Episode Transcript
As always you’re thinking about your next engineering career move. You have at least one idea that you’ve been toying with.
There’s a particular opening. Or people have been giving you suggestions. Maybe you actually have an offer. A formal offer or an informal invitation to apply.
It’s exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time. How are you gonna handle this decision? You’re glad to have opportunities. But worried about making the right choice.
You’re excited that there’s a potential job opportunity open to you. You’re thrilled that you’ve been invited and encouraged to apply. That someone recognizes your talent and wants you to take this new job.
But wait.
What does this job mean for you? Does the offeror really have your best interests in mind?
Just because there’s an opportunity available doesn’t mean you should take it.
Let me start by giving you a few reminders. Things we’ve talked about in previous episodes. Remember:
- You want the vast majority of your work to contribute directly to the mission because that’s what leads to promotion.
- When you and your job are a good match you’ll get you to your goals faster.
- Taking career leaps moves you more quickly toward your vision and your career potential.
- When you challenge yourself you raise your risk tolerance and your work is more rewarding.
You want to keep these things in mind because you don’t want to sell yourself short. You don’t want to veer off your career trajectory.
You don’t want to end up in a job that has no room for learning or growing. And in the long run you don’t want to end up never getting as far as you hoped you would in your career.
You want to keep these things in mind because you want to always be making strides toward your vision. Toward your dream career.
Toward whatever it is that fulfillment means to you. Like making a contribution. Making a difference. Changing the world.
Assessing Your Engineering Job Options
I have an assessment tool that I’m gonna share with you today. It’s a sort of “go-no-go gauge.” You’ve probably learned about go-no-go gauges somewhere in your engineering training.
The assessment allows you to do a quick quality check. It tells you when an article passes inspection and when to reject it.
So as you’re deciding your next career move – and I hope you’re doing this now – run your options through this go-no-go gauge. Assess your choices and possibilities by asking yourself these 5 questions:
- Is it enough of a stretch?
Be careful of taking a job that feels really comfortable. Because it probably means you already know how to do most of it. It won’t stretch you. And you’ll soon be bored.
Instead you want to have room to grow into it. You don’t want to meet all the requirements before you start. You don’t want to have too much experience going in.
You should be taking some risk. It should be challenging. It should feel edgy.
- Is it for you or it is for someone else?
If this job is offered or suggested by someone else, make sure it’s actually a good option for you. Make sure it’s not a good option only because someone else is telling you it is.
Only you know what’s best for you. Even if others think they know what’s best for you.
- Is there alignment with your energetic center?
You’ll get the greatest amount of fulfillment from jobs that are most aligned with you. With your values, skills, strengths and passions.
A job that parallels your own energy and motivation would be an optimal choice. On the other hand, if there’s disconnect between your job and your energetic center, it’ll slow your career progress and result in aggravation for you.
Take some time to determine your energetic center. And evaluate your job option with that in mind. And you’ll get a feel for how that alignment and the resulting synergy can propel your career.
- Can you articulate how it moves you toward your vision?
A job may be appealing to you for various reasons. But if it doesn’t help manifest your vision it’ll interfere with your career progress. Too much of this kind of distraction will dilute your planned accomplishments. And cause you to come up short in your career overall.
As you’re assessing each job option, be specific about what part it plays in getting you to your goals. And helping you become the engineer and leader you want to be.
This will help you make a better choice and avoid becoming enamored with an option that turns out to be just a shiny object.
- Is it promotable work?
We just discussed promotable and non-promotable work in Episode 80. Promotions play a crucial role in your career advancement. So you don’t want to jeopardize that by getting caught up in too many non-promotable tasks.
Women engineers often end up with a significant amount of non-promotable work on their plates. Sometimes it’s not obvious that a job entails non-promotable tasks. And sometimes there’s bias involved in assigning that work.
So make sure you take this into account as you’re assessing a new job opportunity. Ask the right questions of the right people and make sure this job offers a gainful promotion pathway.
When Your Engineering Job Option is Rejectable
If the answer is “no” to any of the assessment questions, consider how can you tweak the best options to make them better.
One way is to negotiate tasks, responsibilities, pay, benefits, or timelines. Or any other details that will optimize the job for you.
Another way is to tailor the job so it passes the go-no-go gauge. Often bosses and managers are willing to work with you to tailor the job – or even create a new one – for you. You have more leeway here than you think.
If your option still fails the go-no-go gauge, then reject it. And keep actively looking for one that suits.
Don’t think you need to grab this opportunity because it’s your only chance. It’s not.
Sometimes there are reasons for taking a job that’s less than ideal. But generally you don’t want to sacrifice career progress by spending time doing work that has little benefit for you.
Give this assessment tool a try. If you find a job option that passes the go-no-go test, it’s gonna be an excellent choice for you. Give it a try and let me know how it works.
Today’s topic is a great one for a strategy session. As you find yourself in this job decision situation, you might want some help walking through an assessment. And I’d be happy to walk through it with you.
Sign up here. This is a big step. And having another pair of eyes and another perspective can really help.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll explore some ways to avoid getting caught up in perfection. Be sure to tune in for Episode 89.