We need to talk about where this relationship is going, boss.
May 28, 2014 2:54 PM Subscribe
I've been at a new position for six months after moving from another state and twelve years in my previous job. I was offered a position that gave me a swell title, more responsibility, and the respect I never got from my previous boss. This new job was fundamentally created for me in that the position hasn't existed at this company in years and years, but my boss was hiring me away from a major competitor, so they re-opened it just for me. Here's the rub: because it's been so long since they had anyone in this position, the responsibilities are definitely...fluid. Like I feel like no one knows what to do with me. Or they are waiting for me to tell them what I will be doing.
As I've been learning about my new company, acquiring/honing the skills I need to work in this place have actually presented a challenge. Although I am doing many of the same things I used to do in my previous role, the way they do things here is slightly different, and just different enough that I have to un-learn how I used to do it. In this new setting I've discovered that many of the core pieces of my role, the way they do it here, hold very little appeal anymore.
I've also been exposed to some new responsibilities which, frankly, just interest me more than the core set. My boss told me when I started that she wants me to help "roll my own" when it comes to my job description, and I think I now have enough impressions and ideas to sit down with her and discuss what I want to do and how I can make this job mine. I feel like I may wind up saying that the stuff they thought they were hiring me for is the least interesting to me. My boss has mentioned already that I could be replacing her if all goes well (she plans to retire in the next 5-7 years), and she does allow me to see more of the management side of her job than she does my peers. I'm being groomed, but I need to figure how how to make sure I get groomed for a job I actually want. I have some notes on this typed up, but I would like to present a more finished "package" of these ideas. Does anyone have any experience with this type of meeting? I don't actually think a formal agenda is necessary, but I would like to present my findings in an organized and meaningful way.
As I've been learning about my new company, acquiring/honing the skills I need to work in this place have actually presented a challenge. Although I am doing many of the same things I used to do in my previous role, the way they do things here is slightly different, and just different enough that I have to un-learn how I used to do it. In this new setting I've discovered that many of the core pieces of my role, the way they do it here, hold very little appeal anymore.
I've also been exposed to some new responsibilities which, frankly, just interest me more than the core set. My boss told me when I started that she wants me to help "roll my own" when it comes to my job description, and I think I now have enough impressions and ideas to sit down with her and discuss what I want to do and how I can make this job mine. I feel like I may wind up saying that the stuff they thought they were hiring me for is the least interesting to me. My boss has mentioned already that I could be replacing her if all goes well (she plans to retire in the next 5-7 years), and she does allow me to see more of the management side of her job than she does my peers. I'm being groomed, but I need to figure how how to make sure I get groomed for a job I actually want. I have some notes on this typed up, but I would like to present a more finished "package" of these ideas. Does anyone have any experience with this type of meeting? I don't actually think a formal agenda is necessary, but I would like to present my findings in an organized and meaningful way.
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1. What does the company need that you being there fills?
2. How will you approach solving the company's problems?
3. How does this roll into a job description?
Give your written job description, as well as a project plan for your overarching goals for (the year, the next 6 months, whatever).
I expect there will be quite a bit of give-and-take, so be prepared to win on some things, lose on some things, and come to a compromise on most of it.
posted by xingcat at 3:09 PM on May 28, 2014 [2 favorites]