Instead of getting fed up with being stagnant in your current position, make the time and effort to creating a new one for yourself and avoid the hassle of job hunting. Here are a few ways you could create your own position within your current company.
Know where there’s a need
One of the best ways to create your own position at work is to assess the needs of the business or company. For example, if you are currently an assistant, but know that the business operations team needs help organizing or the events team needs assistance with the next big conference, step in to offer your expertise or advice. This could open up a great opportunity for a new position to be created based on that advice!
Volunteer
Volunteer your free time, skills or service to a department that might need extra hands during an important event or project. Putting yourself at the forefront of another project that is much-needed will make you an asset when it comes time for promotions or changes in the job descriptions around the office.
Seek higher education
Begin to take classes on the topics you need to fill a new position within the company, like business management, information technology, or other areas that will boost your skills and make you more marketable for a brand new position. Another perk of receiving additional education (whether it’s a college degree or advanced certificate) is that you are able to demand more from your current position, which could be the stepping stone for creating a whole new job. There could be a new position waiting to be had based on your new skills and what you can now offer to the company as a whole.
Freelance
In the same way that volunteering opens up doors in other departments, freelancing can also be a gateway to other positions at your company or elsewhere. If your own job will allow you to take on some extra work for extra pay, go for it. You definitely want others at the company to see and recognize the depth of your skill. If you can freelance elsewhere, you open doors at your own company by showcasing your extracurriculars, and at other companies, which will recognize your initiative and talent.
Be at the right place at the right time
Many companies go through mergers, layoffs and acquisitions which could either pile on more responsibilities for the current employees or make room for new ones. Make sure you are at the forefront and in-the-know of any major changes in your company and volunteer your skills and feedback for any new processes that may be involved. This could position you for a whole new job that combines the old processes with the new experience and expertise, something companies are always looking for in their employees.
Challenge yourself and the company
Make sure you are being innovative, creative, speaking up at the company meetings and challenging the status quo. If everyone is used to a certain process or project, challenge yourself to think outside of the box to improve or innovate the system. When those suggestions prove successful, you’ll be seen as an asset for the future of the company, perhaps in a way that hadn’t yet existed.
Suggest to combine two jobs into one
Express and prove to your supervisor or head of the company how two current positions could ultimately be combined into one, which could be your next job. One way to express this is to demonstrate this through your workload. Your workload might combine aspects of an administrative assistant, event planner and marketing coordinator, so why not have the job as all three into one super-employee? By proving yourself as a dedicated worker who is multifaceted in various skills, your superiors might open a door for you to be the go-to employee for what your workload proves instead of micromanaging multiple employees. And a raise should come with this super-sized position!
Make sure you are doing your current responsibilities well
Don’t slack off at your current job just because the possibility of creating a new one could be forthcoming. Make sure you are keeping up with the primary responsibilities of your current job before taking on more responsibilities or asking for a whole new position to be created just for you. Express a seriousness in the company and in your current position, which will make you more marketable to move around.
Be the gatekeeper for inter-office projects
Keeping yourself at the forefront of various projects that require an ‘all-hands on deck’ approach from each department could position you as an asset to the team. If you are in charge or a part of a major project on the job, be the gatekeeper to make sure all departments are handling their jobs well and be the employee that combines all of the major expertise to complete the job. This will position you as a multifaceted employee that could possibly take on added responsibilities or a new position that focuses on being the active communicator for important company-wide projects.
