Lateral moves in a job show growth and learning, said recruiting expert Cindy Nicola of EA.
Want to position yourself to move up the corporate ladder? Consider extending your experience within the company by shifting titles and responsibilities laterally to another department, Cindy Nicola, a recruiting VP at video game company Electronic Arts (EA) told The Wall Street Journal. Opportunities for promotion usually occur when individuals leave a company or retire — something that has considerably slowed in 2009, according to numbers the WSJ examined from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“You’re still learning and growing,” said Nicola on how lateral moves add up. Take a look at how one director’s lateral move opened up new leadership opportunities (from the WSJ article):
In late 2008, Kate Pullman, 31, moved into a director position at Prudential Financial Inc. in Newark, N.J., after about a year working at the same level but in a different niche within the financial-services firm’s human-resources department.
“I thought it was better to move laterally than to wait for an opportunity to move up,” she says. Though her salary remained flat, she got to supervise employees with different work styles than those she previously managed, plus she oversaw a company-wide initiative for the first time. She says the move paid off. In November, she was promoted to vice president of staffing operations and received a 12% raise.
(Image by Mukumbura via Flickr cc 3.0)
More on job promotions, resigning, and career advice:
- What Human Resources Managers Will Learn from NBC’s Conan-Leno Fiasco
- Resign with Class
- 6 Face-Saving Antidotes to Awkward Situations
- Don’t Answer That Interview Question
- Quiz: Is Your Resume Under-Formatted?
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