Which job should I pick?
Posted by
When you’re looking for your next role, you can find yourself comparing jobs and trying to work out which one is best – not only which has the best job title, but which would be the best for your career? What should you think about, before deciding?
I first started thinking about this when I’d already done a large amount of the research into 2000 people’s successful careers. The topic arose due a question asked by a graduate who had gone out of his way to help me do a survey and focus group around graduate long-term success; I rated him very highly, and not least because he’d been a sterling example of how to apply learning. He’d taken a pack of cards we’d created about things that make graduates successful long-term, and every week as he and his friends drove in to work, they’d choose one card to experiment with. He was on a 1-year graduate contract where there were 40 graduates completing the scheme at the same time, and there was no guarantee that they all would get a final job (though every intention of keeping all of them if possible). Not surprisingly, there was considerable anxiety as the scheme approached its end. However, this graduate having practised everything we’d taught him returned from holiday to find FOUR job offers on the table!
When he phoned me for advice, I was at a conference, but due to our good relationship, I decided to sit out the next session and think through some ideas with him about how he should look at the different options and their pros and cons.
First off, and way ahead of everything else comes:
There are many different aspects of jobs which can help you shine, and build a track record of success. Evaluate possible jobs first in terms of whether you will love your work – that’s non-negotiable – then use the checklist above to understand the opportunities it may offer to help you shine.
I first started thinking about this when I’d already done a large amount of the research into 2000 people’s successful careers. The topic arose due a question asked by a graduate who had gone out of his way to help me do a survey and focus group around graduate long-term success; I rated him very highly, and not least because he’d been a sterling example of how to apply learning. He’d taken a pack of cards we’d created about things that make graduates successful long-term, and every week as he and his friends drove in to work, they’d choose one card to experiment with. He was on a 1-year graduate contract where there were 40 graduates completing the scheme at the same time, and there was no guarantee that they all would get a final job (though every intention of keeping all of them if possible). Not surprisingly, there was considerable anxiety as the scheme approached its end. However, this graduate having practised everything we’d taught him returned from holiday to find FOUR job offers on the table!
When he phoned me for advice, I was at a conference, but due to our good relationship, I decided to sit out the next session and think through some ideas with him about how he should look at the different options and their pros and cons.
First off, and way ahead of everything else comes:
- Does this work excite you?
If you enjoy the work, it will qualify you for other opportunities that you’ll enjoy. Based on the stories of career success I’ve collected, it’s a mistake to go into work that you don’t enjoy with the aim of addressing a weakness. The main reason is that doing work you dislike makes you stop looking like an enthusiastic high flyer, and you may struggle to get out of it. When you are doing work you love, you don’t mind coming in early or staying late, your enthusiasm shines, and your work is high quality. Don’t give that up!
- Will you be working for a great manager?
A great manager is one who supports, encourages and stretches you, and actively helps you drive your career. They have a track record of people leaving their team for bigger things. Or it might be that they are a rising star, and you have skills that complement their own – in which case you might easily end up following them up through the organisation. If you aren’t sure about what you want to do – choose a manager to work for! - Is the role very visible?
Being successful reduces the risk of appointing you, being visible and successful increases the number of people who’ll think of you positively when you apply. Thinking of the career stories I’ve heard, visibility has variously been; becoming the manager of the branch nearest Head Office where lots of trials were carried out; being one of the initial people working on a new product; piloting a new initiative the Board were watching closely; tackling a project that was a headache for senior management (the person concerned called it ‘taking a thorn out of the paw’ of the Board!). There’s a lot of research evidence that visibility is key to your career – when Directors were asked why they got a Board position while equally qualified colleagues did not, the most common reason was that the colleague had not been in roles that were as visible. - Will it deliver good metrics that build your reputation?
Success is easier to measure in some jobs than in others. Will the job offer you the chance to create great metrics about the value you have added? Often turn-round jobs, where you tackle an underperforming area, or start-up projects where you can build something from nothing, are good. Can you deliver an increase in sales, customer satisfaction, profit, web hits, efficiency? Or a reduction in waste, people turnover and absenteeism, backlogs or time to result? How easy will it be to prove your superior performance on your CV? - Will it move you closer to where you want to be?
This might be a different department and role, or a different part of the country or a management position. Sometimes a role can act as a stepping stone, moving you into a new division or to your desired location, or a similar type of work to the work you want. Here you can be seen by people who could be important to your career. You can become visible as a high performer, increasing your chances of reaching your destination with your next move. Equally, you may want to pick up one of the pieces of experience that are expected in a more senior job. For example, one person took a secondment from a training role, into a call centre where she managed a team of 12 agents. This management experience was a critical factor in winning a position managing a training team shortly after her return. - Is it a growth area?
If a part of the business is growing, and you are in at the start, you can grow with it. One fast tracker joined a major engineering project as a recently qualified graduate off the graduate scheme. He was among the first 30 people on the project. 3 years later, he was managing 300 people.
There are many different aspects of jobs which can help you shine, and build a track record of success. Evaluate possible jobs first in terms of whether you will love your work – that’s non-negotiable – then use the checklist above to understand the opportunities it may offer to help you shine.