Could a lateral move help your career? Dan and Alison answer your questions with the help of strategies.com/about">Priscilla Claman, a career coach and former HR executive. They talk through when making a lateral move will push you forward and when it will hold you back.

From Alison and Dan’s reading list:

HBR: Managing Yourself: Job-Hopping to the Top and Other Career Fallacies by Monika Hamori — “While step-downs generally detract from a CV, a lateral move is by no means a career killer. It may in fact prove beneficial in the long run if done wisely. For instance, a lateral move may be justified by the prospect of a promotion in the near future.”

HBR: 15 Rules for Negotiating a Job Offer by Deepak Malhotra — “Don’t get fixated on money. Focus on the value of the entire deal: responsibilities, location, travel, flexibility in work hours, opportunities for growth and promotion, perks, support for continued education, and so forth. Think not just about how you’re willing to be rewarded but also when. You may decide to chart a course that pays less handsomely now but will put you in a stronger position later.”

HBR: Surviving M&A by Mitchell Lee Marks, Philip Mirvis, and Ron Ashkenas — “In such situations, most people tend to fixate on what they can’t control: decisions about who is let go, promoted, reassigned, or relocated. But in our studies and consulting practices, we’ve found that individuals faced with organizational upheaval have much more power over what happens to them than they realize.”

HBR: Managing Yourself: Turn the Job You Have into the Job You Want by Amy Wrzesniewski, Justin M. Berg, and Jane E. Dutton — “A growing body of research suggests that an exercise we call ‘job crafting’ can be a powerful tool for reenergizing and reimagining your work life. It involves redefining your job to incorporate your motives, strengths, and passions. The exercise prompts you to visualize the job, map its elements, and reorganize them to better suit you.”