Lateral Moves - 5 Reasons To Let Your Career Go Sideways

What if we told you there was a way to develop your career that doesn’t require you moving up the ladder? Yes, it’s true. No, we’re not crazy. Let's talk about lateral moves.

A lateral or horizontal move refers to a change that involves moving sideways in your career rather than moving upwards. It involves moving positions with little or no change in job level, title or pay. They are typically overlooked because they’re not as shiny. After all, what’s there to get excited about if it's not a promotion and there’s no pay rise?

There are many reasons to get excited about moving sideways. Allow us to share five of them so you understand why this could be a smart move for you.

Why?

1. Career change: for one it’s a great option if you are exploring a career change. Where you have closely related fields or transferable skills this allows you to transition with minimal financial impact.
2. Niche down (or not): another reason is to allow you to specialise…or generalise in your field. For example you could go from Compliance Manager to Forensic Investigations Manager or vice versa.
3. Bolster your portfolio: lateral moves are also a strategic way to build cycles of experience into your overall portfolio and help make you a more well-rounded professional. You get the opportunity to expand your experience, knowledge and skill set in a different area of your field or organisation; particularly helpful for entry into senior roles down the line. 
4. Relocate: you can take advantage of a lateral move to gain access into and learn a new industry or even a new city, country, or culture. For example moving as a Finance Business Partner from Financial Services into the Technology industry or from London to Sydney would provide a vastly different experience altogether despite the role itself being the same fundamentally.
5. Better options: in relation to our fourth reason, finally, a horizontal move could line you up for better perks, flexibility, work/life balance, earning potential and progression opportunities.

Ways to move sideways

If you’re keen to stay with your current organisation, there are some options internally. Firstly you can look for secondment opportunities - these can be long (12-24 months) or short term (3-6 months) and either domestic or international for global organisations. You would then return to your role after the set period of time.

Alternatively, if you are keen to move into a new area altogether then you can opt for a permanent transfer. This could be an option following a secondment if you decide you’d like to remain in the position instead of returning to your previous role.

In the event you’re looking to gain experience outside of your organisation, depending on your field, you can explore opportunities for client secondments. Or more commonly you can move sideways by applying for external positions to your current organisation or industry.

So there you have it, 5 reasons to consider moving sideways as your next power move. Which of the 5 is most attractive to you? Let us know by leaving a comment below.