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Submitted by clarkuga on
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How should I express my interest in a "possible" new position?

I was on a conference call with my boss and another of my peers (Account Managers).  Our boss mentioned that he may need to create a position for a Supervising Account Manager to be a level between him and us as his other duties require the majority of his time. 

There are 11 of us in total and we all reside in various offices around the US (I am not in our Home Office).  I know that I am a valued employee given past ratings and special considerations.  The premise of my question above indicates that I believe that I should express interest, but please disagree if you think a better approach may be to wait for the opportunity to mature.

I travel to my home office next month and will have an opportunity to speak with my boss in person then.  My thought is to wait until that time and then bring it up in person with a simple statement that I am very interested in the opportunity.

I appreciate your thoughts.

 

TomW's picture
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Let me ask this: Why wait? If you're that interested, pick up the phone and call your bossy today. Tell him you think it sounds interesting and that you'd like to know what you can do in order to be considered for it.

The wost thing that could happen if you wait is to find out that someone else beat you to it.

buhlerar's picture

I agree with tomw.  He mentions someone else may beat you to it, which is true, but there are other risks to waiting as well.  For example, it sounds like they haven't even decided for sure to create the position.  If you wait a month to declare you interest, your boss may have completely changed course by then.  Of course, he may do that anyway, but it's worth bringing up.  I've had experiences where I threw my hat in the ring for a position that never materialized, but it raised my profile with higher-ups and I was thereafter considered for other positions.  You happened to be on the phone call for this one, but you likely won't hear about all of these discussions going forward.  If you decide to wait and the boss mentions in two weeks he's decided not to do it, you may lose your window of opportunity.

You've been given a gift of overhearing this conversation so you have a chance to force yourself into the conversation.  Even if you don't get the job, you'll get yourself into the conversation going forward, and if you're not ready now it certainly opens the door for the development & delegation you need to get there.

I see no advantage (and some risks) in waiting. 

clarkuga's picture
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Thank you both for your responses.  As an update, I have already reached out and requested some additional discussion on the possible position.

All the best!