how to tell when you are going nowhere and need to move

fret_wimp2

Firstly, let me say that i know i am lucky to have a job in a recession. i am not writing this post to moan about little petty problems, problems that unemployed people would love to have. Im simply voicing a problem and would like your opinions.

I am in a pretty safe permanent position in IT. The job pays decently and has some good perks ( pension, gym, discounts etc etc).

The problem is that although i am here 4 years, my responsibilities have not changed in over 4 years. I am still doing the same tasks i was given on day 1 when i entered the role.

I have taken all opportunities to show that i want to grow and move up. Things like identifying major issues, and drafting proposals on how we can solve these major issues without adding extra resources, volunteering for weekend/late night work, especially on projects away from my current tasks are all things i have tried in order to get new, interesting work in my role. none of this has helped.

Every review period i get an exceeded status( obtainable by only 10-15% of the top performers in a company), and am told that in 6 months everything will have changed and i will be on new interesting projects, but nothing ever changes, so my career is totally stagnant, with no sign of change.

I actually really hate going to work now, as nothing I do will ensure a new better role/responsibilities and the only way to change this that i can see is to move to another company.


Leaving a good job in a recession seems absolutely crazy, but im at my wits end with this role and its just pushing me down into a spiral of depression.

I really like the company i work for, and feel i can make a difference, but if after all my attempts they are not facilitating me to make a difference, what choice do i have?

I would like to know if anyone here has been in a similar situation, and has come out the other side, and if so, what did you do?

Eoin

I also left a pretty secure IT job with a few perks, because I wasn't progressing despite good reviews and promises from management. In fact, I resigned twice - the first time I ended up staying for another year, but nothing came of it so I left for good the second time.

The company I moved to is also very large, so it wasn't really that much of a risk - apart from the differences in redundancy rights.

All in all, I'm delighted I made the move - I think it was well worth the risk. You should not feel guilty about not liking a secure job just because a lot of people are out of work. If you hate going into work, then it's time to look around.

mikemac

fret_wimp2 wrote: »

Firstly, let me say that i know i am lucky to have a job in a recession. i am not writing this post to moan about little petty problems, problems that unemployed people would love to have.

You are a top performer in your job.
It's not that you are lucky, other people are unlucky that's all
If you can progress your career then leaving then go for it, if other people are unemployed it's not your concern

MrDarcy

Do you work in Intel by any chance? That 10% category of "exceeded expectations" sounds scarily familar.

fret_wimp2

No, not intel. Another multinational. AFAIK, they all employee a curve by which staff are graded during the review period.

MrDarcy

Well my advice to you is if you are not happy where you are then leave. Are there no other opportunities advertised in such a large company that you could apply for???

fret_wimp2

Not in my particular field. There was one position, which i applied for, and made it through 4 sets of interviews, but lack of experience in a particular area meant i didnt get the job.

I do invest a lot of time reading whitepapers, doing examples and reading blogs, in order to build up my knowledge in areas i currently dont have experience, but as i dont use these skills daily , they are just forgotten after a month or two. Use it or lose it, as the saying goes.

Classic situation of needing experience to get a job to get experience. Nowdays, interviewers want someone to sit into a job and hit the ground running. there is no hiring of staff who have huge potential and fit 85-90% into a position. Employers dont want to work with staff. I guess its just the market now. Strange, as i doubt there are many people out there who can just sit into a brand new job/role with all the required skills.

dazberry

They're a couple of very good posts fret_wimp2. It's one of those strange things that people just don't get until they find themselves in that situation. I've made enough mistakes in my career by my own hand but taking a job in a bank (writing software) 6 years ago was just FUBAR :mad:. I've spent 16 years writing software (well IMO) and I'm unemployable, using the wrong f**king tools

So I'm throwing in the towel and am going back to college in September for 2 years. It's as much as for a change, as for doing the course itself - I'm pretty much burned out in the bank - it's that sort of place - and really just want back to normal at this stage.

Classic situation of needing experience to get a job to get experience. Nowdays, interviewers want someone to sit into a job and hit the ground running. there is no hiring of staff who have huge potential and fit 85-90% into a position. Employers dont want to work with staff. I guess its just the market now. Strange, as i doubt there are many people out there who can just sit into a brand new job/role with all the required skills.

Spot on.

D.

shoegirl

fret_wimp2 wrote: »

I would like to know if anyone here has been in a similar situation, and has come out the other side, and if so, what did you do?

I was in your position and I recognised one thing: it was not ME that was stagnant but the company I was working for. I was slowly progressing without progressing, learning on the job, building minute little extra skills. What the company was doing was losing contracts left, right and centre.

I hung on for the redundancy, which helped, but studied part time with the OU while waiting around, so unlike most of my colleagues who are still wondering what hit them, I'm back working after just a few weeks out, on a significantly higher pay cheque.

The big thing was developing skills outside of the job.