all her past experience. "I convinced
them that
I could
balance a lot of different things at once," she says. She
has
since moved
to another job at Gap as a director of international
strategy
and consumer
insights.
Go Above and Beyond
Getting
ahead also usually requires taking initiative and stepping
beyond
the
boundaries of your job. Deliver what your boss expects
first -- but
also take on
new challenges without waiting to be asked. That may
include
stepping in
as the leader in a situation where no one is clearly in
charge
or bartering
with someone who has been assigned to take charge of a
project but
doesn't have the time or interest. It also may mean
gaining
additional
credentials by enrolling in a college course.
James M.
Citrin, head of the global technology, communication and
media
practice at
executive recruiters Spencer Stuart and co-author of "The
5
Patterns of
Extraordinary Careers," distinguishes between gaining
direct
permission
from superiors and using implied permission, "where you
are
able to
create the presumption that you have permission. The way
to expand
your implied
permission is to add value and also bring other key people
along for
the ride," he says.
Two years
ago, a 31-year-old project manager at an insurance company
felt
disappointed
when she was excluded from a conference of more
senior-level
managers in
her area. Rather than sulk, she floated an idea during a
dinner with
some co-workers to form a teleconferencing network group
with
women
managers across the company. The group formed shortly
after, and
nearly 19
women still have monthly teleconferences to discuss work
and
management
issues.
This
networking has helped the project manager advance. As a
result of her
increased
visibility and the mentoring she has received from other
women
in the
group, she has been offered bigger project assignments,
including
one to
upgrade the company's financial systems world-wide. "The
way I got
it was
through these discussions," she says.
Fill in Your Missing Skills
Mr. Stybel,
the Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire career coach, recommends
that
employees carefully assess and compare their
skills to the ones required in jobs
they covet.
"Look at the
jobs you might want to do next and find out what skills
and
experience
you need to acquire to move ahead," he says. A comptroller
likely won't
have the broad treasury and governance responsibilities
needed to be
considered for a chief financial officer spot, for
instance.
He or she
could, however, acquire some of that experience by gaining
a
board seat
at a for-profit or nonprofit organization, volunteering
for the
finance
committee and getting involved in treasury and governance
issues.
"You should
punch your ticket on the specific skills you need," Mr.
Stybel
says.
One of his
clients, a woman who felt stuck in a middle-management
job,
felt she
wasn't considered sophisticated or strong enough by her
bosses to
merit a
promotion to a general management job, overseeing more
people. She
enrolled in
a midcareer management course at a prestigious business
school,
which allowed her to network with managers from other
companies
and also
broadened her management knowledge. On completing the
course, she
lobbied for
and won a promotion.
"She stopped
thinking of herself as not good enough," Mr. Stybel says,
"and
realized she had all the skills she needed to advance."
###
Ms.
Hymowitz, a senior editor in The Wall Street Journal's New
York
bureau,
served as contributing editor of this report. Ms. Dunham
is a
staff
reporter in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau.
Write to
Carol Hymowitz at
carol.hymowitz@wsj.com and Kemba J. Dunham at
kemba.dunham@wsj.com
Copyright (c) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
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