downgrading - a means to a better end

During a challenging employment market or when switching careers or industries, consider taking either a lower level position than you desire or one that you are overly qualified to fulfill. Being willing to downgrade your title (which often means being flexible on your salary requirements) can prove to be a profitable and advantageous career decision in the long run. 

Get your foot in the door of a highly desirable company or a new industry by downgrading your target job and aggressively use the your first 6-12 months to:

• Network within the company and determine who the real decision makers are.
• Learn the internal politics of the company in order to build strategic relationship and to blend into the company culture.
• Learn your job, do it well, and exceed expectations.
• Seek opportunities to take on additional responsibilities or to speerhead a project. Working in a role that you are over-qualified for yield you time and energy to easily do so.
• Proove your value to the company and make your full-potential and untapped abilities evident without overtly touting them.
• Position yourself to successfully negotiate a higher position or greater compensation. (More detailed advice on how to do so will appear in future blogs.)
• DO NOT complain about your salary or lack of challenge. Fully accept that you took the position as a strategic means to a better end. Your performance and positive attitutude will showcase your overqualification more effectively than water cooler whining to a colleague.

JOBSLAY strategy:

Take one step down and position yourself for two steps up.