What if you have exhausted all opportunities [to change jobs within your company], and they pass on you because they want you where you are? – Stacie
This question came as a comment to my most recent post about making a lateral move (i.e., changing jobs within your company). Being blocked by your manager or other decision-makers because they would prefer you to do the job you have is a legitimate concern. Some companies don’t encourage lateral movement. Some managers are not supportive of their team’s career development (here are some tips to support your own development if that’s the case).
If you’ve been trying to make a lateral move within your company, but are stymied in your efforts, here are five steps to take:
1 – Do an honest self-assessment of your work performance
What are people saying about you? With internal moves, it’s very easy for the hiring manager to check your references since you’re all colleagues. If your company gives annual performance reviews, pull your previous ones and see how enthusiastic your manager (and any others who contributed) is about your performance. For your next performance review, get the feedback that you need to confirm that you’re on the right track
Are you spending time on things that support your career goals? Use this 10-point checklist to identify activities you can drop. In general, you want to make sure you are working on things that make or save the company money, but that also develop the skills, expertise and experience you need for your next step.
2 – Rate your job search technique
If you’re reasonably certain that your work performance is strong, double-check your interview performance. A lateral move unfolds similarly to a job search – you still need to get through the job interview. If you’ve been in your role for a while, you may be out of practice at interviews or even casual networking meetings.
If you’re friendly with any of the decision-makers from previous lateral moves you applied for but didn’t get, see if you can get feedback on why you didn’t get the job. Do a practice interview with a mentor, or ideally a friend in HR who is experienced in interviewing. You may be great at your job, but not great at interviewing.
3 – Confirm your manager’s reasons for blocking your move
If you’re reasonably certain that your work and job search technique are strong enough that you should have landed by now, dig deeper into why your manager would sabotage your move. What specifically is their hesitation? Maybe they worry about how long it will take to train someone else on the team to take over. Perhaps, there are hiring restrictions, so that if you move on, your manager loses a headcount. Could it be that your manager is supportive of your move but their manager or higher is not?
If you have a good relationship with your manager, enroll them into helping you with your next career move. If not, check with previous direct reports of this manager who are still at the company to see how they successfully moved on. If you have a mentor at the firm, they might have insight into how senior executives, including your manager and your manager’s manager, support or thwart lateral moves.
4 – Create a smooth transition plan
Once you have a better idea of what the bottleneck is, create a smooth transition plan around it. Start documenting your work processes so that a quick hand-off is possible. If there isn’t an obvious replacement for you already in-house, canvas your network for potential candidates to refer. In tricky situations where your manager is deliberately blocking you (say there’s a hiring freeze so they don’t want to lose your headcount) start building senior support apart from your manager.
At the end of the day, any reasonable company will want their employees to be in roles that make sense. If you can show, with the support of influential mentors and allies, that your best next step is a lateral move, there may be enough forward momentum to overturn even the most selfish manager.
5 – Continue to pursue lateral – and external — opportunities
While you’re pursuing steps 1-4 to build a case with your current manager, continue to pursue lateral opportunities. Stay close to your internal network so you hear about roles at the planning stage, not just when they’re posted. Work on your visibility to senior colleagues because they are the decision-makers for your next roles.
At the same time you look internally, also look externally. You may not want to leave your company, but looking outside doesn’t mean you have to leave. However, you might not be able to find something internally – there might be a hiring slowdown, your grabby manager might have more influence than you can overcome. Looking outside also gives you a window into what else is available, and you might even find something better. For inspiration, check out these top jobs, companies and career paths for people who want to work remotely.
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