If the task of convincing someone in your company to take a chance on you feels tougher than ever, it just might be. As companies play it safe in economic recovery​ mode, a new approach may be required...

“My boss will only hire people for senior roles who have done the job before,” a friend shared with me recently, while we were discussing an opportunity within her team. This mindset is a challenge for anyone trying to get up or move into a more senior role. Or frankly, to do anything they haven’t done before. And in some ways, I get it. Anyone who has had a bad manager (most people, everywhere) knows how damaging the wrong hire can be for morale, productivity and staff retention. Plus, firing people can be complicated. 

But I think about this all the time: at some point every single person above me was out of their depth. At some point, they got a job they hadn’t done before. At some point, somewhere, a person trusted their gut and threw them in at the deep end. And they learnt on the job. But what are we to do when everyone seems to want a proven track record? 

Interestingly, this is not a problem limited to any particular point in a person’s career. I was talking to a colleague recently: she has two years industry experience and I have twenty. There are many, many more jobs for her, because she is still junior. However, we both seem to be faced with a similar problem, as we look to pivot into new areas of our business. Everyone wants you to have done the job you want next… already. 

Partly, this is economic. As companies reduce their headcount, the ability for them to offer up a career path has diminished. “I have recently watched my manager absorb four roles in the last year,” says my friend Lisa, who works in media. “All of which would and should have been stepping stones for people in the middle, like me, to get up.” Now, whomever can shoulder the most work seems to win—and when someone needs to replace one of these unicorns going five jobs, it’s an outside hire. “The odd thing is that our human resources department keeps urging us to have performance reviews and share our ambitions, but the elephant in the room is that there’s nowhere to go.” 

What this shift means is that we find ourselves in jobs, not careers, at our companies. Which is tough because the accepted wisdom among career coaches has always been that it’s easier to move up where people already know what you can do. 

Fortunately, there are always work-arounds. One way is to demonstrate you’ve got what it takes is starting small within your current role (manage an intern! Be a team leader!), and get more experience that you can add to your resume. I have friends who have closed the gap in experience by going to less prestigious or smaller companies, which is a great strategy if you can weather the inevitable pay cut for a few years. Others move into the same role, but in a company experiencing growth and adding headcount. And then there is the power of enthusiasm and good ideas, which can certainly get you onto a shortlist and possibly even into the seat.  

Still, as cheesy as this may sound, it’s all for nought without self-belief. If you haven’t go to the point where you believe that there is no reason why it should not be you, then it doesn’t matter whether a person’s recruiting philosophy includes suck-it-and-see. Do some work around your confidence and question the reasons why you don’t feel worthy. There are incredible books (Get Out of Your Own Way by Philip Goldberg and Mark Goulston MD) and mindset-challenging podcasts (listen to Being Boss with Emily Thompson and Kathleen Shannon, starting with #42 Brene Brown). Also, for fun, think of all the people you’ve met with great jobs who are just as (insert smart, clever, creative) as you. That’s always a good place to start.