Page 112 - Free Yourself From

Making the Break 95

1. Take a step back and define your ultimate career goals and
objectives. Think big and don’t let obstacles stand in your
way. For example, if you are vice president or senior direc-
tor of Finance, is your final destination a chief financial
officer position?

2. Now, write down the experiences and knowledge you have
acquired so far in your current and past jobs.

3. Next, identify the skills and knowledge areas you want to
continue to learn about and any new skills or experiences
you want to begin to cultivate.

4. Ask yourself which of these are things you won’t be able to
build or acquire in the job you have now?

5. Pull it all together. Is there still some room for you to develop
yourself, take new risks and have new experiences in your cur-
rent job? Or have you made the most of it and “plateaued” by
now? If you know there isn’t much more you can get from
your current position, then it’s time to look around. Is it possi-
ble to find new growth opportunities at your current organiza-
tion and is the internal move you would want to make doable?
Or would it be better to move on completely and experience a
new organization?

Even if you don’t see any opportunities within your organization
to further advance yourself toward your end game, you don’t nec-
essarily have to start calling recruiters and begin job hunting.
Instead, schedule conversations with your boss and with other influ-
ential people in your organization with whom you have good, trust-
ing relationships. Your introduction should go something like this:

I have enjoyed my job here at the company and feel like I am mak-
ing a good contribution for you and the organization. But I