Last week I had my monthly one-to-one meeting with my supervisor at work, where we discuss my progress, any needs I may have, and how I can improve.
I have been in my current job for nearly a year now, and my supervisor suggested I start thinking about moving to another department (eg the IT department or similar). I am considered to be very good at the technical aspects of this job, but it’s the soft skills, eg verbal communication skills, which are holding me back.
For the last few months, in my current job, I have been trying very hard to progress to the next level (Lead Adviser level; I’m currently at Adviser level), but I haven’t quite made it, because my verbal communication skills need improvement. Although my colleagues have said I have improved quite a bit in that respect, there is still some way to go.
So, that’s why my supervisor feels my skills could be better used elsewhere in the company. I said I would be a bit nervous of moving into a new department, in case I don’t like it, so she suggested I could go on a “secondment”. That means I would be able to go and work in another department for 6 months or so, and if I don’t like it (or if they don’t like me!) I can return to my current job. She thinks I would be able to progress faster in an IT-based role than I could in my current job.
I was hoping to be promoted to Lead Adviser level at my next appraisal sometime in June, but it now appears that won’t be the case. Personally, I think it will be good for me to go on a “secondment”, as there is nothing to lose, because I can always come back if I don’t like the new role. And I could progress faster in an IT role, as verbal communication is not considered quite as important as in my current job. My only concern is missing the people in my current department (who are really nice), and having to get used to the people in the new department, whom I have never met before.
For the last few days I have been doing research into other departments I might like to move into. I have been looking at the online internal jobs board, and I have found several I like the sound of. I even searched on Myspace for people who work in my company, and I contacted a couple of people who are currently working in the IT department to find out more about their roles. And they did write back to me with information, so I’m really pleased about that!
I don’t want to move immediately though. I’m in the middle of a project, so I won’t be able to move until the end of May at the earliest. I would ideally like to stay until June, for my next appraisal, and if I don’t get promoted to Lead Adviser level then, I will take that as a cue to move. The best thing is that I have the support of my supervisor in whatever I decide to do.
Today was a bank holiday, but it was raining (of course, it ALWAYS seems to rain on public holidays, for some reason!) So instead of going out for a walk somewhere, we went to the cinema. We saw Ice Age 2:The Meltdown, which I thought was really good. It was quite funny, and I preferred it to the first one. Yesterday (Sunday) was sunny, so we went for a walk by the river.
Anyway, I did manage to get an internal application form filled in for a job I’m interested in. I will have a meeting with my supervisor tomorrow morning to discuss it. I haven’t told anyone else at work yet – some of the others may feel sad if they know I’m thinking of moving on, because I’m working on projects with them. But if I do get offered another job in a different department, I would stay in my current position until I’ve finished my current projects.