People hold on to jobs too long for all kinds of reasons. Sometimes it’s loyalty to co-workers at a company you’ve outgrown, or maybe you spent a long time thinking you were just about to get promoted… but never got the call. Or perhaps you simply had a lot going on in your personal life and your somewhat dull job felt steadying. During the downturn, many people decided to stay in whatever job they had, figuring that any job was better than no job.
Whatever the reason, if you’ve stayed in a role long after your growth and learning in that role plateaued you need a plan for presenting your experience to recruiters and hiring managers. If this is the flavor of your resume – if your last decade sounds like the same year repeated 10 times — you’ll face tough questions as you look for a new job. When asked about your learning, your challenges, and your career plan, your answer cannot be a variant on “I played it safe.”
How can you show you’ve grown?