Challenge or Change
Maybe you have reached a point in your working life when you need a new challenge. You might even be
thinking about a completely new career direction. We all have times when we get frustrated with our jobs. But
stop and think first – can things change or is it time to take action? If you decide it's time for action, the next
decision is whether it's you want a challenge in your current role or a completely new direction.
How satisfied are you with your career?
Thinking about what you've achieved in your career so far can be a good place to start. Success means
different things to different people, but you may want to consider whether you’ve:
 Enjoyed the challenges you’ve had in your role?
 Built up expertise in your line of work
 Made an impact in your function
 Earned the respect of customers and colleagues
Are you enjoying your job?
If you no longer enjoy any of the day-to-day activities in your job, it might be that you've been in your role too
long and you need a change. Moving to a different department in Thomas Cook may work if you don't get the
chance to use all of your talents currently. Think about what other roles exist and use the information on L&D
online and Heartbeat to establish what roles there are, what the skills requirements are and how you can
develop into them.
If you’re looking for a challenge you will probably:
 Want more responsibility
 Want the opportunity to learn new skills
 Want to develop your skills within current role
 Want to grow experience within my current area of specialism
You can consider:
 Taking on new responsibilities. What could your manager delegate to you? What are you interested in
learning?
 Setting more stretching objectives and rise to the challenge of meeting them
 Looking for opportunities to contribute to projects, collaborate with others in a cross team project
 Starting a mini Lean project in your function to look at the processes which can be adapted or reviewed
 Finding a mentor to help you develop or acting as a coach or mentor to someone else
If you’re looking for a change you will probably:
 Want to change the actual content of your job
 Want the chance to use your skills at a similar level elsewhere in Thomas Cook
 Want a change of direction in order to develop or to better utilise your strengths
 Want a secondment to get some experience in a different business area
You can consider:
 A short-term secondment inside or outside your function
 Looking for opportunities to contribute to projects outside your function
 Researching roles that others in your function undertake
 Raising your profile within the function
 Using the tools on L&D online to help you consider where else you want to be
 Using Heartbeat to understand the sorts of roles available in different areas of the business
 Talking to someone in the business area you are interested in
 Arranging a Career Conversation with your manager to utilise their experience and their network.