You're not alone. The number one reason Employees will accept a Job offer from another company is because they feel there is little room for advancement. (More money runs a close second.) While this 'stuck in a rut' feeling seems pervasive for large numbers of Employees, there may be less drastic alternatives to relocating to a different company.

How tightly is your Job description written? And how strictly are your Job functions enforced? In some workplaces you may be prohibited from work activities that an outsider views as a natural part of your Job. Other firms might expect you to do things that you think have nothing to do with what you were hired to do. Both opportunities and pitfalls await the unwary.

Economic churn is not only creating and eliminating millions of Jobs every year, it is forcing millions of Jobs to evolve. For example, secretary used to be considered a low wage, low status Job with little room for advancement that was performed predominantly by women. Traditional duties included getting coffee for the boss. And years of dutiful service led not to career advancement, but to being relied upon as the only person who could be trusted to get the coffee.

While far-sighted Employees might have been able to steer clear of dead end Jobs, sometimes it was hard to tell until you were actually in the Job whether it was going to be a stepping stone to something better, or not. Technological changes didn't eliminate the role of the secretary, they allowed them to perform a wider range of functions and expand their role in the corporate culture. They became executive assistants, vice-presidents, executive secretaries, administrative assistants, etc.

Are there ways you can anticipate your Employer's needs before they have to tell you to do something? Look around to see if there are routine documents and/or assignments that you could complete before you're asked to, and you'll find that your boss will come to depend on your foresight and opinions. You may have to learn (tactfully!) how to get recognition for your extra effort, but that's part of getting a better Job, whether it's within your company or somewhere else.

The pitfall? Occasionally extra effort is rewarded not with recognition, salary increases, or movement up the chain of command. It is ignored and expected at the same time, which is very frustrating. If this is happening to you, do not wait to pass go and collect your annual raise of $200, get the hell out.

-Mark Poppen

Abandon Ship

May 19, 1999

Most of my friends currently have Jobs. They work 40+ hours/week, and don't have a lot of time to do much else other than eat, sleep, have a little fun, and commute back to work.

However, they are also looking for better Jobs. I talk to tons of recruiters and Jobhunters every week, and no one has seen a Job Market quite like the one we're in now. There are more people being laid off than at any time since the last recession, yet employees are getting substantial raises in their salaries by jumping ship from their old Job to a new one.

Some of the old rules don't seem to apply anymore. Historically, abandoning ship was a last ditch resort, and a final measure that meant all hope was lost. In the Job market, jumping ship was seen as either immoral, disloyal, or (egads!) merely opportunistic. More recently, "Why did you work at your last Job for only three years?" used to be a red flag identifying an unstable, disloyal employee. Nowadays the question sounds more like, "Why did you work for the same company in the same position for a whole three years?" indicating that the employee is not very self-motivated, ambitious, or overly bright.

Stories about Jobchangers and their escalating salaries are all the rage now - but are they hype or fact? The truth is, it doesn't really matter. Some of it is true, some of it is false, and most of it is industry specific. Your Job is to get as close as possible to finding out what your objective worth is in the Labor market, and then making sure that your Job offers reflect these facts.

Several sources are available on the web to help you access this information. One is the Wall Street Journal's Career Site, which has not only Job Ads but also salaries and profiles. For example, if you want to know how much Internet Professionals earn, check out their salary info below: