Going up the career ladder calls for some well-calculated moves at theappropriate time. If your timing is wrong, your career can get a badjolt. It may take a long while before you can muster up the courage tomake another try.

The most rattling question for someone who has notched up three tofive years of experience in a particular position is - Should I moveout of this organisation?

To get the right answer to this question you will need to askyourself a series of questions or quiz yourself on all aspects of yourjob and the learning that you have gained over the period of time.Apart from that you will have to see if the career goals you have setfor yourself will be achieved by moving to a fresh job.But be clear inyour mind that if you are going to jump from company A to company Bjust for the pay packet, the new job may not be all that rosy as youimagine.

Points to ponder if you are ready to move ahead:

What you know: Look back to your day one in this job. How muchhave you learnt from then till now? Did you get a chance to handle thetasks by yourself or you still need guidance from boss and peers? Wereyou able to make the right decisions and were able to implement them?Do people seek your expertise on different issues on the job?

Answering these questions will let you know the level of experience you have gained.

Because when you take up a new position you must be able to move onto a higher position than the present. If it is just parallel, the movemay actually be a drag on your career, because you are going to spendtime playing out a similar role and discharging the sameresponsibilities.

Good fit: With the present experience you are ready to handlemore responsibilities and complex tasks. But here there is no potentialfor that kind of a role. You need to move on to the next level of thejob by getting into a position where you can use the skills andexperience gained, for the better. If you continue in your present jobit is a waste of precious career time.

Nil challenge: Your present job offers you no new challenges and you have been involved in the same tasks since the start.

Then it is time to look out for opportunities to increase yourlearning and do something new. Without a challenge, any job becomes a

grinding routine. If there is no chance to bring out the best ofyour mental faculties in a job, then it is not worth spending moretime. If there is nothing new you can do in a job, the chances ofadvancement become bleak. If you want to test out your skills or make amark, then you have to surely get in to a new role.

Business growth: If the present organisation’s business strategyis not paying off and business is stagnant then growth of theindividuals will also be stagnant. People in such type of organisationswill not be able to achieve any career goals nor will they be able toenhance their skills. Staying on will only mean survival in a jobrather than making a career out of it.

New offer: You also need to think on what kind of an offer youwill be willing to accept. You will have to make sure that the new jobwill offer better opportunities to fulfill you career goals. Yououtline your priorities for the switch. There should be a betterorganisational environment where ideas and innovation is encouraged.Better learning facilities or training in new skill sets, a career pathis defined if you match up to the expectations of the management.If youdo not work out your expectations from the new job and organisation youwould be disappointed when you get the offer and join.

Do not think like a veteran when switching from your first job. Itneeds careful analysis and evaluation. If you err while switching itcan be a costly career lesson you will not forget.

Published on The Hindu

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Regards

Vinay Guntaka