Switching roles, and jobs are very crucial for advancing in one’s career and is a step that everyone has definitely taken in their careers. The period when you are juggling interviewing with your full-blown job can be super difficult. You need to plan, work hard, and be patient. I recently went through something similar and decided to share a few things that worked for me.
1. Don’t take up more than you can deliver
Not being able to deliver what you committed to, is only going to get you noticed negatively. So it is very important to only commit to the work that you are confident about delivering on time.
2. Procrastinate BUT ensure your manager is happy with your performance
This can be tricky because you need to procrastinate (so that you can spend the extra time in prepping for interviews) but at the same time take feedback from your manager about your performance. Make sure they are happy with your work so that you do not burn any bridges when you break the news of leaving your current job.
3. Ensure you have deliverables in your bucket so that you look “Busy”
This is obviously important because you want to push back against new work/responsibilities coming your way while your plate is super full with interview prep stuff.
4. Skip group activities/ happy hours if you can
Skipping a few social activities here and there is definitely understandable since everyone has other priorities to attend to every now and then.
5. Don’t skip important meetings. Also, be prepared, and be on time
A big emphasis on attending meetings that are important. Also, very I highly recommend going to these meetings ON TIME and PREPARED. Failing on doing either one of these might result eye brows being raised and we do not want that for sure.
6. Put yourself down for long-term projects which don’t have weekly deliverables.
Be smart when picking up new work. Try picking up items that have do not urgent deliverables because that will end up taking most of your time. You want to choose long term projects that will buy you time to prep for your next big gig.
I hope these tips help you in prepping for your next opportunity while killing it at your current job. Help me know your thoughts in the comment section below.