When you take a better offer at another company, it’s easy to think that things will be better for you after the transition. I mean, that other company offered you a better salary, or a larger scope of influence, or a better title, or something better than your old job had.
Why would they lure you away from your current job if they didn’t want the skills you bring with you?
But even when it looks like an easy job where you’re keeping the same position, solving the same kinds of problems at the same level, there are still two traps you can fall into when you move to a different company.
1️⃣ The new company’s culture will not be the same as your current company’s. The standard operating procedures that made you successful so far may fall flat or fly in your face at the new organization. You’ll need to take some time to learn what’s already working – and maybe even working better than at your old job. Learn also what it takes for changes to succeed before you start trying to transplant any successful tactics you’re bringing with you.
2️⃣ You’re probably starting with no network. In the time you spent at your old company, you probably made friends and allies, exchanged favors and earned political capital. Your plans succeeded in part because other people trusted you and wanted to see you succeed. After changing companies, you’re starting over, and you’ll need to forge new relationships and exchange new favors to rebuild a strong network to support you.
I’ve seen too many people change companies only to return a few months or years later because things didn’t work out the way they planned. By focusing on adopting the new culture and building your new network, you can avoid the hidden traps that often come when changing companies.
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