Is stepping sideways a good career move?

Career advancement takes planning and serious thinking. It’s not something to do in haste.

While many equate career growth with promotion, it’s worth considering a shift sideways, whether on a temporary or long-term basis. Even though this may mean a similar pay scale and level and type of responsibility, such a move can be valuable.

This week’s expert article examines moving sideways and what it can do for your career and wellbeing. It covers switching to a role within the same company or to another company or industry, leveraging your skills and experience.

Benefits

The benefits of a sideways career move can be surprising, which is why it’s important to think creatively and laterally about the possibilities. Traditional career paths are still effective, but an innovative path can be magical.

Breath of fresh air

If you’ve been in your role for a looooong time, you might find yourself stale, even though there’s nothing essentially wrong with your place of work, your colleagues or your position.

Moving laterally can be a breath of fresh air. When well planned and executed, such a move isn’t just ‘change for change’s sake’. It’s a genuine opportunity to work in a stimulating environment, where life is lighter and brighter.

Enhance your skills

A sideways career move is a perfect chance to develop and enhance your skills. Even if the role you change into is remarkably similar to the one you’ve been in for a while, a sideways change will introduce you to new ideas, new people, and new ways of thinking. This daily stimulation can be fulfilling.

Re-ignite your passion

Landing the right sideways position can re-ignite your passion and your overall approach. You’ll be super motivated to make a valuable contribution. You’ll feel excited and positive. And we all know that motivated employees are great to be around for their contribution to organisational goals, team spirit and workplace culture.

Build networks

Whether you move sideways in your existing organisation or head to a different one, you’ll be well-positioned to build networks. Even if the change is internal and you’re familiar with some folks on the team you’ve joined, this is still a chance to nurture deeper relationships and connections. Such networks can prove invaluable as you move through your career. When it comes time for promotion, you’ll have a great group of people behind you.

Build soft skills

In addition to building hard skills and knowledge, stepping sideways can position you to build soft skills. You’ll learn from other leaders, be immersed in different communication approaches and absorb new information from teams you’ve not worked in before. You may also absorb fresh ways of collaborating and observe how others adapt and cope in challenging situations. Your bank of soft skills, in other words, will be enriched.

Re-energise

They say a change is as good as a rest. It’s healthy to think of a sideways career move as a way to re-energise your overall wellbeing. While you’ll no doubt be working hard to learn new responsibilities, content and people. This is all positive and healthy.

Challenge yourself

Heading into a horizontal position will remind you that you still have what it takes to grow and adapt by leveraging talent you’ve built through your career. This is a big motivator and a confidence booster.

Case study—Wendy wins through a sideways career change

Wendy had no real issues with her job in marketing and sales in a retail environment. She got along well with her teammates. Wendy also met her KPIs, was proactive in suggesting process improvements, and regularly achieved high client satisfaction rates.

But something was niggling away at Wendy. She felt it was time for a change but her attempts to secure a promotion hadn’t quite produced the result she wanted.

Wendy registered with a recruitment agency, and a recruitment expert suggested she think about a sideways career change. The expert recommended that Wendy move into another sector where she could take full advantage of her marketing and sales skills set but grow in other ways. After a short time and some lateral thinking, Wendy landed a marketing and sales role in a dynamic, fast-growing tech company.

After a year, Wendy secured a promotion in the tech company to National Marketing Manager. She never looked back.

Learn more

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