Before searching for a new job, see what you can change?

Have you talked to your boss about your goals for 2018? Does he/she know what you’ve accomplished last year? Do they understand your motivations, likes, and dislikes? 

One of the most surprising parts about my job is that most (I’d say 75%) of the people that call me and send me a resume have NEVER talked to their boss honestly during a review or any other time. Is it a fear that they might be fired? A fear of confrontation? If so, there are a lot of ways to communicate without being looked at like a problem employee. And, the talk can be a very pleasant one that makes your boss feel like a better manager.

Here’s what I tell my clients: Ask your boss out to lunch one day (send an email if you’d rather not ask them to lunch directly). The first time you do this, your boss is going to wonder if you are making some type of announcement or complaint. Start off by asking questions about they think you’re doing? “Is there anything that I can do better to help the team?” Wont they be excited when they realize you’re not making a complaint or quitting but instead you’re asking great questions about your future. Be genuine and tell them that you want feedback as to how you could add more value. This is a great way to get the wheels turning and talking about career as opposed to just the daily grind conversations you have at work. While on the subject, ask them what they think growth potential is like internally? Let them know that you want to keep growing, learning, training. “I’m really enjoying my position here but would love to get more exposure to management and supervising”. Guess what will happen here……now your boss realizes how much you have in common. You want to manage people just like they are doing. You think about your future, just like they do. What a nice compliment it will be for your manager to hear that you want to follow in similar footsteps to them! 

If you’re searching for jobs online and see job descriptions with tasks that sound exciting, ask your boss if you can take some of those tasks on (NEVER tell your boss you’re looking at jobs online though)? A good manager will never get annoyed if someone is asking for more work to do, even if it’s out of their realm.  It shows motivation, enthusiasm, and confidence. Even if they laugh and say that the COO does that, at least they know where your focused and forward thinking. And if they constantly shoot down your requests, perhaps you are ready to move on.  

One of the hard parts of this conversation is that you’re going to need to be OK with constructive feedback. There may be some things that you are not happy to hear. But, if the lunch seems to do nothing but focus on the negative and you see nowhere to go internally, at least you have exhausted all options and will never look back with regret. The last thing you want to do is be surprised during your exit interview that they were ready to promote you or that a raise was in the works. As Mark Twain once said, “It is wiser to find out than to suppose”.