10 suggestions for young Management Graduates?

MBA is the hottest career option today. No study needs to confirm this fact. In fact most of the graduates in India, whether they be Engineers, Architects, Accountants, Commerce or Science graduates, even Doctors have put an MBA as the preferred option to pursue after their graduation. Whether that is good or bad is a separate point of discussion altogether. The industry however feels that many of the management graduates passing each year are not up to the mark and lack employable skills and work attitude.

In the following lines, I try to enlist some key characteristics that an employer/organization would look for in a prospective employee that happens to be a management graduate.

1. Initiative

The young MBAs need to understand that whatever institute they pass out from and how much of a strategic thinker they might be, they will still need to get their hands dirty! They will have to work on ground to learn the nuances of their organization/product/services, before they can even think of ‘strategic plans’. They will need to work hard & work smart. Initiative also means proactively working towards betterment for the function and the company you work for. Very important is the passion for your organization, and your work. And to prove that passion and hard working nature, a little extra thing outside of your defined KRA would help. Your willingness & enthusiasm to work on new projects/challenges is bound to make your boss/organization happy.

2. Ability to contribute from day one

You may have gone through the rigor of the best MBA and might know the Kotler by heart, but that does not necessarily mean you are employable. An example is that you could be missing knowledge about a simple skill like photocopying, which might be one of your first tasks or be a part of your first task! A very good grasp on technology related tools and ease of working on applications like MS Office would be extremely important. Now this might or might not be in your MBA syllabus. Also very important are your people skills. You would be asked to deal with team members, internal teams, external agencies, vendors, customers etc. without much information about the organization and its processes. If you can ‘get work done through others’ at that instant, you are on the right path to be a ‘manager’.

3. Right communication skills

In the current scenario, communication skills can make or break your corporate life. Although many B-schools are now laying a lot of stress on building their student’s communication skills, this is still one of the sore points of most management graduates. Not just restricted to ability to speak in English (which of course is required), it also encompasses listening skills, writing skills, and reading & comprehension skills. The ability to think clearly and communicate it concisely & precisely is the backbone of good communication.

4. Right Values and ethics

Now, you might have the best of abilities and skills, but everything else is downright useless if you do not possess the moral values and ethics towards your organization, your colleagues, your environment, and the society at large. ‘Profit’ at any cost is thing of the past. And it has more to do with having a heart of gold. Companies with profit as motive are now seen as shortsighted. Having these kind of values ensure certain credibility for you as a person and that helps you get responsibilities and thus grow.

5. Willingness to learn

Yes, you might be the topper of your class or might have won numerous business plan writing contests, but real corporate life is not a management course! When working in an organization, be open to learning. And not just from your superiors, but your peers, and juniors also. On the job learning is something that will go a long way for you.

6. Academic fundamentals

Ok, so those of you were starting to think that everything you learnt in your MBA was not worth anything, relax! These fundamentals will be useful; in fact it is time that you now use these fundas on practical problems. For that to happen you need to remember what you learnt and keep on brushing the same.

7. Stay updated

World as we know, is changing by the second & new technologies evolve and become outdated with a blink. Stay updated on the current trends in your area of work and everything that could relate to it. Also, you ought to be updated at least superficially about the world and happenings in general. More than anything else, it could just help you start an interesting and educated conversation!

8. Multi-tasking

Something that your hiring manager might or might not tell you, but is bound to happen. So be prepared to multi-task multiple projects simultaneously with equal attention and efficiency! Which means you should be good at adjusting to different work conditions, managing your time by setting priorities and channeling the efforts of your team.

9. Working under pressure

An aspect of corporate world that goes without saying. Today the situations in organizations are worse than a pressure cooker. Complex products/services, changing consumers, competition, coupled with your personal pressure to perform, should not be too much to handle. When in a pressure situation, deal with it logically and calmly. Look up to advice from your experienced team members. Believe it or not, it might be a little difficult in the start but eventually you will get used to it, and may be start enjoying it too!

10. Be honest

Well, somebody was right when he said that ‘honesty is the best policy’. Remember, your superiors know that are not too experienced and are bound to make mistakes. What they are looking in for is genuine effort and the right attitude. Even if you fail at something, be honest and acknowledge that you failed, but more importantly take home a learning. Down the line you are bound to succeed if you work with the same zeal!