Signs of a dead end job (employee, employer, jobs, career)

[mcb1025]

Sure, there are the obvious jobs that have very limited or no room for growth (valet driver, custodian, etc.). On the other hand, there are those dead end positions that might not be so conspicuous. Of course, an employer trying to woo in a qualified (or sometimes over-qualified) candidate will rarely admit that the position they're offering is dead end. All this means is that you'll have to detect the signs for yourself.

So what do you guys think the signs are that you're in a dead end job?

[bande1102]

Unfortunately, I've had a dead end job. I've also been passed over for a promotion and I've learned a few things:

1) Dont' be the best at your job. I'm not saying to not work hard or to be a slacker. But if your boss has a stellar guy/gal working under him/her, he/she's not going to want to lose that person.

2) Teach other people to do your current job so they can take over while you move up. Some people say that you should guard your knowledge, but you never want to be the only person in the department who knows how to do something. Because you've pretty much given yourself a job for life.

3) Figure out what happened to the person who held the position before you. I can't tell you how many times, knowing what happened to the person before me has been an accurate harbinger of things to come. And if you can actually get facetime with the person, even better.

4) Take a look at the movement within the company itself. If positions open up b/c people are getting promoted, good. If people are leaving for greener pastures, not good. Also, if the same people have been in place for years, not good.

But the most important thing I've learned is that to get ahead, you have to be willing to change employers. You can't rest on your laurels. You constantly have to be learning new skills or improving your current skill set.

Also, sometimes, you'll do everything right and you'll still get stuck. Recognize the reality of your situation and move on--don't waste precious time in a situation you can't change. I can't tell you how many times I tried to make it work with a crappy boss--and how much better things were when I let it go and changed jobs.

[molochai2580]

The best quote I ever saw was:

"Don't be irreplaceable. If you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted."

[ValueAddedWorker]

When despite your best efforts via schooling and high performance, you still can't get a promotion, much less extra responsibilities - no matter how hard you try to convince the management you can offer much much more.

Another sign of a dead end job are bogus performance reviews, favortism (ass kissers who get promoted while the high performers don't) and the lack of raises. Imagine working somewhere part time for 3+ years, getting a $1/hr raise and being told you have to learn to respect your role, when you ask for extra projects? Such an employee would be better off shopping around.

[Alaskan Mutt]

Originally Posted by bande1102

1) Dont' be the best at your job. I'm not saying to not work hard or to be a slacker. But if your boss has a stellar guy/gal working under him/her, he/she's not going to want to lose that person.

While I agree that bosses hate to lose stellar employees, it is my opinion that striving to be the best at your job will provide far more opportunities to advance out of a dead end job. I worked 20 years for a company that was known as a dead end employer. By striving to be the best I was able to get out of the dead end positions early on and move up within the company.

[MonkeyKid]

1# for me would be not learning anything new. promotions and raises are one thing. If I am still learning I see myself as increasing my skill sets that will be coveted by another employer

[Rei]

So what do you guys think the signs are that you're in a dead end job?

Just so you know... IMO, all jobs are dead end. That's why they're called JOB (journey of the broke)... ^^
The trick is not how much money you make, but it's living w/in your means...

[RogueMom]

Sometimes you know you are in a deadend job, or have reached a career "roadblock", when you look at what the person is having to deal with in the job that is one step up from yours and realize you don't really WANT the next step up. That's when you have to start doing a little dance between performing your current postition well enough to keep it, but not so well that they insist it's time for you to be "promoted".

[TheJagMan]

Originally Posted by Rei

Just so you know... IMO, all jobs are dead end. That's why they're called JOB (journey of the broke)... ^^
The trick is not how much money you make, but it's living w/in your means...

Or Just Over Broke. Yup, it's not how much you make, it's how much you save.

All depends how you look at things as far as a dead-end job. A popular definition is a job that has low odds of getting promoted. One school of thought is that there's no such thing as dead-end job, every job COULD lead to a better job. Even the valet driver, someone owns it's and someone has to pay the drivers...

When I as 17 I worked as a telemarketer...Most people we're always complaining it was a dead-end job...But during my short stint there, a telemarketer got a job as an executive assistant.

[emem]

At least it's a job!