Five principles experienced candidates need to follow for successful careers
Experienced candidates have skill sets that are very good and in keeping with the changing times. Yet, they also do many mistakes in their careers. Based on an analysis of several successful careers, this article is an attempt to focus on five principles that could really lead to career success.
Introduction
The global business environment has changed dramatically in the past three decades. Consequently, there are many demands on the part of experienced candidates to come up with a package of value-added work that will always meet the organizational goals, in a very cost-effective manner. It is in this context that the Five Principles can make a big difference. These five principles are a sort of basic template for action.
The Five Basic Principles are: a) Never trade value-adding experiences for salary increases b) Never change jobs in less than 60 months c) Constantly upgrade skill sets d) Always be a leader through personal example and e) Keep on looking for new challenges within India and abroad.Never trade value-adding experiences for salary increases
Let us take a real world example. A middle-level HR executive has a massive range of responsibilities like counseling maladjusted employees, and creating a climate of engagement of supervisory staff through a number of new interventions like job rotation and systematic technical training, and so on. After just 36 months of experience, when he was promised a promotion in just under six months, he jumped his job to a totally new location. It was just one grade higher and in a project environment, as the conglomerate, with fabulous success records in the paper and the auto component industries was diversifying into bulk drugs. Just twelve months into his new job, the Manager was totally frustrated. It was crisis management at its worst, as the market for the product crashed when competition from China killed the domestic market. The organization went on to make losses. The Top management kept on giving fresh hopes of reducing the cost of production, thus trying to make profits in two years' time.
It become crystal clear that the job was taking him nowhere. He resigned in disgust. Had he not been in such a hurry, he would have been promoted and the value-adding experiences in his previous job would have automatically taken him to a far better position with a very good salary package. Never change jobs in less than 60 months
The aforesaid experience is a classic example. One should never change his or her job in less than 60 months. The job hoppers are mere rolling stones. They never gather any moss. They will always end up feeling miserable, as the other side is always green. This is all the more so in today's environment, where the best IT companies are also forced to cut down jobs. There is no perfect organization, anywhere in the world. Substantial experience is related to role clarity. In every job change, one should look for the increased job content that will bring in a new variety of experiences and not trap any person into doing the same things again and again.Constantly upgrade skill sets
Today, IT professionals are busy upgrading their skills on a constant basis. They are now learning new skill sets related to Data Analytics and Machine Learning. They look for projects where they will be able to give a big shape to the dynamic experiences with these skill sets.
Similarly, those in the manufacturing sector would be advised to take up an Executive MBA course on a part-time basis or through online mode. And engineering professionals need experience in supply chain management, industrial marketing, and operations management across product segments. Unless they become all-rounders, they will be left behind if they do not have a basket of experiences. Today, in most family-managed companies, there are fourth and fifth-generation youngsters in management positions. These highly result-oriented professionals no longer tolerate even a small loss in performance. Everything boils down to money and increased profits at any point in time. Hence, upgrading skills, even by spending up to five hundred thousand rupees is essential.Be a leader through personal example
All managers are not leaders. However, those who are leaders are also effective managers. For, leaders always inspire others to perform. They motivate others at all times. The late Mr. V.Krishnamoorthy, the former Chairman and Managing Director of Maruti Udyog, SAIL, and BHEL, all three huge companies that he turned around, is a classic example of a leader who was always action-oriented but followed a superbly crafted participatory design of management. He would involve employees in whatever he would do to bring out the best results.
A manager should be like Mr. Krishnamoorthy and lead his or her team to success. Another glorious example is that of the former CEO of ITC, the late Mr. Deweshwar, who successfully guided ITC into its diversification into the biscuit market, where it has become a big success. Of late, it has grown to be a big FMCG company that is a formidable competitor to several big companies like Hindustan Unilever in many product segments. Looking for new challenges
Taking up new challenges does not mean experienced candidates should stick only to Indian companies. There are many opportunities for those who change track and explore very good opportunities in countries like Kenya or Nigeria. For example, there are experienced professionals who have transitioned themselves to take up new responsibilities in corporate finance, after several years of experience in operations and overseeing corporate finance in their own companies.
There are opportunities for those who acquire advanced qualifications in new fields like Global Supply Chain Management. In the huge conglomerates, that operate in several countries, there is ample scope for managing supply chains across the countries and also exploring new opportunities for expansion. There are other challenges as well. For example, those with tremendous marketing experience in senior positions in FMCG companies will be given challenging opportunities in Europe, for example. Experienced candidates need to look around for such challenges. Conclusion
Based on a number of real-world experiences, five principles that are essential for career success are described in some detail in the aforesaid paragraphs. Of course, there will be complications when one keeps on gathering experiences in a highly complicated global business environment.
This is a good article from the author and it is very useful for employees who are in their early years of career.
We all know that a known devil is better than an unknown ghost. When we are in a company we know what are the positive aspects of this organisation and what are the negatives. We can amend ourselves in such a way that we can have a smooth walk as we know the culture of the organisation. But when we enter a new system, even though we are very good taskmasters, it will take some time to get adjusted ourselves to the environment there. As individuals, we should change ourselves but we should not try to change the culture of the organisation. So one should think twice before making a move.
Changing jobs very frequently is not desirable. The job provider will also get doubt that you may not stick to the job and he has to search for another candidate in no time. That will be a negative and the company may not consider such people for a position in their organisation.