Huh? You’re thinking: "
Joanne, I just landed this job, and you’re asking me 'What’s next?'?!
"
Yes, and it’s called career
management
.
What I'm urging you to do just a few months after starting your new job, and once you are doing well in it, is to begin thinking about your
next
step. You’ll learn "the lay of the land" in your new company pretty quickly. You’ll rapidly become aware of roles, positions, power centers, who the leaders are, and your place in the whole scheme of things. This is when you will start asking yourself, "Wow, there’s a lot here, what’s ahead for
me?"
What will your next title be, what will your new skills be and how will you achieve them, how will you bring value to your next manager or next company? Then find ways in your
current
job to learn AND do those things.
For example, it could mean learning that new, in-demand software tool now that will not only help you in your current role, but will help you set a path to your next one. Or you’ll go for more projects that are enterprise wide because you want a lot of this in your next role. Or you start an initiative that makes your company a leader in the news, with the idea of repeatedly having such impact in your next role.
In short, you’ll be creating your successes now
and
paving the way for them in your next position.
