I ran a mini poll with my online community last week and asked the following question:
What actions would you take in your career today if you thought you would succeed and reach your goal?
Everyone shared the same one:
I would apply to a new position
It left me wondering…
>>> If you would apply to a new position IF you thought you would succeed and reach your goal, then what exactly is stopping you?
I have to share a quick story about a time early on in my career, where I almost didn’t apply to a new position that opened up at my company.
I worked as a customer service representative there for 2 years.
The position that opened up was in sales, as an inside sales rep.
I remember wondering if I should apply.
I even got advice from my mom who’s always been such a great sounding board. She encouraged me to apply for it.
But I sat for days in:
FEAR
DOUBT
INDECISION
- What if I applied and didn’t get the position?
- What if I applied, got it and hated it?
- What if I applied, got it and sucked at it and got fired!!!!
Oh yes, I had a long list of “What If” questions that weren’t serving me at that point!
Then, my manager asked me into his office. He asked me:
“Are you going to apply to that position?”
I said semi jokingly: “Are you trying to get rid of me?”
He said of course he wasn’t. They (him and the hiring manager) thought that I should apply because they thought that I’d be really good at it!
Back then, I had to have someone believe in me more than I believed in myself to drum up the courage to apply.
I finally applied and I got the position.
It was a huge turning point for me as I went on to a sales career that I couldn’t have even imagined at the time.
This one decision completely changed the course of my career and my life.
The hidden costs of not taking action can really stack up over time.
For me, it would add up to thousands and thousands of dollars over the course of the next 15+ years.
Taking action and applying and getting a new position could potentially mean:
- More money
- More job satisfaction
- More fulfillment
- More joy even!
In my next article, I’m going to cover how to determine if you should apply to a new position and then the exact steps you can take to get yourself in motion if you decide to move forward.
Stay tuned, this is going to be a good one!