Your Extraordinary Career: Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

Q: I’ve been out of graduate school for three years, working in strategic planning for a major corporation. I’m interested in moving into an operations role, but to make that move I’ll have to step down the “corporate ladder,” taking a job with a lesser title and a lower salary. I really want to make the change, but I’m uncomfortable.

A: You’ve identified the first challenge: You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You know that the job change you’re pursuing will mean a step back in salary, title, and maybe prestige (although that may be more in your own mind, than anyone else’s—read on). That makes for an uncomfortable change. To handle this transition successfully, you need to consider several factors.

1. Is this job change part of a well thought-out career plan? What new skill, experience or opportunity are you looking to gain by making this move?
2. Is this new job something you are running toward, meaning a goal you’ve been considering for a while? Or are you running away from something else, like job dissatisfaction, difficulty with your boss, or a situation in your professional or even your personal life that you don’t want to address? Running towards a goal is part of your success equation; running away never works.
3. Do you have a safety net, both financial and psychological? If you’re going to take a pay cut, do you have enough savings to carry you through several months or other financial resources (i.e. your spouse also works) to help make up the difference? Are your spouse and/or others who are close to you supportive of this move? Also if things don’t work out with this new move, do you have an obvious path back to your old career?
4. Can you deal with the change in status? As I noted earlier, your loss of prestige is mostly self-perceived. Even though you think other people are reacting to your change in status, you’re really the one who is dealing with it. In other words, it’s a bigger deal for you than for them. Keep in mind that if this move is a good one, your loss of salary, title, and prestige will be temporary, because you’ll soon be moving up along a new career path.
5. The latest thing to consider is your timing. Are you pulling up stakes in your old career because your boss is mad at you or you missed a promotion? If so, don’t make this move! The best time for this type of transition is when you are performing at your peak and you feel you have made the optimal contribution in your current position—not when you’re blocked, bored, or burned out.

Any career move—even a strategic one to acquire a new skill or experience—must fit in with your overall career mosaic. This is a complete picture of all the skills, experience, benefits, and contributions that you show to others, including your future employers. Moving up by taking a step back may be a valuable piece of that mosaic, but it must be deliberate and very well planned.

Your Extraordinary Career features proven success strategies and advice for recent graduates and young professionals from William J. White, who draws upon a successful corporate career, including as Chairman and CEO of a New York Stock Exchange-traded company.  Bill is now Professor at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science at Northwestern University, and author of the career book for young professionals, "From Day One: CEO Advice to Launch an Extraordinary Career."

Got a question? Email Bill White at Bill@FromDayOne.com