So next week we’re having individual annual reviews at my firm. In preparation, each employee is asked to fill out a survey sorts where you rate yourself and describe where you want to be in a year or so. I’ve been at this job for a year and I see no more further opportunities for me in this current role. My boss is the sort of person who always has to seem busy so I’m afraid s/he is going to think I’m nuts if I were to tell her this. I’m basically running at like 30% to 40% of my potential and I still do the job well and timely. In a nutshell, I do not see any growth opportunities here other than getting a more senior title and a modest pay raise. My day to day activities would stay the same and I’m not interested in doing that sort of stuff for much longer. I would be happier elsewhere do other things. How do I broach this topic during my review? It’s going to come up based on years past and the survey I mentioned above. Do I come right out and say it? I don’t want to anger or offend my boss as s/he might have a more limited view of the world and I certainly don’t want to get fired or something for being “too” honest. Any advice or thoughts?
Ask about where/how your boss sees you progressing.
Ask if your boss will start to let you take on some(more) of their workload
ASSet_MANagement Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ask if your boss will start to let you take on > some(more) of their workload The problem with this is that 1) it’s just more of what I currently do and 2) I have 0 interest in doing it. I don’t want to transition in their role.
Steely Dan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ASSet_MANagement Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Ask if your boss will start to let you take on > > some(more) of their workload > > The problem with this is that 1) it’s just more of > what I currently do and 2) I have 0 interest in > doing it. I don’t want to transition in their > role. Then…you should look for a new job.
Keep it to yourself. Your boss already knows he’s in a dead end job (because no subordinate wants to step up and relieve him of duty) and doesn’t need you to remind him. I left a job one time because, “I look around and see people that have been doing this job for 20 years and I don’t want that to be me.” Yeah. Wrong thing to say to a guy that’s been doing the job for the past 25-30 years. At that point I learned it is better to bow out gracefully than to tell the truth. I echo the comments above that you should look for a new job.
flowbe209 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Keep it to yourself. Your boss already knows he’s > in a dead end job (because no subordinate wants to > step up and relieve him of duty) and doesn’t need > you to remind him. I left a job one time because, > “I look around and see people that have been doing > this job for 20 years and I don’t want that to be > me.” Yeah. Wrong thing to say to a guy that’s > been doing the job for the past 25-30 years. At > that point I learned it is better to bow out > gracefully than to tell the truth. I echo the > comments above that you should look for a new job. Yeah, this is good advice. If you look around, and you see a culture of long tenure with limited mobility, and your potential for mobility is not clearly being communicated to you, then you should just leave. In my experience, people are smart and generally understand what is going on culturally in an office, but will rarely spell it out for you and usually don’t want to talk about it. So if you’re not getting encouraging signs and it looks like a dead end, then it’s probably better to start looking.
Those reviews are usually just for show. The “real” review takes place inbetween those formal reviews, in day-to-day conversations, lobbying. Your best bet is to gear the interview so that your boss feels happy about your conversation, possibly taking up one or two achievable changes or challenges. Whatever you do, don’t breathe about that 40% potential and “not interested in doing that sort of stuff for much longer”. Instead, make that survey sound positive, when you fill it in. Your boss will probably like you better if she feels the things you ask are within her reach, rather than you wanting that total job change that she cannot offer anyway. Put on some good show, that’ll leave you in the best possible position with more degrees of freedom because your boss likes you better for being positive and for not being a difficult person. Then: network, network, network and move on. You could/should bring up the issue of being allowed to network in some type of association or context where you’ll meet more people outside from where you are now, you’ll just have to figure out what kind of association/context will fit in with your currrent job and still allow you to make contacts with other people from other firms.
I agree with the above comments. Your boss probably can’t help you find another job, other than by being a good reference if someone calls. You should just be positive during the review and make your boss like you.
My first job was like this. Horrible, and hated it after 9 months. It was a dead end, where the only excitement was praying someone would switch product coverage with you, but it got really old again after 2 months.
Burn your desk and never look back. Wear sunglasses and a black raincoat in your way out.
I am in a similar situation…I worked for a company whose financials werent looking so hot, so I decided to jump ship earlier this year instead of waiting for the inevitable bankruptcy filing (which eventually happened). Unfortunately, the opportunity that I took was oversold to me in the interview process and now I am stuck in a position that has no opportunity for growth and is not aligned with my career goals. I just recently was awarded the ability to use CFA after my name and decided at that time that it would probably be good to start putting my feelers out to see what the appetite was in the market for my background. Unfortunately, I have not found much…I have a few interviews for a position next week that I am slightly more excited about than the position I have now, but still nothing that excites me. I wish it were easy and I could just hold out until that perfect job becomes available, however, I know too many people who are stuck because they waited too long. I didn’t mean to hijak your thread, but I thought my situation was similar and hope that it helps some to know that others are in your same boat. Good luck with the review and keep us posted on what happens. Best, TheChad
There are some truly great advice on this thread. I agree that the most significant changes happen outside of formal processes like appraisals which are there more or less for show. I also agree 1000% with the fact that being positive goes a long long way. Whiners are the ones who tend to get stuck in a position. On the other hand, sometimes asking straight out will make things move, so I guess that one of the things that make people successful is the ability to guess what is the “winning blend”. Luck also plays a huge role, i.e. being at the right place at the right time. Luck comes to you, but you can enhance your shot at luck by knowing what’s going on and moving your pieces accordingly. This comes from networking. Don’t know if this makes sense. I had a little grappa and it’s getting late.
Inner Evil Voice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Burn your desk and never look back. Wear > sunglasses and a black raincoat in your way out. Just make sure the raincoat is not made of synthetic fabric. Otherwise, it might catch fire and melt on your skin, burning you badly. So you would basically be quitting your job, followed by setting yourself on fire and writhing on the floor in agony.
Inner Evil Voice Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Burn your desk and never look back. Wear > sunglasses and a black raincoat in your way out. Thanks - I was in dire need of a laugh today. This took care of it.
ohai Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Inner Evil Voice Wrote: > -------------------------------------------------- > ----- > > Burn your desk and never look back. Wear > > sunglasses and a black raincoat in your way > out. > > Just make sure the raincoat is not made of > synthetic fabric. Otherwise, it might catch fire > and melt on your skin, burning you badly. So you > would basically be quitting your job, followed by > setting yourself on fire and writhing on the floor > in agony. F’ing hilarious! K