Significant Career Lesson From A Global ISV Operations Supervisor At ServiceNow Inc

The app store area I've been working on for the past couple years isn't as big as some other partner programs. We don't have dedicated product managers assigned to it, so since I know how it all works, it's kind of all fallen on me.

However, it's good experience. You have to make sure you're aware of what you're doing. You can say, "Eventually, we're going to need to get X, Y, and Z in here," or, "I'm doing X amount more than I did last year, which is outside my standard job description. What is that going to look like for me in a couple months?"

Basically, you want your leadership to say, "Oh, yeah, you'll have a different title." You want to kind of keep track of this. You want to be a "yes" person, especially in a new role or when starting your career. It's a good way to learn, and people see you as a hard worker who is driven.

But at a certain point, especially once you start growing, you have to ask, "Does this really fall into what my role is?" It's not that you're resistant to doing more; you just have to manage your career.

If you keep saying yes in your current role and they assume it's part of your job, how will you get promoted? They might have you doing VP-level work but at a manager-level salary. You have to strategize your career in that way, not in a tricky way, but by being honest.

You don't want to say, "No, I can't do that, that's not my job description." Instead, have a transparent conversation with your leadership. You could say something like, "Typically, an operations manager does X amount. Our business is growing, and I know I'll be doing X amount more outside of what a typical person at this company at this level would do. What do you think that will look like for me? Is there a potential title change or pay increase down the line?"

You want to be helpful. I'm naturally inclined to say, "Yeah, I'll do that, I'll pick that up." You have to do what's right, but you want to make sure you're not taking on too much.

You might say, "Okay, I'll do X, Y, and Z, but I think this should go to a different department." If there's no one else, it can't always fall back on you. You have to say, "I can handle this for a little bit, but because I'm handling X, Y, and Z, it's going to be tough."

We need to find a transition point where it goes to someone else or maybe my role changes. You have to keep an eye on that. Hopefully, you'll be having recurring one-on-ones with your manager. This is something to bring up, as managing this is part of their role.

It's a good thing to keep track of, although it can be tricky. It's an extra thing outside of your day-to-day that you want to manage. Especially if you're in a new area or business that might not have a structured job description, you want to keep a close eye on it. It's not about being taken advantage of; it's about helping yourself and your career.

You could say, "For the next six months, I'll handle this, even though it should go to someone else. I'll do it for a couple months, but can we touch base and see where this is going?" It's a tricky line because you want to say yes and be someone they can count on.

But you also don't want to take on too much or you want to use it strategically to help your career. You can say, "Remember we were talking about me wanting to move into the next tier of management? You mentioned handling these other projects would help me get there. Would this be considered that?"

One-on-ones should be recorded, and you should take notes. Maybe two months later, you can ask for feedback on a new project you're taking on. You can then refer back to your notes and say, "You said that would help me get to the next level. How are we looking on that?"

There's budget and headcount that leadership considers for promotions, but you just want to keep it top of mind with them.