When you’ve worked at an office or clinic for a while, you begin to realize which duties you prefer and where you excel. Sometimes the tasks you enjoy make up the bulk of your day, but other times you feel like your true talents go overlooked.
Not being happy at your job is both detrimental to you and your employer. It may be obvious to your managers where you are, but they may not always recognize where you want to be. Whether you wish for a promotion, a different position, or a trade of certain responsibilities, it’s up to you to make this happen. How do you steer your career onto a different path? Or, how can you tailor your current position to one that focuses on your strengths?
Express
Don’t just assume your superiors know you’d like a promotion, or that you’d be a great fit for different responsibilities. Let them know. Set up a meeting to discuss your strengths and weaknesses, and use it as an opportunity to tell them what you like best about the job. Or, take advantage of an already established meeting, like a scheduled review, to go over opportunities where you think you’d be a good fit. Don’t allow your manager to focus only on your past performance; let them see what your potential is, too.
Create
Job descriptions are not always set in stone. Identify your office’s weak areas and decide if there are any tasks you’d love to tackle in order to improve team performance. Then ask permission to go for it. If your managers recognize you as a valuable member who creates avenues for improvement, they’ll be more likely to assign you those responsibilities in the future.
Assist
Is there someone in your office who has a job you covet? Even if there aren’t any openings in that department, don’t dismiss it for the future. Ask if you can help, or if you can be trained in those areas in case you need to step in. Let people know that you enjoy that type of work and that you’d be interested in applying for a future opening.
Perform, and Out-Perform
Just because you want a different position, or perhaps just other responsibilities, doesn’t mean you should forgo what you already have on your plate. Don’t let your performance slip, because this will go noticed before anything else. Continue to exceed at your current role, and your managers will take note and appreciate your effort. Go an extra step to meet deadlines and produce top quality work, and out-perform at the tasks you’d like to take on more of.
Track Your Progress
In order to prove you’re capable of a transition, you must have actual proof. Keep a journal or a spreadsheet with all your successes. Update your resume periodically to focus on the parts of the job you love. Your superiors may be surprised to learn exactly how much you’ve accomplished in these areas of expertise, and they can use your proof to convince others to shift your duties.
The Win-Win
Hiring a new employee comes with a lot of unknowns. Managers often wonder if the new hire will work out and if they will be an asset to the team, and it’s up to that person to prove they’re capable. But let’s say you’ve been with a company for an extended period and you’ve already shown you can excel at your position. Now it’s time for the company to prove to you that you’re worth it, and to help you recognize the areas in which you are strongest.
It’s a win-win situation: the team progresses and adapts to the successes of each employee, while each member gets to perform the tasks they enjoy. Keep your avenues open, and be explicit about where you want to be. Help your team succeed by doing what you do best.
Dove Management Resources, LLC is a national pharmacy search firm established in 2002. We currently have relationships with hundreds of hospitals, health insurance companies, and Pharmacy Benefit Management (PBM) organizations, and they may be looking for someone just like you! We would love to hear from you; confidentially submit your CV/resume to us at www.dovemgt.net or call 561-434-4311 for a personal conversation.
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