Spotlight on Matthew Johnson: Transferring from Thermal to R&D Engineering
When you work at DENSO, you aren’t confined to one role or team. Our employees have the chance - and are encouraged - to reskill and move to different positions within the company. Here’s what Matthew Johnson, R&D engineer at our North America Research and Engineering Center, had to say about his experience:
“My internal transfer experience wasn’t anything radical – I went from one engineering job to another. But my fear in pursuing the transfer is something I think others might experience, so I want to address it.
I felt like I was under a lot of pressure to transfer successfully. If I failed to get the job, would it look bad that I was looking for a new position? Would I be jeopardizing my job or chance for advancement?
Retrospectively, there was nothing to worry about or fear. I know others who applied for but didn’t get transfers and they have not experienced any negative backlash. I understand now that the company is supportive of transfers – it helps them and you as an individual. In fact, when I accepted my new job, my new and current managers met and discussed a transition plan that worked for everyone. And when I got to my new job, my team trained me on equipment and software I’d be using and were always available to answer questions – they were very supportive and patient.
I’m very happy I made the move. Moving to an R&D role in NAREC (North America Research and Engineering Center) gives me the opportunity to explore new spaces, solve new problems and develop new products and technologies. This is what I was looking for with a move. I went from maintaining and creating drawings for car parts to researching market trends, identifying the most valuable problems to solve and fabricating concept solutions to address problems in new spaces where DENSO can win!
So, if you are worried about the optics of applying for a transfer, don’t. Just go for it.”