According to SHRM, only 29% of workers said that they were satisfied with their career growth opportunities within their current organization. Opportunity for growth and advancement is one of the biggest criteria I hear when talking to candidates. Growth can mean a lot of different things to people. It could be learning a newer technology, developing your soft skills, or growing your leadership skills. Growth is important to a fulfilling and satisfying career, but it can be challenging to work for a company that is not growing at the same rate you are. Many people simply outgrow the company they work for. No one wants to be stuck in the same stage of their career for years on end. So what should you do if you have groundhog day year over year at your company?
1. Attempt to make it work
Before you head for the door at your current job, try a couple things to make it work. Think about what is truly making you unsatisfied with your current position. Is it that you are working with outdated tech? Is there no room for advancement? Have your skills outpaced what you’re getting paid? Does the person above you have no plans on leaving anytime soon? A lot of these issues you are unlikely to solve yourself, but your best course of action is discussing them with your supervisor. Bring up your concerns and see if there are options that you both can come up with. If your boss is unwilling to advance the conversation or brushes it off, that’s a good indicator that it’s time to brush off and update your resume.
2. The best time to look for an opportunity is when you don’t need one
Do not back yourself into a corner and wait too long. The best time to consider career options are when you don’t need one. Oftentimes, with job opportunities, timing is everything. High potential opportunities don’t come along every day so when a great opportunity does come your way consider checking it out. 9 out of 10 hiring managers have told me they prefer a candidate who is currently working, doing an excellent job, but for the right opportunity they would consider making a job change. That is why companies hire us because of our trusted relationships we have with some of the best IT professionals in the North East Ohio region.
3. Timing is everything
When it comes to successful careers timing is everything, that’s why it is a good idea to keep an open mind to learning about new opportunities. Most of the time these are short 5 to 10 minute conversations to see if the opportunity aligns well with your interests. Even if the job is not exactly what you are looking for in your next opportunity, a short conversation to learn more about what is happening in your market is not time wasted.
4. Consider partnering with us
I have been in the IT recruiting industry for over 30 years. I have placed CIOs, CTOs, VPs of Technology. Because I helped many professionals get to where they wanted to be, I have amazing relationships with these people. That is why they often come to me with exclusive and off market opportunities that involve a great work life balance while working with some of the newest technologies. I started out and continue to follow this principle: “You can get everything you want in life if you just help enough other people get what they want”- Mark Krusinski, CPC.
Always keep an open mind…
The client’s that I work with look for data scientists that have an open mind. This is because the best candidates are often the ones that are consistently looking for innovative and new ways of doing things. Employers that I partner with know this and are often willing to have an exploratory conversation with candidates I represent because they know they are very passive in their job search. It never hurts to keep an open mind to see what else is out there. If you’re interested in seeing the exclusive data science opportunities I’m working on, please reach out to me!