As a recruiter I speak to professionals about their career options on a daily basis. Many people say they will only consider another job if it’s a step up or if it presents a significant increase in salary. Sometimes these people are short sighted.
Consider this scenario; you are an Internal Auditor and would like your next job to be a Finance Manager. You apply for many Finance Manager jobs but are unable to get to the interview stage.
Perhaps you can pause and consider things from the hiring manager’s perspective, there are likely to be other candidates applying for the same job and many of them may already be Finance Managers.
What can you do differently to achieve the desired results? One option may be to look at internal options in your current place of work. Perhaps there is an opportunity to temporally cover for the Finance Manager when he / she is on vacation. In the short term it is in your interest to volunteer for a lateral assignment, or expand your workload, often without any increase in pay. The experience gained will position you one step closer to a Finance Manager role.
An alternative approach could be to apply for Financial Accountant roles instead of Finance Manager positions. After a couple years as a Financial Accountant you may have gained the desired experience to move into the Finance Manager position.
A third option could be to volunteer, in your spare time, as a Finance Manager for an NGO or Industry Committee that needs assistance in this area.
All three options provide the same result; relevant work experience. This will make your profile more desirable to hiring managers and assist in the career advancement that you seek.