Can you see how you moved logically from that lowly place to the rungs above? Or was the next rung merely the top of a very short ladder? Did you have to jump back a few steps on another ladder to start climbing again?
The purpose of this roundabout approach is to develop some perspective. In your present situation, your boss's job may look attractive, but in an overall plan of development it may actually be a dead end.
An examination of your boss's background may show that he's been in the same spot for ten years. His plight may not have been caused by his lack of ability. It could be the job itself. The only mistake on his part may have been accepting the position in the first place,
You can avoid such a pitfall in a number of ways:
- Make a thorough study of the company before you are hired.
- Change departments or companies to one in which your qualifications will allow advancement.
- Broaden your studies.
- "Moonlight" in work which will add to your advancement possibilities.
Discovering the job with a future does not necessarily require that it lead directly to better positions, however; the new position may prepare you for jobs in other companies. The advisability of frequent job-changing depends on the field in which you are working. It is always better, nevertheless, to prepare for as many future opportunities as possible-to provide advancement potential through growth within a company as well as through the game of "company-hopping."
2 If you make your discovery about the dead end after you are already on the company street, you can construct some progressive side alleys. The outside suppliers and the other internal departments with which you work can be a help.
Everyone likes to talk about his own work problems. Develop a sympathetic ear; listen and inquire. You will be respected for it, and you will learn. It may develop that you can qualify for a position with more advancement potential in one of these related areas. Moreover, you offer the new boss an inside knowledge of a company or department with which he works closely. This type of move is more common than you might suspect; it does, however, require an enterprising nature.
3 The dead end may be caused by your own limitations. Study the learning section of the next chapter for principles in broadening your abilities.
4 "Moonlighting" may offer many new opportunities. A woman I know went to work for a major magazine answering letters written by subscribers. Quickly she was given more and more responsibility and finally promoted to supervisor of the letters department. This position was a dead end, but the woman had also been copy editing and proofreading for other companies on a free-lance basis. The combination of experiences soon lead to numerous openings in the field of editing.
Examples of this sort are numerous, but moonlighting has a few inherent problems that you should be prepared for. First, most employers do not approve of it. They expect your undivided attention. More importantly, you may be defeated through sheer exhaustion. The second job may help you financially and may advance your career opportunities, but take it slowly and discreetly.
Dead ends, clearly, are best avoided by thorough and careful planning and continuous broadening of your education.
