Big Moves, Bold Moves and Big Bold Moves - Earning Experience Capital
Experience Capital—the knowledge, skills, and wisdom gained on the job that drive promotions and salary increases. Earn it by making big, bold career moves.
This elegant definition of Experience Capital is from a recent HBR article on How Women Can Win in the Workplace. It goes on to describe big and bold moves as one of the ways to fill your capital account.
BIG MOVES are defined as switching industries or occupations.
BOLD MOVES are those that require new skills. At least 25% of the skills required are different from those you’ve used in your current or previous roles.
BIG BOLD MOVES result in increased compensation and career growth.
Big, bold moves require you to gain new knowledge and skills. They are the perfect environment for you to gain wisdom and experience at an accelerated pace.
The Gender Lens
I encourage men and women to make these kinds of moves, but the data shows that men make more of them. In my practice, women come to coaching when they’re thinking about making a Big Bold move, and men reach out after they’ve made the Big Bold move and are adapting to the change.
The fact that men are likelier to make these moves is not news to anyone who has done a lot of hiring. The most cited statistic on the topic is from research by a Harvard professor: Men will apply for a role if they meet 60% of the requirements, while women apply when they meet all the criteria, 100%. There is no eye rolling in this – it’s a data point.
Personal Experience—Applying the definitions, I made my share of all three combinations of moves and watched or cheered on others as they made theirs.
There is risk involved in Big, Bold moves, but Experience Capital makes it a calculated risk worth taking.
Reframing BIG and BOLD
BIG – if you have a professional skill, it’s transferable between industries. (Brain Surgery skills are a notable exception.) If you’re a leader, you’ve likely already changed professions.
Every industry has accountants, marketers, lawyers, HR, and tech professionals. The day you received your degree, your cohort dispersed to a variety of industries (and types of work environments, including B2B, B2C, start-ups, and multinationals). There is value in industry experience, but it can be overrated and offset by the fresh perspective you bring to a different industry.
In large organizations, changing professions starts with promotions that alter your role and expand your scope. Rotation to roles outside your professional training and new divisions is part of the track to the top. Your title shifts to Executive, and your responsibilities include less and less of what you originally trained to do. In small, lean organizations, wearing different hats is how the work gets done. Switching occupations without the progression described above is now labeled a pivot. Successful ones are all around you.
BOLD - Lead with the 75% of the skills that you have. Identify the skills that are your strengths and are key for this role. This isn’t about misleading people about your skills. It is about putting the gap into context and demonstrating confidence in closing it. Reframing the skill gap puts the 25% into the right perspective.
How do you make a BIG, BOLD or BIG and BOLD move?
Have the confidence to apply for that role you want, believe you have the relevant experience and can do it - even if you don’t meet 100% of the criteria. (This sentence alone explains the gender gap between who’s making the B moves.) The role may describe a Unicorn; they will not find one but hire someone who believes they can transform into one.
Rewrite your narrative! This isn’t an exercise in fiction writing. These moves require you to reframe the experience and skills you bring. Lead with your strengths. Share your experience in a way that helps others see the connections that are obvious to you that they may not have considered. Talk about your transferable skills with examples to narrow that gap you’re prepared to close.
Reset the risk register in your mind. Put the risk of making the move into perspective.
Reflect on your own or have a discussion with someone else. The goal is to get an accurate picture of your ability to take on the challenge and close the skill gaps. Assess the real risk inherent in the move, not an exhaustive list of every possible risk.
Look at Big, Bold, Big and Bold career moves. Don’t hesitate to go after them. Have conversations about them to prepare yourself to interview for them. It’s time to put a big deposit in your Experience Capital Account.
