So One Job Isn't Enough For You?
Taking on added responsibilities can help you advance in the office.
Jan. 11, 2008 Special to ABCNEWS.com — -- Sometimes you've got to show the higher-ups you can do the job before they give it to you.
Forward-thinking employees know that and are taking on additional responsibility to prove they should get promoted or switch departments altogether. Yes, it takes additional planning--and lots of extra hours at the office--but the effort can pay off.
"It's like having a business plan for yourself," says Janet G. Lenz, an assistant professor and career counselor in Florida State University's career center.
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Take Greg Topalian. He started working at Reed Exhibitions 10 years ago as a salesman, and now he's a senior vice president at the Norwalk, Conn., trade-show operator. His steady climb up the corporate ladder is a direct result of asking himself what it takes to get to the next level.
"This wasn't about how I could steal my boss' job," says Topalian. "It was more, 'What skills does he have that I don't?' When I started as a salesman I realized my sales director does things I don't, so I'd offer to help. I'd say, 'How can I make your life easier? Can you show me?'"
Prior to getting his current job, he served as group vice president at Reed. Once he had that job under control, he analyzed what it meant to be a senior vice president. One of the job's main aspects is thinking globally. Topalian demonstrated that mode of thinking by creating a training model for all exhibitors on how to get the most out of their trade shows.
"It made our most senior management feel that I clearly grasp the nature of the senior vice president role," says Topalian.
And that's what all hiring managers want. As Karen Rohde, vice president of human resources at Sun Microsystems, puts it: "Experience is the best classroom."
To get it, employees need to set up a supportive structure. First, explain to your boss that you greatly enjoy your job, but you want to take on new responsibilities. (It helps if you scout new projects or find a mentor to give you added tasks.) Employees should assure their supervisor that their current work won't suffer and that these new responsibilities will make them a "value-added staffer."
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