You are professionally qualified and done excellently in academics. You have got a new job in the corporate. Will your excellent academics and qualification ensure career success? My answer is ‘No’.
Your excellence in academics does not guarantee you a bright career with quick promotions. There are many gold medalists and toppers who failed miserably in the corporate. You will ask ‘Why?’ and ‘What are the tips to handle the corporate career?’
A new job is a transition from campus to corporate and understanding the corporate realities soon particularly in the beginning of the career is very important as it shapes future career many a time.
I feel Corporate career success is a mixture of academic excellence, good leadership qualities and interpersonal relations with good common sense.
Employees who are good at facts, figures and theories find it difficult to become effective managers and team leaders. Unfortunately, no college teaches work place skills.
All the youngsters begin their careers with high enthusiasm and intent to reach at the top within a short span. But, within few years, they get frustrated and their enthusiasm recedes. They change the jobs frequently not due to job content but because of organization problems.
I have no doubts about the capabilities of you young aspirants. You have high ambitions, great flexibility and tech-savvy people.
The only problem I feel is that you are not properly trained to handle organizational and workplace realities.
Some of the observations and tips to have bright career in the corporate right from the beginning are summarized as below.
Career Development Tips for Youngsters
Developing interpersonal and communication skills
You are equipped to be successful with your qualifications, high aspirations and strong determination. But, you may get set back at the entry level itself due to insufficient training on behavioral adjustment to the corporate realities.
Hence, you have to develop adequate interpersonal and communications skills. I am not expecting you to develop exceptional interpersonal and communications skills, but you should have adequate skills.
You can develop these by attending some training courses on these topics and some organizations cover this during their induction programs.
Developing people management and self-management skills
You have excellent technical and management knowledge. But, normally you lack in the effective people management and self-management skills which are very much required to adjust to the frequently changing, dynamic and very demanding corporate realities.
This is because you don’t get any classroom training on these aspects. Such highly demanding situations create stress and frustration in the young minds.
Hence, you have to Manage people development plan and self-management skills. Many training programs are available which cover softer aspects of effective people management and even self-management.
Develop your short term and long term goals
Normally, you get a shock after entering into new corporate due to different culture, behavior, new work, and responsibilities. You find challenging and demanding situations.
You also find it difficult to amalgamate these realities with your ambitions. You find your aspirations and actual realities are different and hence you start feeling frustrated and de-motivated.
Hence, you have to accept these realities soon as they are the part of the corporate and set your short term goals after considering these realities. Your short term goal will lay a path for your long term career success.
Hence, it is important to set your short term goals which are important for your long term goals.
Don’t try to prove others wrong especially bosses
After you enter into organization, you try to improve the system with your latest knowledge. But, at the same time you also try to prove that old systems including your bosses thinking, knowledge and decision-making is outdated.
Here, you make a major mistake. This move of yours creates risk for your boss’s career. Hence, your boss will try to spoil your career pathway. You will be sidelined or terminated from the current job as your boss has a power to do that.
You may change the job and get a new job, but it may get repeated there also. Hence, it is good that you try to improve the system, but don’t try to prove others wrong in the process. It will only harm you and not others.
I find you youngsters should get guidance on the emotional and social part as they are not taught in the classrooms. Either organizations should cover these during the induction or youngsters should join some training program to cover these. Sooner you get these training, easier for you to get adjusted in new corporate culture and faster career growth.
Best luck young managers!
