My career change journey started in February 2009 when I learned the account where I had been working would be closing. I had been with Sodexo for more than eight years at the time and there was no question in my mind that I wanted to stay with the company. I decided to look at my situation as an opportunity rather than a challenge and this was my opportunity to relocate to Colorado. Luckily, my wife's company was providing us the opportunity to relocate to Colorado, which meant I could concentrate on my own career change.
The first thing I did was research on the Sodexo intranet to determine who the recruiters were for the west coast. Our company intranet is the first place I turn if I need more information about all things Sodexo. Once I figured out who my contacts on our talent acquisition team would be I sent them all an email. In my email I introduced myself, explained my situation, and included my resume. From our intranet I was also able to determine who the District Managers were for the Colorado market and I sent them a similar email. Thankfully my networking paid off and I soon heard back from District Managers for our Corporate Services and Health Care business sectors.
My wife had to report to her new office in August and I needed to stay behind until October to close my account. As late as September I still wasn’t sure if I would be able to transfer with Sodexo. Determined to make the transition work I continued looking for a job that was a good fit for me in our career center. And then, in September I noticed a resource position available in Colorado. I posted and interviewed with the Health Care District Manager that I connected with earlier in the year and during my last week at my unit I received a phone call offering me the position.
Sodexo’s supports internal mobility on many levels including cross business sectors and they provide the proper training to help us succeed in career transitions like mine. As soon as I was settled in Colorado, I was off to Seattle for training. The training covered everything I needed to know about Sodexo’s Health Care business sector including our business strategy, policies, and sustainability commitments. This training also helped reinforce the core competencies needed by Sodexo management employees and provided me with the tools to take my leadership skills to a new level.
After I returned from training I was assigned to an account in Pueblo, Colorado to temporarily fill a newly vacant General Manager position. Resource employees often fill temporary positions until they can be permanently filled through our hiring process and are an excellent opportunity for employees to gain experience with multiple accounts across all business sectors. I was officially offered the General Manager position as a permanent role after about three months.
I’ll be honest, the most challenging part of my career transition was learning a new business sector. To help overcome this challenge I reached out to my peers and my District Manager and referenced our intranet as often as needed.
People always ask me what I would have done differently. The only real thing I can think of is, instead of having the expectation that my entire career was going to be spent in Corporate Services, I would have done more research about Sodexo’s other business sectors to prepare for career growth opportunities. Since my transfer I have excelled in my job and have become more confident in my professional abilities.
Preparing employees for cross sector career growth is not only good for the employee but for the company as well. It gives employees the opportunity to experience a fresh start and advance in their career without leaving Sodexo. I am not aware of many companies who provide this type of career growth. I’m thankful for the opportunity to start fresh and recharge my battery and use what I’ve learned over the past nine years at Sodexo and apply those ideas today.
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