Can you take your success with you?

By Tony Haley

When someone is successful in their job they take the full credit and rightly so. However unless it is your own business some, if not most, of your success will be due to the company you are working for. They might be a market leader. They might have the best products. They might have unique products. They might provide their employees with the highest level of support. They might invest time and money in developing their employees. None of this should be over looked when trying to get your next job. The only time this is a problem is when the employee believes their success is totally down to them and they can take their success with them wherever they go. This is not always the case.

When people look back on their career, there will usually be one company and time period where they made their name by having the most success. They move from this company on the crest of the success wave to make the next step only to find that the new employer does not provide the same environment to be successful. They often fail and leave again after a short period of time.

This is common in most industries, even sport. Football Managers the world over move onto their next club because they had some success only to be sacked 6 months or a year later and seen as a failure because they didn’t repeat that success. Why? They are no less capable of doing their job. They are still operating in the same business. The only thing that changed was the people they were working with.

It is the same for anyone in any job. The point about this is that you should think long and hard before leaving a successful job. It might be the employer who is helping you to succeed and you cannot take them with you.

Once you have decided to change jobs, make an honest assessment on how much of your success was due to you and how much was due to the environment, company and people you worked with. When you know this information, use it to help decide how much of your success you can really take with you into your next job. Research the potential employer and ask these questions during the interview. Don’t accept the job without being sure you can continue your success or you might be looking around again sooner than you planned.