Why lateral career moves are actually good for you...
Published on Thu May 15 2025
Updated on Fri Aug 08 2025
5 minute read
The running theme of our blogs has been growth and development. Fighting off stagnation. That’s why, when it comes to careers, the idea of lateral career moves can often seem counterintuitive. Why shift away from your current role when you could be working your way up? Isn’t that counterproductive? Aren’t you just basically starting from scratch all over again? The short answer is “no”. Let’s talk about lateral career moves and why they could be the best thing that you can do for your career.
What are lateral career moves?
A lateral career move is when an individual in an organization decides to switch roles or departments without seeking a promotion. This type of move can be advantageous for several reasons, such as building new skills and gaining experience and knowledge from other parts of the company. It also offers professional growth opportunities that may not be available in one’s current role. At Transcom, we want to empower our employees and give them the chance to explore their potential. To do that we have things like T:University which helps with learning new skills necessary for lateral moves, T:Gamification that takes learning new skills and places it in a fun context, and T:Perform for coaching and following your progress. It’s obvious why we encourage lateral career moves: they can help build strong professional relationships and provide a wide range of experiences that can help shape your personal development this in turn creates an atmosphere of progress.
Why are they good for you?
Lateral career moves can provide a great opportunity for growth and development in your professional life. Moving laterally in your chosen field can open you up to new experiences, help you gain valuable skills, and create opportunities that wouldn’t be available if you stayed on the same path. But why should you consider lateral career moves? What do they offer that traditional job promotions don’t?
More enjoyment out of work.
Lateral career moves offer new experiences and opportunities, allowing you to break out of the mundane routines of work. With a lateral move, you can try something different and gain a fresh perspective on your job. You may find that by changing roles or job responsibilities, you are more engaged and motivated.
This doesn’t have to be limited to just enjoyment through novelty but it could also mean that you made a lateral move to improve your work/life balance. By making a switch to a position better suited to your habits you can become happier and more productive.
Improves your skillset.
Making lateral career moves can be an effective way to boost your professional skillset. Especially in a competitive job market, it is important to stand out from the crowd and show employers why you are the perfect fit for their team. Lateral career moves give you the opportunity to diversify your experience and open up new opportunities for growth.
By exploring different roles within the same industry, you can gain a better understanding of the wider context in which your job functions. This type of career move also allows you to develop broader skills that may not be within your current specialization. For example, if you are a software developer, taking on additional roles as a product manager or business analyst could give you an edge when it comes to problem-solving and decision-making.
Route to a vertical career move.
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Created at Thu Apr 02 2026
3 min read
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