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I was ready for more.
Everything felt… too familiar.
I knew it was time for a change… but to what?
I was working at Pfizer and I had already worked in 4 of our 5 different product spaces.
I loved what I did – but also was getting a little tired of it.
So it was hard to know what to do next.
I knew I needed a new challenge – but I wasn’t ready to jump into something completely new yet. I wanted to make sure my next move was intentional and where I wanted to go.
So I did the next best thing… I experimented, while still in my current role.
"Nothing will work unless you do."
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Expanding your job scope gives you a chance to try something new – with minimum personal risk.
It helps you to learn new skills so you are ready for the next big opportunity.
There’s a few ways you can do this:
1. Take a new idea that will benefit the company and pitch it to your manager.
e.g. I pitched building a new consumer model – no one assigned it to me, but my manager agreed to support the idea as part of my role and funded the project.
2. Identify a project that you’re really interested in, even if you’re not officially assigned to it, and offer to help.
e.g. Leadership was building a new innovation culture and I volunteered (without being asked) to help build and execute plans.
3. Take ownership of an idea, outside of anyone’s job role, and make it happen.
e.g. I thought our office needed a collaborative innovation space beyond just cubicles and conference rooms. I gained President stakeholder support, $1.5 mil and half an office floor to build this space. Totally outside my R&D role – and no one else would take it on.
You have so many opportunities to learn new skills, if you look for them.
Take ownership of what you want to learn.
Be creative, learn outside a classroom.
Experience is the best teacher.
Expanding your job role – officially or unofficially – can be an amazing way to try new things, see what you like and where you want to learn even more.
What will you try next?
– Laura @ Mindtap
“Nothing will work unless you do.”
– Maya Angelou, American poet and civil rights activist