Dear Liz,
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, @$ E, ]2 j5 Q# F" x, w) c: dI usually stay in the neighborhood near work during the day, but I went a little farther afield last week to have lunch with a friend. As I walked into the restaurant I saw my boss, who was having lunch with a search consultant in our industry. By the way my boss reacted when she saw me, I'm 99% sure that she was talking to the search person about changing jobs. She sure wasn't interested in talking to me that day.
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I'm happy for my boss if she gets a new job, but I'd really like to be considered for her position if she is moving on. Is there any polite way for me to bring this up with her? We haven't talked about meeting in the restaurant that day.
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( u! J* f6 a# H8 u+ IThanks,
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9 j" n& W( h! w5 U5 w# J( gAna
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Dear Ana,
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There is no polite way to broach the subject of your boss's possible job search. After all, she is free to have lunch with whomever she likes, and there's no guarantee that she's actually job-hunting. Even if you knew for certain that she was on the job market, you couldn't bring it up politely, because it's not your business. Still, there are a couple of things that you can do to put yourself in a good position in case your boss does ride out of Dodge in the near future.
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[! j0 P/ t( |2 AFirst: You can have a general conversation with her about your career plans. Say something like: "You've always been supportive of me, Stephanie, and I'd love to brainstorm with you about next steps in my professional development." This will convey to your boss that you're ready for a new challenge. Ask her to give you honest feedback about where she thinks you can improve as an employee and as a future leader. Then, of course, you want to start putting Stephanie's advice into practice, demonstrating your commitment to both your development and your career goals.
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# h( a2 \: p4 F/ v1 I% ~% G- jSecond: Ask for your manager's approval to talk with HR or your company's training department about any supervisory-development programs the company offers. There may or may not be time or budget for that training, but making the request will still communicate your desire to get into a people-management role.
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' q$ b1 c3 F4 N" ]4 kThird: I'd say to your boss, "You know, if there is anything you need my help with, apart from what's on my desk right now, I'd love for you to let me know. I am very interested in learning more about how the department works and supporting you with anything you want to hand off." That's about as far as I would push it.
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' k& b) s3 }( J8 j* Q" @- ^' NTaking those three steps will make it clear to Stephanie (even if she's distracted by the job search that may or may not be happening) that you're more than ready to be her No. 2, or, in the case of her departure, her replacement.
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; D8 w9 H6 }+ N, G4 VGood luck!
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1 R! H9 Y: j2 u, `$ P+ z2 \Liz
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Liz Ryan is an expert on the new-millennium workplace, a former Fortune 500 HR executive and the author of Happy About Online Networking: the Virtual-ly Simple Way to Build Professional Relationships. Liz speaks to audiences around the world about work, life and networking, and works with employers on attracting and retaining world-class talent. Liz can be reached at liz@asklizryan.com
