When you’re working in an organisation, your job prospects are dependent on the positions of those around you.
This is defined by the organisational vacuum, where when someone vacates a position, something has to rush in to fill that space. If your senior manager is promoted, suddenly a space opens up for the senior manager role. If someone in your team suddenly leaves, your responsibilities will expand to fill that gap.
Organisational vacuums are moments of opportunity. Your working environment will be settled for a long time, and then suddenly there is a lot of movement when a position around you changes.
You need to be ready for these moments. Unlike a traditional job search where you are interviewed to join an organisation, every day you spend in an organisation is your interview for a new position when it opens up.
So when things are settled, do all you can to demonstrate your competency for higher positions or more responsibility, and maintain a high awareness of the organisational dynamics to best position yourself for moments of change.
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