I used to work in sales and I remember one of my coworkers who was a really good salesperson, but they wanted to get off the sales floor. They had enough and just wanted to move on to a managerial position. The pay was about the same, but the hours were better and it was easier to get time off.
He had applied to openings twice and each time one of the "lesser" salespersons got the job. When I was leaving I asked one of the managers why this person wasn't getting the job - they had experience, they had loads of knowledge, they had solid people skills and excellent sales figures. The answer was - "we can't lose him as a salesperson".
It kind of stuck with me - what happens if you're too good for the job you have. What happens if you've "overfitted" yourself to the current role... It's one of the reasons for which every year or so I start getting an itch to try something new. A new company, a whole new role within the same company, just something else. In the last 8 years I had 9 jobs at 7 companies and each time I got a raise, I got more interesting projects, I managed to do more interesting work and met a bunch of new people. I know this isn't for everyone, but I know I'd never want to be indispensable. I want to be replaceable as that's the same rule I apply to my roles. Really good read and I'm afraid I'm seeing another person like that in my current role...
He had applied to openings twice and each time one of the "lesser" salespersons got the job. When I was leaving I asked one of the managers why this person wasn't getting the job - they had experience, they had loads of knowledge, they had solid people skills and excellent sales figures. The answer was - "we can't lose him as a salesperson".
It kind of stuck with me - what happens if you're too good for the job you have. What happens if you've "overfitted" yourself to the current role... It's one of the reasons for which every year or so I start getting an itch to try something new. A new company, a whole new role within the same company, just something else. In the last 8 years I had 9 jobs at 7 companies and each time I got a raise, I got more interesting projects, I managed to do more interesting work and met a bunch of new people. I know this isn't for everyone, but I know I'd never want to be indispensable. I want to be replaceable as that's the same rule I apply to my roles. Really good read and I'm afraid I'm seeing another person like that in my current role...