Ugly Truths about Plotting a Career Change, Pt. 2

1) I am forty and a half.

That’s it. That’s the post.

I’m kidding.

For real, though, let’s recap.

Despite interviews I feel proud of when they’re over, I have now been declined for FIVE internal, lateral-move analyst positions in as many years.

Quick reminder that these positions tend to have anywhere between 60 and 200 applicants for only one or two openings, and many of those are completely unqualified employees who are desperate to leave their current departments.

Though I’ve been consistently strategic about the moves I’ve attempted, the post-interview feedback I’ve received has always spoken to a perceived disconnect between the requirements of the new roles and my prior experience.

For one of these openings, I had networked extensively with my prospective team over the course of months, in addition to receiving intensive coaching simultaneously from TWO different sources, one internal, one external. (Re: that position, I recently found a 2022 Glassdoor review by a person occupying it at the time of their review. Their assessment of things, which struck me as evenhanded and not sour grapes, highlighted the same concerns that folks in my present department gripe about and that most long-term employees know are wrong with our company as a whole.)

In conclusion, guys: I’m really beginning to think the problem’s not me.

I’d say my point in continuing to make entries like this is really just to let passersby know what it’s like out here in the field. Yes, there are people who defy odds, and if their stories inspire you, by all means seek ‘em out. But for many of us, upward or even sideways mobility remains an elusive windmill.

(Read Pt. 1 here)