The Best Career Move I Ever Made Was 5 Steps Backward on the Corporate Ladder

Think of Your Career as a Climbing Wall, Not a Ladder

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Six years ago, I made what some people would call the dumbest career move a person could make.

I left a job as Director of Client Services at an international SaaS company and became a Business Analyst at a credit card processing firm.

Depending on how you count it, the move represented about five steps backward on the corporate ladder. And yet, it’s the best career move I ever made.

When I interviewed at the credit card processing firm, the CEO and Chief of Staff told me the company customarily didn’t hire people into senior roles. They brought senior people into low-level positions so you could learn the business, then you had to prove yourself and earn a top spot.

They asked me what I ideally wanted to do, and I explained that in my last role, I had realized that I wasn’t passionate about Customer Service. I was passionate about people development.

In my CS role, I had found myself spending a disproportionate amount of time on learning & development (L&D) initiatives such as new hire onboarding and manager training. It took me a long time to realize that actual L&D roles existed that would enable…