Test, Learn, and Move Forward Without the Risk
Small, intentional steps that help you explore new directions while staying in your current role.
Career shifts don’t always require dramatic leaps.
Often, the best next moves start with curiosity and a willingness to try something small: “I wonder if I could…” or “That looks interesting, I’ll give it a go.”
Micro-experiments are low-risk ways to test whether a direction feels right before you commit to it fully.
They’re actions within your control – reaching out to a colleague, volunteering for a task, taking a short course – that you can do alongside your current role or build into your existing work.
This guide gives you a menu of experiments to choose from, helps you identify which ones might work for your situation, and supports you to plan your first step.
The Menu: Eight Micro-Experiments to Try
1. Job Shadowing or Observation
What it is: Spend time observing someone in a role you’re curious about – sitting in on their meetings, watching how they work, seeing what a typical day or week looks like.
Use this when: You’re intrigued by a role but unsure what it involves day-to-day. You want to separate the appealing idea from the reality.
Why it works: It gives you firsthand insight into whether the work energises or drains you and helps you spot skills or challenges you hadn’t anticipated.
Example: A marketing professional curious about product management shadowed a PM for three days. She realised the constant context-switching and stakeholder juggling would exhaust her – valuable information before pursuing a move.
2. Stretch Projects or Assignments
What it is: Volunteer for a project, task, or temporary assignment that gives you exposure to the type of work you want to do more of.
Use this when: You want to build skills or test your interest in a new area while staying in your current role. Ideal for exploring adjacent functions or responsibilities.
Why it works: It’s visible, builds your credibility, and gives you real evidence of what you enjoy and what you’re good at.
Example: An HR generalist volunteered to support a workforce planning project with Finance. The exposure to data analysis and business forecasting helped her transition into a People Analytics role 18 months later.
3. Cross-Functional Collaboration
What it is: Seek out opportunities to work with teams outside your usual function – join working groups, contribute to initiatives, or offer support on cross-departmental projects.
Use this when: You’re considering a lateral move into another function or want to understand how other parts of the business operate.
Why it works: You gain practical experience, build relationships with potential future colleagues, and test whether the culture and work style suit you.
Example: A finance analyst joined a product development steering group. Regular exposure to product thinking and customer-focused discussions confirmed his interest in shifting towards commercial strategy.
4. Skills Development (Targeted Upskilling)
What it is: Take a course, certification, or self-directed learning programme focused on a specific skill gap between your current role and where you want to go.
Use this when: You’ve identified a concrete skills gap that’s holding you back, or you want to test your interest in a technical area before committing.
Why it works: It’s low-cost, flexible, and gives you both knowledge and confidence. Completing something structured also signals commitment when you’re ready to make a move.
Example: A recruiter interested in moving into IT took an evening coding course. He discovered he enjoyed the logic and problem-solving, which gave him the confidence to apply for junior developer roles.
5. Informational Conversations (Perspective-Seeking)
What it is: Reach out to people currently doing the role you’re considering. Ask about their day-to-day work, what they find challenging, what skills matter most, and how they got there.
Use this when: You need clarity on what a role actually involves, or you’re trying to decide between multiple options.
Why it works: Real insight from real people cuts through job descriptions and assumptions. You’ll often hear things that wouldn’t appear in any formal role spec.
Example: A project manager considering a shift into change management spoke to three change leads. Their honest accounts of stakeholder resistance and the emotional labour involved helped her realise it wasn’t the right fit.
6. Mentoring or Coaching Relationships
What it is: Find a mentor who works in (or has worked in) the area you’re exploring. This could be inside or outside your organisation.
Use this when: You want ongoing guidance, insight into how someone navigated a similar shift, or help developing skills and perspective over time.
Why it works: A good mentor helps you see patterns, avoid pitfalls, and build capabilities you didn’t know you needed. The relationship itself often opens doors.
Example: An HR business partner sought mentoring from a senior Finance leader to develop her commercial acumen. Their conversations transformed how she approached business challenges – now one of her recognised strengths.
7. Volunteer or Side Projects
What it is: Take on a volunteer role, side project, or freelance work outside your day job that gives you experience in the area you’re exploring.
Use this when: The experience you need isn’t available in your current organisation, or you want to test something in a lower-stakes environment first.
Why it works: It’s entirely within your control, builds tangible skills and evidence, and often reveals whether you genuinely enjoy the work when it’s not hypothetical.
Example: During a career break, a client volunteered with a small charity doing admin and project coordination. She built stakeholder management skills and project confidence, which led to a lateral move into her company’s Transformation team.
8. Leading or Contributing to Internal Initiatives
What it is: Volunteer to lead or contribute to employee resource groups, internal committees, culture initiatives, or working groups.
Use this when: You want leadership experience but don’t have direct reports, or you’re interested in people-focused, strategic, or change-oriented work.
Why it works: It gives you visibility, develops skills like facilitation and influence, and lets you test whether you enjoy shaping culture, strategy, or people development.
Example: A senior individual contributor led an inclusion working group. The experience of facilitating discussions, influencing senior stakeholders, and driving change confirmed her interest in moving into an organisational development role.
Planning Your Experiment
Now that you’ve seen the options, it’s time to identify what makes sense for you and commit to action.
Step 1: Identify What You’re Testing
What direction are you curious about? (e.g., “I think I want a role that’s more strategic,” “I want to move into people leadership,” “I’m interested in product management”)
What do you need to find out? Tick all that apply:
- [ ] Whether I’d actually enjoy this type of work day-to-day
- [ ] What skills or experience I’m missing
- [ ] Whether this direction suits my strengths and energy
- [ ] What the role actually involves (beyond the job description)
- [ ] How realistic this shift is for me right now
- [ ] Whether the culture or work style would suit me
Step 2: Choose Your Experiment(s)
Looking at the menu above, which 1-2 experiments would give you the insight or experience you need most right now?
Experiment 1:
Why this one?
Experiment 2 (optional):
Why this one?
Step 3: Make It Specific
For your chosen experiment, answer:
What exactly will I do?
(Be concrete: “I’ll reach out to three product managers and ask for 30-minute conversations” not “I’ll talk to some people”)
Who do I need to involve or speak to?
(Name actual people if possible, or describe who you’ll approach)
What’s my timeframe?
Tick one:
- [ ] I’ll start this within the next 2 weeks
- [ ] I’ll complete this within 1 month
- [ ] I’ll complete this within 3 months
What’s the first action I’ll take this week?
Step 4: Decide How You’ll Evaluate
Once you’ve completed your experiment, you’ll want to reflect on what you learned.
What will tell me this experiment was useful? (e.g., “I’ll know whether I enjoy the work,” “I’ll have developed X skill,” “I’ll have clarity on whether to pursue this further”)
How will I capture what I learn? Tick one:
- [ ] I’ll schedule a reflection session with myself
- [ ] I’ll discuss it with a trusted colleague, mentor, or coach
- [ ] I’ll journal or write notes after key moments
- [ ] I’ll review progress in my next 1:1 with my manager
Your Next Move
Pick ONE experiment from your list above and commit to it.
Write it here:
My experiment:
I will start by: [date]
My first action is:
Career experiments don’t need to be perfect. They just need to happen. Small, intentional steps give you information, build momentum, and often open doors you didn’t see coming.
What you learn from one experiment will shape the next one. The goal isn’t to have all the answers now – it’s to start testing, learning, and moving forward.
What small experiment is calling to you right now?
Need support designing your next career move? Explore Remastered Careers’ coaching programmes and tools at www.remasteredcareers.com or message emma@remasteredcareers.com.
Remastered Careers | Career development that works for real people, in real jobs, delivering real results.
