Taking Charge of Your Career (HBR Women at Work Series)

9

Are You Taking On Too Many Non-Promotable Tasks?

by Linda Babcock, Brenda Peyser, Lise Vesterlund, and Laurie R. Weingart

Francesca, a third-year associate at a prestigious law firm (and a young woman we know), loved her job. When her boss asked her to help run the summer intern program, she immediately said yes. It was a chance for her to learn about different departments, meet partners, and showcase her organizational skills. She put a lot of time and energy into it. But once performance reviews rolled around three years later, her efforts were never mentioned. Instead, her boss warned Francesca that her billable hours had fallen behind. She was baffled and disappointed—what she thought would benefit her career didn’t seem to matter at all. ...