career conversation when I have no clear idea where my career is actually going?

LegacyUser

Hi all, I'm going to go unregistered for this one.

I have an upcoming performance review in work and as part of this review, the conversation will turn to career path / future direction. The problem here is I have no idea where my career is actually going!

I'm mid level manager level with 2 people reporting into me in a multi national financial services company. I'm early 40s, an accountant and I would say that role is niche. It's technical, requires good knowledge and experience in the field, and varies from project to project, but it's really different iterations of the same thing. In other roles or other companies there can be a defined career path where you can say I will work at a certain level for 2/3 years and then progress to a more senior position, but that is not the case in my particular role or company.

I don't mind the work that I am doing but I don't want to do it forever. And the problem with this is that while I don't have any immediate plans to leave, I'm struggling to figure out what I want in terms of my career, and how my current role fits within that. There isn't any other roles in my current employer that appeal to me, but I'm not sure where I see myself beyond this role inside or outside of the company either!

Anybody any tips/thoughts on how to deal with his / handle this with the upper management? Inevitably I need to put a positive spin on this in the conversation but I'm not sure how exactly to say this.

OMM 0000

You don't have to move directly upwards, you can move diagonally. This is where getting new skills / qualifications comes in.

Are there more accounting exams you can do? What about something like an MBA so you can move up to senior management?

Can you identify a role you'd like to have in the company, and work out what you need to do to get that role?

thefa

I think one way you could look at it is whether the company has roles that appeal to you in the future. I spent time in a finance function that was very large and quite specific in what you reported on and found out that this wasn’t a good fit for me. You say the roles that are coming up recently don’t appeal to you but is there any roles not open that do?

If you want to stay in the organization but are in a niche role that pigeon holes you to a degree, are you willing to go horizontally to vary your experience and network a bit more to increase your chances of going up a level?

I’ve been in reviews where I’ve not been able to state exactly which role I want to go for but give directional info on wanting more experience on the commercial side for example. I wouldn’t be afraid of mentioning that I would like to make progression and asking for the manager’s thoughts.

Lux23

Would you consider saying that you're interested in doing an MBA to give you a holistic view of a business as a means to take on a more senior position in the company?

LegacyUser

Thanks very much for your responses everybody. In respect of the MBA, I'm not sure that's a runner for me at the moment - the job is quite demanding and I have 2 young kids and at this stage, I think it would be a lot to add to the mix. But your points about focusing on the skills to move diagonally and to get a more holistic view of the business are helpful and good food for thought.

To be honest, there aren't many other roles in the company that I would see myself moving into. I report to the boss so am unlikely to move upwards, and there aren't many other roles for me to move into diagonally either so I am somewhat limited. In terms of career development, developing skills is probably the way forward here and something to focus on in the career conversation.

OMM 0000

MBAs have a reputation for not being that difficult.

Have you looked at Edinburgh Business School? http://ebs.online.hw.ac.uk/

You can do the MBA online at your own pace. Exams only as far as I know.

sheamyboy

I qualified with a BA in English and History and later an LLB in Laws, and during the economic downturn, it was really tough to get any jobs. Eventually, after many false starts, I've pivoted towards content writing/copywriting/marketing which is not what I qualified in. A lot of my clients originate from the legal industry. There is more than one way to skin a cat. Sometimes you just need to think outside the box.

Luckycharm

OMM 0000 wrote: »

MBAs have a reputation for not being that difficult.

Have you looked at Edinburgh Business School? http://ebs.online.hw.ac.uk/

You can do the MBA online at your own pace. Exams only as far as I know.

A friend of mine did an MBA she would have been mid 30's in middle management in Finance and had just got a redundancy. She said it was a complete waste of time and made no odds when she went looking for work. She said it is much more recognised in the States than here. She was a year looking for a decent job, there were plenty of low management/average paying jobs but not so many higher level jobs and the MBA made no difference all down to experience.
She was lucky that she didn't have to rush to find a job as had the redundancy and no mortgage/kids etc.

Flinty997

I know few people who did MBA that had positive outcomes after doing them. I wouldn't dismiss them so easily.

helimachoptor

I agree they are far more regarded in the states. I know someone who took 2 years off, did an MBA in one of the prestigious US universities, came home got a job with a US MNC, 6 months later transferred to their US HQ, and then stayed for whatever the min requirement was and then moved on a massive payrise to another tech company.

I think they are coming for important here, even if its for networking and box ticking rather than actual quality/content of the MBA.

OMM 0000

Luckycharm wrote: »

A friend of mine did an MBA she would have been mid 30's in middle management in Finance and had just got a redundancy. She said it was a complete waste of time and made no odds when she went looking for work. She said it is much more recognised in the States than here. She was a year looking for a decent job, there were plenty of low management/average paying jobs but not so many higher level jobs and the MBA made no difference all down to experience.
She was lucky that she didn't have to rush to find a job as had the redundancy and no mortgage/kids etc.

MBAs are not a waste of time if your intention is to be senior (executive or close to executive).

I suspect the issue is your friend rather than the MBA qualification.

thefa

OMM 0000 wrote: »

MBAs are not a waste of time if your intention is to be senior (executive or close to executive).

I suspect the issue is your friend rather than the MBA qualification.

Imagine some people think an MBA is a silver bullet, eradicating the need for significant, varied experience and networking to reach senior roles.

Flinty997

One of the best leveraging of a MBA was a close friend who did his MBA projects, on a specific business area, within where he works. He got feedback from senior management, on his project, which was well received and actually distributed around the leadership team. As a result he got a more senior rule in that area, and moved from a technical role into senior management. Not only did it reframe how he was viewed by management, but he reframed how he viewed himself, and also that he need to reskill, to achieve that. I think previously he assume being senior, and his technical skills were enough.

OMM 0000

thefa wrote: »

Imagine some people think an MBA is a silver bullet, eradicating the need for significant, varied experience and networking to reach senior roles.

Well anyone who thinks that is going to be hit with reality pretty fast.