So, assuming that you’re a good performer, and you’ve met your company’s requirements to be eligible for a mobility move, how does one go about figuring out what their  next move should be?

Here’s a framework I suggest to people:

1. Assess yourself.  Two categories of skills: capabilities and product/technical knowledge. Make a list of what you have in both these categories NOW. Capabilities are broad: people management skills, business requirements documenter, presentation skills. Product/technical is the deep detailed knowledge, like knowing a particular product. This is what you bring to the new job.

2. What do you love, what not so much? Write the elements down. If you don’t want to manage people, you need to write that down. This is what you want your future job to have.

3. Show your assessment to your manager and have a conversation to narrow down the options. If you don’t want to manage others, you’re not going to run a line. If you hate strategy, you’re not going to want to be in a planning function. The purpose of this is to narrow down all the options to the best few.

4. Once you’ve narrowed down the list of functions/areas, ask your manager for 3 names of people you can talk to. Often, the next move is about timing. You want to do your due diligence as well as make sure people have you in mind when an opening does come up.

5. When you interview for the role, there are 3 people you need to talk to: the hiring manager (but take it with a grain of salt since they’re selling you), your current manager (they probably know you the best, so their opinion is important), and someone who works for the hiring manager (“What are the 3 things you love about the job? What frustrates you?”) They’re most likely to be honest with you.

Lastly, be patient. It’s better to take longer to find the perfect next move, than move too fast and jump into the fire.