Latest / The Marketing Career Podcast with Fexingo: Marketing Jobs, Skills, and Career Growth / How Marketers Use Secondment to Build New Skills Without Quitting
Transcript
- Lucas: So you feel stuck in your marketing role. You like the company, the pay is decent, the people are fine. But you are not growing. The work feels repetitive. You want to build a new skill, but the idea of leaving for a whole new job feels like a gamble you are not ready to take. Luna: Yeah, that's a very common spot for mid-career marketers. You are not unhappy enough to quit, but you are not challenged enough to stay engaged. Lucas: Exactly. And the standard career advice tends to be binary: stay or go. But there is a third option that does not get enough attention. It is called secondment. Essentially a temporary assignment in a different role, team, or even geography, while you remain employed by your current company. Luna: It is like a job rotation, but usually with a specific project or time frame. I have seen it more often in big corporates, especially in Europe and Australia. Lucas: Right. And it is not just for junior staff. Some of the most interesting secondments I have seen involve senior marketing leaders moving into product, sales, or even sustainability for six to twelve months. The idea is you bring your marketing expertise to a new problem, and you bring back a new perspective. Luna: Let me give a concrete example. A friend of mine was a brand manager at Unilever. She had been on the same detergent brand for four years. She was good at it, but bored. She heard the sustainability team needed someone who understood consumer behaviour. She pitched a six-month secondment to her boss. Lucas: And how did her boss react? Luna: At first hesitant. But she framed it as a win-win. She would bring consumer insights to a team that typically talked to scientists and regulators. And she would return to her brand role with a deeper understanding of how sustainability claims actually land with shoppers. Lucas: That framing is critical. You are not asking for a favour. You are proposing a business case. The company gets a cross-functional problem solved, and you get a development opportunity. If you just say 'I am bored, can I try something else?' you sound like a flight risk. Luna: Exactly. She got the secondment. Six months embedded with the sustainability team. She helped redesign the on-pack messaging for a new eco-friendly line. She came back and within eighteen months she was promoted to senior brand manager. Lucas: That is a great case because it shows the real return. She did not just learn about sustainability. She built a visible track record of impact outside her core role. That matters when promotion committees look for people who can think beyond their silo. Luna: But what if your company does not have a formal secondment program? Most mid-size or smaller companies do not. Lucas: Then you create one. Informally. You talk to a manager in another department you are curious about. You say, 'I have capacity to take on a project that sits at the intersection of marketing and your team. Could we set up a three-month trial where I spend twenty percent of my time with you?' It does not need HR approval. Luna: That is essentially a micro-secondment. Lower risk for everyone. And if it goes well, you can extend it or make it more formal. Lucas: Right. The key is to start small and over-deliver. If your host team loves you, they will advocate for you to stay longer or to make the move permanent. And your home team sees you as an ambassador, not a deserter. Luna: One thing I want to flag: secondments can backfire if you do not set clear expectations upfront. I have seen people get stuck in a 'permanent temp' situation where they are doing two jobs badly. Lucas: That is real. The antidote is to define scope, duration, and success metrics in writing before you start. Even if it is just an email. 'For the next three months, I will spend Wednesdays with the product team. My deliverable is a competitive analysis for the Q3 roadmap. At the end, we will review whether this should continue.' That protects everyone. Luna: And you need to be honest about what you want to get out of it. If your goal is to move into product marketing permanently, you should say that. Not aggressively, but transparently. Most managers respect clarity. Lucas: Absolutely. Let me give you another angle. Secondments are not just for large companies. I know a marketing director at a fintech startup with about 80 employees who did a 'rotation' with the sales team for two months. She wanted to understand why leads were not converting. She came back and rewrote the entire email nurture sequence. That was her secondment. Luna: That is a great example because it did not require a formal program. She just asked the VP of Sales if she could sit in on calls and join weekly pipeline meetings for two months. Lucas: And what did she get? She got firsthand insight into the objections prospects raise. That is gold for a marketer. You cannot get that from a survey or a persona doc. Luna: So if a listener is thinking about a secondment, what is the first step they should take tomorrow? Lucas: Identify one skill gap that is holding you back from your next role. Maybe it is data analysis, maybe it is product strategy, maybe it is people management. Then find a team in your company where you could build that skill in a real project context. Walk over and have a coffee with the person who leads that team. Luna: Do not send an email. Have a conversation. That is how these things start. Lucas: Exactly. And if you get a no, ask why. Sometimes the objection is timing, not the idea itself. You can revisit in six months. Persistence matters. Luna: I want to mention one more thing. Secondments can be a powerful diversity and inclusion tool. Some companies use them to give high-potential employees from underrepresented groups exposure to roles they might not otherwise be considered for. Lucas: That is a great point. It is a way to break the 'you need experience to get experience' cycle. If you are a marketer from a non-traditional background, a secondment can be a stepping stone into a function like brand management or product marketing that often requires a specific pedigree. Luna: And for the company, it is a low-risk way to test talent. You get to see someone in action before you commit to a permanent move. Lucas: Okay, so let me summarise the practical playbook. One: identify the skill gap. Two: find the team and the project. Three: build a business case that benefits both sides. Four: set clear scope and metrics. Five: deliver and document. Luna: And if you do that, you might just unlock a career move you did not even know was possible inside your current company. Lucas: You know, it is funny. We talk about career growth as if it always requires a resume and a job search. But sometimes the best next role is already in the building. You just have to ask for it the right way. Luna: That is a nice way to put it. And if these conversations about marketing careers have sparked something you have actually used, whether it is a secondment pitch or just a new way of thinking about your next move, it is worth mentioning that listener support is what keeps this show ad-free and independent. Lucas: Yeah, we do not run sponsorships or sell courses. So if you find value in these episodes, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It is a simple way to help us keep doing this. Luna: And we really appreciate that. Okay, back to secondments. One thing I want to add: timing matters. The best time to ask for a secondment is when your current performance is solid. Do not ask when you are underperforming or in the middle of a big campaign. Lucas: Right. You want to ask from a position of strength. 'I am delivering in my current role. I want to contribute even more.' That is the message. Luna: And if you get the secondment, document everything. Keep a log of what you learn, who you meet, what you accomplish. That becomes your portfolio for the next promotion. Lucas: Great advice. Alright, let us wrap with a question for listeners to consider: what is one skill you wish you had, and which team in your company already has it? Luna: That is the starting point. Thanks for listening, and we will see you next time.