4 steps to kickstart your management career
If you’re already working in a supervisor role, you‘ll know the job satisfaction that comes from leading a team of people. Business management is one of the most rewarding careers out there. Once you’ve made the move to management, you’ll be able to influence policies as well as develop your own unique management style.
The job outlook in Australia for many business management roles is still showing strong predicted growth to 2024. These roles include sales and marketing managers, corporate services managers and engineering managers but there are many other fabulous possibilities out there. The great news is, once you’ve trained as a manager, your skills will be in demand right across Australia’s growth industries.
If you enjoy leadership, have great ideas and want to help shape Australia’s future, business management is the career choice for you. This is a competitive career so you want to give yourself the best chance you can to impress. Follow these four steps to kickstart your management career.
1. Explore courses in business management.
If you aren’t already considering training and qualifications, you need to start now. Business management isn’t just about leadership. You’re going to need a wide range of skills to be successful. Business management courses provide a great supplement to your existing knowledge. They’re also a fantastic way to demonstrate your abilities to prospective employers.
Online business management courses allow you to work in a flexible way that can suit your current commitments. The BSB40520 - Certificate IV in Leadership and Management includes leadership and customer service units. It will also introduce you to important legislative requirements such as workplace health and safety. This one’s a great starting point if you’re taking your first steps into management.
The BSB50420 - Diploma of Leadership and Management takes things up another notch. It includes higher-level skills such as developing and using emotional intelligence, managing people performance and supporting the learning and development of teams and individuals.
2. Talk to people.
You’ll add to your network of contacts as your career progresses but you really need to start building it now. As well as your current contacts, start reaching out to managers and supervisors in your own and other organisations. Enrolling on a business management course is another great way to increase your networking potential. Different people have different leadership styles and being exposed to these will help you form your own approach.
By remaining open minded and showing a willingness to learn from others, you’ll gain a depth of understanding that will help you stand out in the crowd when it comes to job applications.
3. Get some workplace experience.
As well as giving you the opportunity to find out if you enjoy a management role, workplace experience will make you more employable. Many online business management courses blend theory with practice but there are additional ways to boost your experience levels even further.
If you’re already in work, talk to your boss and ask to spend some time in another department, perhaps shadowing a manager. If you aren’t currently working, internships offer the opportunity to work towards defined learning goals in a variety of management roles (make sure you check out our internship red flags first). Whatever your employment status, volunteering is a great way to find out more about management but also about different industry sectors.
The idea of workplace experience can be daunting but it will give you a whole new range of skills. It will also help you know what you’re talking about when you get to that dream job interview.
4. Work on your transferable skills.
Hopefully transferable skills already form part of your career tool kit. If you’re considering life as a business manager, you’re probably already a successful communicator, great team player and creative problem solver. However, there’s always room for improvement. By refining your existing transferable skills and adding new ones, you’ll set yourself up for a great start to your management career. You’ll also impress your new boss with your ability to cope in tricky situations.
Start your management journey today
By undertaking business management training, you’ll be giving yourself the opportunity of a successful career in a wide range of exciting management roles. Jobs in business management are amongst the most varied and stimulating careers out there.
Who knows, you might even end up taking your skills further into your own entrepreneurial role. Get in touch with our dedicated team today to find out more about our impressive range of online business management courses.
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