Why Lateral Move Is The Right Choice To Your Career?

11th January 2022

Hefty payscale, friendly colleagues, urban interior, coffee machines, etc., nothing can bring you happiness unless you're satisfied with your job role and performance. Often, we feel that we are fish out of the water and the job we're doing does not align with our personal growth and passion. We feel suffocating and our career move becomes fragile, brittle, and unpredictable.

Some may consider this particular career move a dumb one but lateral growth in a career is absolutely worth it. A lateral career move may be within an organization or it can be a switch to some other company. On the surface, it might be a waste move but actually, it is a good move and has been beneficial in various ways.

But let's first understand what is Lateral Movement?

Don't sweat it, Lateral Movement is not at all complicated but one must be extremely careful while going for a lateral career move. There are numerous points that must be kept in mind while choosing a lateral career move. Basically, the funda is simple. Lateral movement is a fresh job at the almost same pay grade or organizational level. It involves taking on new duties and responsibilities.

There will be times in your life when you'll be full of confusion regarding your career growth. Sometimes, you might want to switch to a new company or a new job role but the more you'll try to evaluate the more will be swinging. A professional PG Diploma in train the trainer course will guide your with proper materials so that you can lag behind and march forward to grab success.

Having said that, there are two kinds of Lateral Movement. The first one shows you the path how to moving to a new company and the second one will guide you to change your job role within the same company.

When you change jobs within your existing organization, you will be given new tasks and responsibilities but you'll be fully aware of the protocol that your company is having. Hence, it will be easier for you to blend in even though your job role will be entirely a new one. However, if you feel like joining another company under the same designation, your workload or KRAs might remain the same but the working environment will be a brand new one.

Training and development provided by soft skill trainers will let you understand why you should be opting for a lateral career change or why not. Training professionals and corporate trainers will guide you properly when you will undergo the PG Diploma in train the trainer course. Let us discuss the facts that we must keep in mind while considering a lateral career move.

The first concern is why you should go for a lateral move in your career. There will be multiple factors that will try to create confusion but I believe if you are ready for a lateral move, you must focus on these particular points.

TO LEARN A SKILL SET THAT IS NOT CONSTRICTED TO ONE FIELD:

Every job has new challenges. If you're planning to change the company under the same designation or job role, you must remember that since the environment is different, your effort must be more than earlier. Thus, you must learn new skills so that your contribution creates a benchmark. The more you learn the smoother will be the path that leads to the promotion.

TO GET ACKNOWLEDGED:

If your skillset is tight and of diverse nature, and your communication skill is smooth you're bound to create a good impression in front of your supervisors. It does not matter what you have done earlier but be it a new company or a new job role in your existing company, if you cannot perform well, there will be no appraisal.

PROMOTION:

You can encounter a scene where you are not getting a chance of promotion either because there is no scope or your manager is biased. In that case, you must look for opportunities in some other organizations where your personal, as well as professional growth, shall go hand in hand.

JOB SATISFACTION:

If you're not mentally satisfied with the work you are doing or toxic boss, then consider changing companies or moving to another department. Moving to a position that makes you excited to come to work every day is a wise decision.

And now comes the discussion when you should not think of a lateral move.

EQUAL PAYSCALE OR LESSER:

There must be at least a minimum rise in pay scale when you're looking for a job change and especially when you are changing companies. However, employees who are staying with the existing organization need to be careful when it comes to a hike, as managers are often reluctant to give raises to their current employees. If your new position has an increased workload, you must negotiate for a rise.

JUDGEMENTAL:

Often employees have a notion that you're thinking to change the job role because you're not capable enough to take the responsibility. They might think you are weak and employers will have a hunch that you're not reliable enough to stick to the same position. That is surely going to affect your reputation down the line because people will lose trust in you.

DRAWBACKS:

Switching companies or switching job roles within the same organization might help you given a current scenario but it has its consequences. If you change your job frequently, you will be late to be promoted because your experience with one position or company for a short period of time will not be impressive.

Hence, a lateral career is definitely beneficial if decided based on the right facts. Lateral growth in a career has always been effective when an employee has switched to a dream company or has got a dream job role. Things might not be easy initially but if moves with proper care and utmost cautiousness, a lateral move is indeed an excellent tactic to achieve growth in career.

Written By : Victoria Lewis