Landing That New Job is Just the Beginning

When you start the process of searching for a new career or job, you often approach it with the mindset that once you get that new position, then your work challenges will be resolved. But will they? When you accepted your current position, you probably also thought that this job would be the answer you were searching for.

The truth is that landing that new job is just the beginning. As you begin the onboarding and training process, how steep is the learning curve for you? Has technology outpaced your knowledge? What if you find that you don’t like your new role as much as you thought you would. Do you start searching new job postings and change employers again? How will that look on your resume? What if the position you accepted turns out to have different responsibilities than you thought you were being hired for? Do you say something to your manager or do you accept the differences and just settle for a less than satisfactory career? What if you don’t like your new co-workers? Can you be rehired for your former position? Is that wise? You left that job for a reason. Did the new career satisfy the reason that you left your former position?

New roles bring both new challenges and new opportunities. What are your new company’s promotion policies? Do they promote from within or do they seek fresh ideas through nationwide recruiting efforts? If they encourage promotion from within, how soon can you qualify? Do you have the credentials that it will take to be considered? If not, how long will it take to acquire them? Should you start working on your professional development or continuing education right away? What is your leadership style? Is your style in alignment with the corporate culture and core values of the company? Have you even developed your own leadership style yet? Does the company offer a leadership or management training program?

Part of having a lifelong career strategy is to be visionary in planning the next step on your career ladder. If you think that your next career move is permanent, I challenge you to think again. Every position can be considered temporary, whether it lasts for two weeks or twenty years. Creating a career strategy up to, and including, the encore years after your retirement, puts you in proactive control of your career direction and allows you to be prepared to seize opportunities as they come your way. Hiring an experienced career coach to help you chart your course and navigate through all the stages and transitions that you will go through on your career path can be one of the best long-term investments that you can make in planning for your future.