Improving Your Chances of Getting Into Management

To many employees, the ultimate career goal is to become part of the company management team. Along with the financial rewards of being in management, many employees want to be involved in the decision-making process that will help the company to be more successful. It is the chance to make a personal stamp on the success of the organization that drives people to want to get into management.

If you have aspirations of getting into corporate management, then there are some things you need to do that will improve your chances of reaching your goals. In order for the company to take you seriously as a managerial candidate, you will first need to show that you take yourself and your career seriously as well.

Education

Many years ago, an employee could move into the ranks of company management based solely on performance and experience. But companies are finding the competitive nature of the corporate world to be more demanding, and higher education is becoming much more important than it ever was. If you have goals of becoming a manager in your company, then you need to complete your college degree. The most fitting degree is a degree in business. If you want to set yourself up to move into an executive position, then you will need to start working towards your MBA as well. Regardless of the perception that employees have of company management, you need a college degree to improve your chances of achieving your goals.

One of the incorrect assumptions that employees make is that the executive team can determine which employees are management material based solely on the job those employees do from day to day. Maintaining a high level of quality in your daily work is important, but showing the ability to manage responsibility is critical in getting considered for a management position. Good examples of showing responsibility are showing up on time for work every day, staying a little later to get a project done when a deadline is approaching, being a valuable resource for other employees and getting involved in teams and committees formed to help solve small company issues.

Reliability

If you want to be a manager, then the company needs to be able to rely on you at all times. That means that you never miss project deadlines, you are never late to work in the morning, you take on overtime to finish work that has backed up, you complete projects left behind by others without complaint and you have no history of workplace conflict. When you show yourself to be reliable, then you are going to get the attention of your executive team and the respect of those that you work with.

Proactive

Do you sign up for training classes even though they are not pertinent to your job? An executive team wants to see proactivity out of its management team. That means that you take the time to learn things that will improve your knowledge base even if those topics are not directly related to your job, you work hard to understand the company employee handbook and operate within the rules of the organization, you submit suggestions to improve productivity and you are always responsive to managers when asked about your opinions on a work process. A proactive employee is also one that is always looking for a new and more efficient way to get the job done. Efficiency makes the company money and it could get you promoted to management.