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| LEARN AND WALK AWAY... |
The best advice I received on my first job out of college at
SmithKline Beecham (now Glaxo) was to get the experience, obtain an advanced degree,
and gracefully jump ship. The person’s
reasoning was that you are not respected if you obtain credentials while on the
job. The respect, money, and worth come naturally from another employer. And when your current employer "misses the water because the well ran dry", they will hire you back for even more money.
As I have maneuvered the rungs of the corporate ladder and
the professional existence, his advice has been valid in almost every
case. It is much like relationships
(business and personal). When you act
desperate and they know you need them, there is less respect than when you are
more confident and know your worth.
So how do you learn and leave them alone?
- Create a personal professional project plan. You don’t need to be a PMP (overrated most times anyway). Open up Excel and put together some milestones (e.g. Start MBA or Certification program) with some dates. Under each milestone, add each task it will require to accomplish them (e.g. Obtain transcripts from schools, find babysitters for kids 2 nights/week, save $500/month extra, etc.). Place a paper copy of this plan on your wall at home and electronically on your smartphone and tablet. Be sure to refer back to it daily to make sure you have taken out the time to focus on closing out one of the tasks.
- Partner with a mentor at work in the newly desired expertise. If your new occupation or dream job is being done at your company, look in the corporate directory for other people who have the job title or responsibility and contact them to see if they are willing to be your mentor. Set up times with them during lunch or before/after work hours to go through their daily responsibilities and determine if this is something you really want to do.
- Sign up for training that increases the chance of entering the new profession/position. Look up the profession or job title on frequently used job boards like Salary.com, Monster.com, or LinkedIn. Take note of the job descriptions and look for training and certification that closely mimic the prerequisites.
- Market yourself. After you’ve completed 1 – 3, update your resume and marketing materials (yes, you are a brand!) to reflect what you have learned, the training, and the mentorship/apprenticeship and send out to companies from #3. Remember don’t apply for internal jobs and ask for a reference from your mentor.
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