Things No One Tells You About Being a Management Fresher
The trend to do an MBA has been on the up and continues to do so even after many years of globalization.
A graduate almost immediately prepares or plans to prepare to post his graduation for entrance exams like — CAT, XAT, MAT, NMAT, GMAT, SNAP, etc.
This is not a trend to be borne out of preference but out of need. Upon receiving campus placement, the student or ‘fresher’ is mostly left bamboozled by the quantitative difference between his salary in mind VS his actual in-hand. The only way to be closer to that number in their head is an MBA. Hence, every student starts dreaming of being an IIM, Xavier or FMS post-grad and earning that six-figure salary.
2 or 3 years later, these aspirants graduate from their respective MBA colleges and get placed into firms of different types and sizes. However, irrespective of the B-school prestige, ranking, or salaries, a ‘fresher’ — someone with 0–2 years of experience is still a “management student about to turn employee.”
Some work a year or two in their bachelor’s job before starting an MBA, but alas, they discover that the world of management fresher is not only different in terms of salary but also in terms of expectations, responsibility as well as professionalism.
For instance, you could be forgiven for forgetting to attach a file to the email (we all have done it!) when you’re in that bachelor’s job, however, doing the same in even a management trainee could be perceived as a lack of focus or even intent to complete or perform the tasks.
You could be forgiven for using an informal tone while conversing with the C-Suite in your bachelors’ job despite being told to do so. You will be expected to communicate effectively with even cross-cultural teams while in a management role.
For example, most aspire to work in cross-cultural teams to learn more, if anything goes haywire, a management professional would not be expected to make excuses, but to come up with a solution proactively.
Despite what usually comes as a “shock” there is good reasoning behind the difference in attitudes since management fresher(or trainee) is being trained to be a management professional in her or his field. You are eventually expected to manage a team, a project, a process, or a key account depending on the role and industry vertical.
However, this truth or any heads-up is seldom given to these students which could lead to panic, self-doubt, and even depression in many scenarios.
A B-school grad is grilled throughout his two years to become habitual to hard work and tasks but the knowledge that quotes from our childhood “With great power, comes great responsibility” from Spider-man is the gospel truth for management fresher is never foretold.
That is indeed the main difference, a management professional is expected to be ‘efficient’ in quantitative terms and ‘excellent’ in qualitative terms. Both these terms are an upgrade from the traits required in an internship or a bachelor’s job wherein the main expected traits are — hard-working and ‘willing to learn.’
You’re not seen as a ‘college student in a job’ anymore. Being a 9-pointer in your field does not guarantee success and the only solution to that is to understand the normalcy in this.
Management fresher should not go in for the professional challenge with the same thought process as of tackling an assignment or an exam — a management professional has the freedom to carve out his/her path and so, new ideas and suggestions are welcomed.
This is because MBA students spend 2 years building that arsenal to learn fixed and set procedures, matrices and concepts to be applied to tackle uncertain corporate challenges and huddles.
Therefore, as management fresher, one must always remember to implement his academic learning and work-hard like a bachelor’s ‘fresher’, but also understand the new responsibility and importance of using a new skill-set of — planning, strategy, communication, ideation, management, and implementation to achieve efficiency and even go another step and strive for excellence.
The journey of management fresher to a manager, assistant manager or a full-fledged management professional is neither easy nor smooth, but it can be enthralling, exciting as well as quick and rewarding if one strives to take up the new challenges with an open mind and heart without forgetting her/his learned skill set.
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