- Former Microsoft VP of HR offers four tips to unstick your career and find new opportunities.
- Broaden your skillset, practice job-hunting, build your brand, and grow your network.
- These strategies can help you create options, invigorate your profession, and stay competitive.
Do you feel stuck in your job? Don't see a way forward in your current role? But also, don't want to risk quitting to find yourself unemployed in a tough job market? You're not alone. Many people don't know how to unstick their careers.
As the former VP of HR at Microsoft, I recommend four areas of improvement that can open opportunities, create options, and invigorate you within your profession.
Broaden your skillset
It's the oldest career advice: learn something new. Today, it's AI; yesterday, it was the blockchain; before that, it was programming.
If learning a new skill seems overwhelming, try to broaden your existing skills by learning other tools and techniques in the area you already know.
Let's say you're a project manager who's an Asana expert. You know it well and feel you could ace any interview on the topic. But what if the company you're approaching uses another tool, such as Jira, Wrika, or Trello?
Project management is pretty much the same, regardless of the tool. Learn one or more of the other project management packages in your spare time. Research the website, read the manuals, watch videos on YouTube, and hang out in the subreddit. If the program has a demo version available, download it and try to build a basic project in it to see how it works.
You'll find that after learning the second tool, the others become easier to pick up.
The same is true in almost every discipline:
- Are you a programmer? Learn other languages and frameworks.
- An Excel star? Learn Google Sheets and Mac Numbers.
- A sales expert who knows SalesForce's CRM? Learn Hubspot and Monday.
- An Oracle database guru? Learn Mondo or MySQL.
- An editor who knows Adobe Premiere? Learn Final Cut or Davinci Resolve.
The goal is to move from being seen as someone with a single skill in a single tool to having broad experience in your field across various tools.
Practice all of your skills and continuously look for jobs
Find a way to use all of your skills, even if you're not asked to at work.
Maybe you can use your sales skills to help your favorite nonprofit raise money or your project management skills to help make your child's bake sale at school a success. Track the various projects you complete. You might be surprised at all you've done and will be able to reference them when you apply for jobs.
Even if you don't want a new job, practice your job-hunting skills too. Applying for jobs, even those you don't want, helps keep your name out there, gives you practice in the process, and shows you what works and what doesn't.
Never pass up a chance to interview for a job. If you're not getting interviews, work with a friend to interview each other. Interviewing well is a skill that takes practice. It's better to bomb an interview you don't care about than the one you want.
Build your brand and polish your résumé
Nowadays, everyone should also pay attention to their brand and digital footprint. Your brand is what people will see when they look for you. Also, keep your résumé polished.
There's lots of résumé advice, but I suggest focusing on two things: less is more and actions over adjectives. Your résumé will only get a few seconds of scrutiny, so edit it ruthlessly to the things that matter. Every deletion is one less distraction. Use a number when you feel like using an adjective because numbers speak details, and adjectives say puffery. Don't say, "I managed a large team," instead say you "managed a team of 38."
Then, take this same energy to your LinkedIn profile. Every recruiter will look there, so make the most of it. Hone your image there to something clear and professional. Post a good photo and fill the experience with your well-tuned résumé. Even if you don't like LinkedIn, it's the place to be seen. Be there.
Consider creating a personal website and linking to it from your LinkedIn and other social media. You can make a simple site using inexpensive services like Wix, Squarespace, or Weebly. Showcase your experience, some projects you've done (from the list you kept), or your portfolio of samples if that applies.
If you can stomach it, consider engaging constructively on social media. Try posting and commenting thoughtfully on various platforms. You want to be careful about engaging in online spats. "Hot takes" are rarely constructive, but thoughtful comments will gain attention and increase your digital footprint.
Grow your network
Finally, the most important asset you'll ever have in your career is a rich network of people you know. The key is expanding your visibility beyond the people you work with daily.
Connect far and wide with people well outside your immediate area. Work in sales? Connect with people in manufacturing, customer service, finance, HR, and beyond.
Whether you work in a large or small company, expand your network beyond it. Connect with peers in the industry, with people in similar jobs in other industries, and with people you meet online. Network with people in your personal life and find out what they do, what they love and hate about it, and what is a challenge.
Commit to expanding your network by adding a new connection every week. Soon you'll have a vast web of people who will help you find connections and roles.
Get unstuck in your career
The goal is that when someone in your network hears, "I wish we could find someone to do that," they'll say, "Hey, I know someone we should talk to."
To get unstuck in your career, broaden yourself and your world. Expand your skill set, your digital footprint, and your network. Soon you'll have options and opportunities you didn't see before. These tips can help you put your career into gear.
Chris Williams is the former VP of HR at Microsoft. He's an executive-level advisor and consultant with over 40 years of experience leading and building teams.