Welcome to Edition #41 of Ask Gorick Anything. This AMA is part of Gorick's Newsletter, where Harvard career advisor and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Gorick Ng shares what they don't teach you in school about how to succeed in your career.
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→ Read time: 5 min
ASK GORICK ANYTHING
“Is taking on extra work at a job worth it?”
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Subscriber’s question:
“I work in a large company in a client account management role. Do you feel it's worth taking on extra projects outside the regular scope of your role in the hopes that it will lead to a promotion/raise? I have seen it play out two ways in my career so far:
1) employee takes on the extra work, is able to quantify it and uses it to justify why they deserve a promotion/raise
2) employee takes on extra work, it becomes the norm and the employer takes advantage by increasing the workload, expecting more out of the employee
A majority of the time option 2 plays out and it normally does not lead to any sort of promotion or raise.
How should someone put themselves in a position to justify a promotion/raise without taking on extra work with no guarantee of the promotion/raise?
Is it even worth it when there are so many variables outside an employee's control that determine the promotion/raise eligibility (market conditions, company structure, financials etc…)?”
—Will from Jacksonville, FL, USA
Gorick’s response:
Hi Will,
You ask an important question for anyone who has the tendency to be taken advantage of at work.
Here’s how I respond to this question in The Unspoken Rules (Amazon link here / other purchase options here), chapter 15 (“Show Your Potential”), page 130:
“Problems in the workplace sit on a spectrum. On one end are minor itches (inconveniences that people are willing to live with).
On the other end are mission-critical problems (issues that could derail a project—or maybe even the organization—if not resolved).
Somewhere in the middle, but still close to the mission-critical side, are massive pains (issues that waste a lot of time, especially for higher-ups, or cause a lot of stress).
The more you align yourself with solving massive pains and mission-critical problems, the more likely people will be to recognize your potential—and your promotability. (See figure 15-4.)
To identify these massive pains and mission-critical problems, pay attention to how often your manager and other higher-ups complain about something. The higher up the complainers are, the more complainers there are, and the more they complain, the bigger the opportunity may be.
The better you understand what matters to those who matter, the better your odds of making an impact—and the better your chances of getting promoted.”
Beyond the general unspoken rule of focusing on massive pains and mission critical problems, I would also ask myself:
What “verb” are people most rewarded for in this career ladder?
From what I’ve seen, client account management roles come in two flavors: “sales-oriented” and “execution-oriented” (my language). Which end of the spectrum you’re on depends on where you work.
“Sales-oriented” account managers are rewarded for bringing new clients through the door. If this is you, your verb is “sell”—and you’re rewarded for selling more business.
“Execution-oriented” account managers are rewarded for marshaling all the necessary resources to meet and hopefully exceed the client’s expectations. If this is you, your verb is “manage”—and you’re rewarded for getting raving client reviews and getting everything done under budget.
So, another way to assess whether stepping up might be rewarded is to ask yourself:
Would stepping up flex my “verb”?
If so, consider it. If not, I’m not saying don’t do it—but it may be worth asking a mentor you trust. Being intentional isn’t just about getting promoted or not: it’s also about making sure that you’re maintaining the right dose of your C of Commitment (defined here).
Hope this helps!
See you next Tuesday for our next story and unspoken rule,
—Gorick
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