There is a bit of a misconception that there are boundaries around what you are supposed to do at work. You are hired to fill in a role, and you get the job description that goes with it. Except that it is not a script of what you should be doing with all your time at work. There are plenty of opportunities outside your job description that would benefit you if you actually considered them.
I am talking here to people at mid-level in their career, though you can start much sooner. Often the latest generation have already adopted this mentality. If you are in a senior role, you should be doing this quite automatically (or close).
Gone are the days of the job description being the bible that you go by when doing your work. I personally find it a very powerful tool when assessing a new job and during interviews. Because it forces businesses to get clear on what the role actually delivers. And it allows candidates to ask the right questions (and sell themselves accordingly). But after months into the job, I don’t believe a job description should restrict the tasks or opportunities you go after.
Companies know and practice this really well anyway, they often request ouputs outside of the ‘agreed’ job description to their staff. Who never question it and just execute by the way. So why wouldn’t it work the other way around? How come we don’t think of giving ourselves different tasks without the guilt? My message here is simple: you can make your job description work for you.
Naturally you need to start with doing your ‘core’ job well. I am not advocating spending your time on tasks that you are not hired for. And it can take you a while to master your ‘core’ job, depending on your level of experience. Sometimes you have just transferred your skills from one employer to the next, so you are ready to expand naturally once you are familiar with the culture and processes.
But the interesting part is when you start making full use of your job position, in relation to what you aspire to. In every job, you can craft opportunities based on what you you want to learn or what interests you. That is fully allowed, but never offered. Some very people-focused companies go all the way to offer training allowances or development plans which are typically bridges for that. But they won’t tell you what it could be used for or what areas to consider.
The key here is to mix your current job description with what you want to explore for your next role or career phase. Or it could be that you have powerful strengths not currently utilised in your ‘day to day’ job that could be put to good use to drive amazing results. We all have topics or fields that spark our curiosity and that we follow on the side. If you really consider this, it might be easier than you think to create additional activities at the periphery of your role that incorporate your interest.
If you are looking to switch functions, like from sales to marketing, it’s pretty easy to pick up a project like an event to learn the ropes. Or you can participate in cross-functional teams to get to do other things outside your daily job. You can put your hand up for a research project, or a presentation on a topic of interest. Or take up a course that will broaden your competency. You don’t need to work in HR to organise a staff event or workshop about something.
The ice on the cake is when you are passionate about a topic not currently on the company’s agenda. If the topic has any potential connection with the business philosophy or objectives, then there is your opportunity. You can step outside your job description for a minute and create something unique. Look for connections, because these days businesses are very open to the fast-evolving trends of our society, or of technologies to maintain a competitive advantage. So this opens many doors outside traditional job tasks, like social responsibility, employee well-being, artificial intelligence, design…etc.
By the way, you don’t need to be an expert either, you just need to be interested in a topic. Given you are an employee, you will be listened to. You never know where this could lead you. Some companies end up creating new departments out of such initiatives. In my experience the most successful employees manage their job plate like it is their own.
You guess what the immediate benefits of seeing past your job description encompass: more job satisfaction, more recognition and visibility. But it can also be a way to safely explore other paths whilst being remunerated for something you know how to do. And to increase your motivation to do your day job at the same time.
You drive what you do at work, not your job description. Companies value and often reward employees who take initiatives to grow the business and themselves concurrently. This is about building extensions of your job description to open doors or to thrive in your current work environment. We spend so much of our lives at work, we really owe it to ourselves to make it enjoyable and fitting us. So what can you start adding to your daily job? What has value to both the business and you? Bring out the person behind the job.
