4 Ways a Lateral Move Can Help Your Career

Many members of the workforce follow a natural progression in their careers: Get an entry-level position, and keep getting promoted from there. But not every job change constitutes a step up. Sometimes, a lateral move -- meaning a move within your company, or to another employer, with a similar level of responsibilities and pay grade -- can make sense from a career-related perspective. Here are some benefits you might reap by moving sideways instead of up.

The more time you spend in a certain role, the better you develop a core set of skills. But unless you want to stay in that sort of job forever, you'll eventually need to start working on additional skills -- and that's where a lateral move can help. Working in a new area of your company (or another company) will expose you to new tasks and new sources of talent, such as your coworkers. Take advantage, and you'll build yourself up as a well-rounded employee who's more marketable in the future.

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Source: Fool.com