5 reasons not to wait for an internal career move!

After years of hard work, a senior research scientist faced redundancy when her research project lost funding ??. She was nervously preparing for a meeting with a senior executive and hoped to receive guidance on internal career opportunities??. Instead, the advice was clear and surprising:

"To move up, you'll need to move out."

The senior executive suggested that her best option for career growth was to leave the company, work for a competitor for a few years, and then return at a higher level.

This isn't just a one-off scenario. Deloitte revealed that 57% of employees and managers believe getting a new job outside their current company is more accessible than advancing internally??.

And it's not just this one case. A similar story came from a banker ?? working in an open-plan office ???. She overheard a colleague trying to discuss career advancement with her boss.

The second-hand shortened version of the conversation goes like this

?? Employee: "I'm capable of moving to something more challenging; I took a step back to take this role with the latest restructuring. I would like to be considered for any opportunities, especially while I'm on holiday in the next 3 weeks ."

?? Boss: "Where are you going on holiday?"

?? Employee: "China"

?? Boss: "I went to Hong Kong 5 years ago, and it was so wonderful, you should go to………."

It was clear that her career aspirations needed to be taken more seriously but aren't likely to be by this boss.??.

So, why does internal career mobility often feel like a dead end?

Here are five key reasons:

1.????? Lack of interest from management: Many leaders are more focused on their progression than helping their team advance??♂?. It's no wonder 34% of employees leave their jobs due to an uninspiring or uncaring boss??.

2.????? Being 'boxed in': People often get pigeonholed into their current roles??. While transferable skills and growth sound good on paper, many need help to see their colleagues in new, more challenging roles ??.

3.????? Talent hoarding: Why would a manager want to lose a high-performing team member who helps them hit targets ??? According to Deloitte, 46% of managers resist internal moves?.

4.????? Flawed HR processes: There needs to be more than a brief annual talent review covering dozens of employees to spotlight your skills, identify growth opportunities??, or help you land a new role internally.

5.????? Lack of visibility: HR systems often need better data and analytics to match internal opportunities and employee capabilities. ??Managers sometimes rely more on LinkedIn than internal platforms to discover talent in their own organisation ??.

So, what can you do?

Don't wait...

·??????? For your boss to suddenly care about your career (instead of his/her own). ??

·??????? For he next annual talent review round to identify a new, exciting position for you.

·??????? For your name to pop up in the HR database to fill an internal vacancy ??

·??????? To be seen as capable of something beyond your current box ??

Take charge of your career – no one else will do it for you!

If you want to build visibility within your company, let's chat and explore how you can take charge of your career path??.

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