Before starting your job search in this highly competitive market, take a look within your existing workplace to see whether you can create your dream job where you are. Just because you’re not happy in your current job, it doesn’t mean that the only answer is to leave.
This week I’ve seen two possibilities where this has occurred. One where a client was about to go to the market to recruit for a role, until an employee expressed interest in a lateral move. Another where a candidate was about to leave an organisation they loved before realising they could create the opportunity they wanted right where they were.
You may be uninspired in your current job, but enjoy the culture of the organisation and the people you work with, so it may be a case of thinking laterally. Can you move up, down, sideways, diversify or tweak your role, start having career conversations with other divisions, get a mentor, be a mentor?
Also remember, any recruitment need is about solving a problem for a business, so mentally step up into the CEO’s seat and take a look around and consider:
- Where are the pain points in the business?
- What’s not working? What could be working better?
- Where are customers not happy?
- Where are opportunities to improve delivery and impact profitability?
Then reflect on your skill set and where you add value and what gives you a real sense of satisfaction and see if you can write a new job description for yourself. Where do your strengths lie and how can you align them to the organisation’s strategic objectives and needs?
You don’t need to have all the details ironed out, or indeed possess all the skills (there’s always room for professional development as long as you have transferable skills), but you do need to have clarity around what needs to be achieved, and be confident that you can deliver.
If you can build a strong business case demonstrating your ROI you’re going to make it very difficult for the organisation to say no!
