How to Get Unstuck

Search

Mailing List

Home

Resources

Articles

How to Get Unstuck

You're going nowhere fast in your job. But it doesn't have to be that way.
March 29, 2004Author: Carol Hymowitz and Kemba J. Dunham
Source: The Wall Street Journal Report: Your Career

How to Get Unstuck
You're stuck.
Yes, you're working harder than ever -- especially since all those recent staff cutbacks. Yes, you're as ambitious as ever -- and see any number of jobs you could do at the company.

But you haven't had a promotion in several years and don't see one in sight. New opportunities at other companies are equally scarce, which rules out employer-hopping.

So what do you do when you're running fast -- and going nowhere? How can you rejuvenate your career when you feel trapped in the same old job?

For many employees, that is the question in today's jobless recovery. With so few companies hiring, and so many workers staying put, there just isn't a lot of movement in workplaces these days. Many who survived layoffs and took on extra work to fill job gaps are eager for new challenges. But when they ask for assignments that will expand their experience and move them up the ranks, their bosses often tell them, "Just do what you're doing now and we'll get back to you next year," says Laurence J. Stybel, co-founder of Stybel Peabody & Lincolnshire, a Boston career-management firm. "It's hard to have an intelligent discussion about career development with managers who are still stretched thin on resources and feel uncertain about what lies beyond the next quarter," Mr. Stybel adds.

So does that mean that the bored and restless are doomed to slump at their desks forever, or at least until it's their turn to be pushed out? Absolutely not. Those who understand it is up to them to drive their careers can change and grow without walking out the door.

How do they do it? Let's count some of the ways.

Broaden Your Horizons
Consider Laura Terbough, a 30-year-old manager at Intel Corp., a Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker. Last spring, she felt unhappy with her job as a consumer marketing manager, which she had held for 21/2 years. "There was just a feeling that I wasn't connecting," she says.
At first she thought she would have to leave Intel to find more satisfying work. But few companies in her region and industry were hiring. Then her counterpart at Intel in Germany decided to take a five-month sabbatical and suggested she fill in for her, beginning in April 2003. Ms. Terbough jumped at that opportunity, which turned out to be just the right remedy for her malaise. "International experience was the shot in the arm that I needed," she says. "And being away from my old job gave me more perspective, and I was able to figure out what I liked and didn't like."

On her return to California in August, she cast a wide job-hunting net. Because she was interested in education, she considered educational software and toy companies as well as universities. But she also focused on options at Intel. She arranged informational interviews with Intel managers and networked with colleagues at lunch. She researched different departments, such as corporate communications, and searched the company intranet for job information.

In October, she learned about a possible job as program marketing manager for Intel's world-wide educational group. The position involved collaborating with educators and governments to improve students' conceptual skills by focusing on technology, math and science. It was in her area of interest, so she quickly arranged to meet with the group's hiring manager, whom she had worked with before, and stressed why she thought it was a perfect fit.

When the job finally materialized in December, she got the offer and immediately accepted. "If I hadn't assessed what I wanted and needed, I would have had a lot more anxiety about recommitting to Intel," she says. But what most helped her reinvigorate her career, Ms. Terbough says, was her decision to fill in for her colleague in Germany. Being in a new environment with a different culture and language was exciting and boosted her self-confidence and determination to try something new when she returned to the U.S. The international experience she gained also broadened her résumé and was an asset as she looked for new jobs at Intel and other companies.

"I could show that I understood different perspectives and different market dynamics," she says.

It's the Little Stuff

Sometimes making very subtle changes at work can trigger career gains. "We all read about makeup artists who become lawyers or pilots, but few people reinvent themselves that completely -- and sometimes all that is needed is a small change," says Barbara Moses, a career coach in Toronto and author of "What Next: The Complete Guide to Taking Control of Your Working Life." A Web designer at a large hotel chain who sought Ms. Moses' help felt stale and was having difficulty coming up with new ideas. So she did something simple: Instead of remaining blocked in front of her computer screen, she spent time outside the office visiting department stores and taking in new visual displays. "That opened up her creative side, and she started producing new work that was softer and more beautiful than what she had done previously," Ms. Moses says.

She felt revitalized, happier with her job and more confident about her abilities. She also was assigned bigger projects and received a raise.

Focus Less on Work

Another way to combat career doldrums is to focus less energy on work and more on activities outside the office. This can be particularly effective for Type A high achievers. "These are the driven people who are always producing more and more -- but if it is more and more of what you don't like, you end up feeling oppressed," says Dory Hollander, a workplace psychologist and president of WiseWorkplaces, an Arlington, Va., executive-coaching firm. She urges such employees "to do the minimum required to produce reasonably good work and focus on something you care about outside the office."

By letting go of a single-minded, all-consuming focus on their jobs, Dr. Hollander believes, employees will not only derive more personal satisfaction but also become more productive and effective at work. They will be able to bring new interests and energies to their jobs, which in turn should help them advance their careers.

A 40-year-old business unit-manager at a midsize consulting company in Washington adopted that tactic about 18 months ago. "After six years at the company, I felt I couldn't develop the business into something I felt proud of, and I wasn't encountering any exciting new challenges," he says. In addition, because of the economy's weak state, he couldn't offer his staff promotions or pay raises, or get these for himself. "The news was always about someone leaving or a client downsizing, and that lack of good news deflated energy levels," he says.

He contemplated quitting but realized he couldn't easily replace his six-figure income. So he sought career counseling from Dr. Hollander and subsequently started writing a business book, which he is currently completing. He also enrolled in acting classes.

Both activities "are far outside my comfort zone and require that I work long hours," he says. But both are interesting and therefore energizing and have buoyed his spirits and performance on the job.
For one thing, because he wants more time for after-work activities, he has learned to be far better organized and productive at work. He delegates a lot of administrative work, which he feels he used to waste time on, and focuses intently on partner-client relationships, where he can build business for his firm and add to the bottom line. "I'm working more intelligently," he says.

He also thinks he has become a better people manager. "I used to be extremely remote and was entirely focused on driving the business," he says. He didn't spend much time talking with his staff, gauging where different people needed help or figuring out who was best at what tasks. But since he enrolled in acting classes, he says, he has become more outgoing and better able to converse with employees. He discovered that when he talked about his acting classes and writing, his employees and co-workers responded by sharing more about their lives. The exchange has resulted in closer work relationships, better teamwork and greater motivation on his staff, he believes.

As a result, he no longer wants to land a job at another company. "I've become a happy prisoner of this job," he says.

Make Lateral Moves

Not everyone can move up, at least not right away, but it's often possible to move sideways to escape an unsatisfying job or a career rut. As special assistant to the president of Gap Inc.'s Gap Brand Global unit, Sarah Dey knew she had a plum job. She wrote speeches for her boss, facilitated meetings, conducted research and supported him through his day-to-day activities. "Getting exposed to senior executive life was phenomenal," she says.

But in early 2002, after nearly two years on the job, Ms. Dey concluded that her own career needs were getting "lost in the shuffle" of day-to-day pressures. "The spotlight was never on me, and I was just a support person," she says. "I wanted to be accountable for my own results." Unsure of what she wanted, Ms. Dey, who is 35, took stock of her work history, which included a stint as a consultant at Boston-based Bain & Co. She also went on informational interviews at Gap and talked with colleagues in different departments. Still, she couldn't see a way to advance to a higher-level position at Gap that provided more job satisfaction.

Then a new job opened up -- as senior manager of internal brand strategy -- that was a lateral move for the same pay. But she realized it would give her more independence and a chance to emerge out of a support role. She sold herself by using all her past experience. "I convinced them that I could balance a lot of different things at once," she says. She has since moved to another job at Gap as a director of international strategy and consumer insights.

Go Above and Beyond

Getting ahead also usually requires taking initiative and stepping beyond the boundaries of your job. Deliver what your boss expects first -- but also take on new challenges without waiting to be asked. That may include stepping in as the leader in a situation where no one is clearly in charge or bartering with someone who has been assigned to take charge of a project but doesn't have the time or interest. It also may mean gaining additional credentials by enrolling in a college course.

James M. Citrin, head of the global technology, communication and media practice at executive recruiters Spencer Stuart and co-author of "The 5 Patterns of Extraordinary Careers," distinguishes between gaining direct permission from superiors and using implied permission, "where you are able to create the presumption that you have permission. The way to expand your implied permission is to add value and also bring other key people along for the ride," he says.

Two years ago, a 31-year-old project manager at an insurance company felt disappointed when she was excluded from a conference of more senior-level managers in her area. Rather than sulk, she floated an idea during a dinner with some co-workers to form a teleconferencing network group with women managers across the company. The group formed shortly after, and nearly 19 women still have monthly teleconferences to discuss work and management issues.

This networking has helped the project manager advance. As a result of her increased visibility and the mentoring she has received from other women in the group, she has been offered bigger project assignments, including one to upgrade the company's financial systems world-wide. "The way I got it was through these discussions," she says.

Fill in Your Missing Skills

Mr. Stybel, the Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire career coach, recommends that employees carefully assess and compare their skills to the ones required in jobs they covet.

"Look at the jobs you might want to do next and find out what skills and experience you need to acquire to move ahead," he says. A comptroller likely won't have the broad treasury and governance responsibilities needed to be considered for a chief financial officer spot, for instance. He or she could, however, acquire some of that experience by gaining a board seat at a for-profit or nonprofit organization, volunteering for the finance committee and getting involved in treasury and governance issues. "You should punch your ticket on the specific skills you need," Mr. Stybel says.

One of his clients, a woman who felt stuck in a middle-management job, felt she wasn't considered sophisticated or strong enough by her bosses to merit a promotion to a general management job, overseeing more people. She enrolled in a midcareer management course at a prestigious business school, which allowed her to network with managers from other companies and also broadened her management knowledge. On completing the course, she lobbied for and won a promotion.

"She stopped thinking of herself as not good enough," Mr. Stybel says, "and realized she had all the skills she needed to advance."

###

--Ms. Hymowitz, a senior editor in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau, served as contributing editor of this report. Ms. Dunham is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau.

Copyright (c) 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved