Today the Chartered Institute of Management published its survey results, which show some interesting things career wise:

Resignations have increased over the last year – and these aren’t redundancies – these are people leaving voluntarily. Requests for internal transfers are also down. So, despite the volatility in the jobs market, more people are choosing to pursue career opportunities elsewhere.

More than half the employers questioned (53.8 per cent) admitted that restructuring and job insecurity caused many of their staff to ‘jump ship’.  A significant proportion (38.5 per cent) recognised that their ‘failure to offer career opportunities and training’ contributed to employees leaving.  Given widespread recognition that engaged staff are more loyal, it is alarming that 61.5 per cent also admitted that their employees’ heads had been turned by head-hunters and recruitment consultants.

My sesnse of one of the best things to come out of this recession is a new intelligence about careers. I congratulate the people who’ve had the courage to move on to something better (sacrificing significant employment rights if they had more than a year’s service with the former employer), and I am disappointed that employers still don’t place enough emphasis on career management.

Too often, when someone hands in their notice, the manager says something like ‘I wish I’d known, I had big plans for you’. WHY DIDN’T YOU TELL THEM THEN?!

If you are considering a move, why don’t you take the initiative and ask for a chat with your manager about your career goals? You don’t have to be totally upfront with them about your desire to move on. Something like ‘I’ve been thinking about how I could add more value, and these are the things I’d like to focus on over the next year or so…’ will test the water. See if your manager responds with an open and authentic discussion about your career with the organisation.

In most cases, he/she won’t want to lose you and, assuming there’s a good cultural fit between you and the organisation, there are several advantages to staying with the same employer and shaping your job to play to your strengths more (longer holiday entitlement, established relationships, better visibility of new career opportunities, etc – and, if the worst does happen, your long service will entitle you to a bigger redundancy package).

So if your employer has been a bit remiss about helping you to manage your career, why don’t you get the ball rolling…..what have you got to lose? Looks like there’s still healthy demand for good people out there.