Students who are approaching the end of your business school training: Do you have a solid, fully thought through career plan?
I sure hope not.
I speak with many business school students who are approaching graduation and their launch into the corporate world for their first job. They all ask me one question. How do I decide across the many choices of career fields, positions, and companies to join?
I give them all the same answer.
It doesn’t really matter.
When I was a student in business school, I didn’t know how to answer those questions either. I was a B student. Sometimes. I had 4 different majors in my 4 years of college. Undecided. Undeclared. Marketing. Management Information Systems. To say that I was on deliberate strategic trajectory toward a career path would be extremely kind. And untrue.
I spent my first dozen career years with 4 different organizations. The U.S Navy, Mack Trucks, Donaldson Company, and Leica Geosytems. They were all fantastic organizations, with wonderful people doing great work. They had marginal relevance to the classes I took in my undergraduate years.
But these organizations did have something very much in common with each other and with my school in one respect. They were invaluable places to learn. And develop. And decide what I was good at, and not good at. And what I wanted to do in my career. As it turned out, they were the perfect career landing spots for who I was to become. I used what I learned in these places to settle in at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, where I found my ideal fit and continued growing personally and professionally for the next 20 years.
You see, unless you are among the most elite, specialized, and accomplished graduates, your initial career landing spot probably doesn’t matter all that much. What does matter is what you do once you do land.
Related: Interview Advice for the Interviewer
I advise students that I meet to recognize that no employer expects you to have it all figured out when you step from the classroom into their building. Your first employer is judging you from a very different vantage point. Are you smart? Are you perceptive? Are you intellectually curious and restless about things you don’t know yet? Are you a person of character who can be counted on to do the right thing when nobody is looking? Are you coachable and can you be a positive contributor as a member of a team? Are you willing to learn? Period.
Here’s the deal your prospective employer is striking with you: They will pay you a salary that is mutually acceptable, if you accept training, learn quickly, and do your job effectively to help the organization achieve its objectives.
It’s very simple.
Nobody expects you to be there for 30 years. It can happen. But nobody is thinking about that right now. Just plant your feet, start learning, and start delivering.
Related: Turn Your Clock Ahead
One of the most sustainable assets I’ve known from my years in business is when we admit that we don’t know what we don’t know. That admission forces us to ask new, uncomfortable questions, and to open doors to learning that would otherwise have remained latched. Here are 2 must-do actions you should take to secure this asset in your first career position.
First, once you’ve been hired, ask the hiring manager or team why they hired you. Tell them to be specific and get at least 3 reasons why they believed you belonged on the team. Probe for details in their interview or research that brought them to this conclusion. These are your perceived strengths. Focus on these skills in your first 3 months and work to develop them. They represent the benefits the organization expected in their decision to hire you. The payoff of bringing you aboard. Validate their decision by delivering on your potential in these areas.
Second, and more importantly, ask that same group to tell you reasons they almost did not hire you. Their concerns. Gaps in your skills or any place you missed the mark during your interview. Probe again. Resist the temptation to counter their perception. Just try to understand their observations of you. Recognize that these are areas of value to the organization as well as opportunities for development for you. Thank the team for pointing them out and immediately ask for guidance and support on how you can work to improve these skills.
Here’s a little secret about starting your career. No matter what field or company you join, your performance will be carefully measured. In most companies, you’ll receive a set of goals at the start of the year. Business metrics, activity plans, personal development plans. At the end of the year, you’ll sit with your boss and discuss your performance. You’ll get an evaluation, perhaps a bonus calculation, and you’ll start on a plan for the next year.
Most new hires do not have this conversation. They join their new organization with energy and high hopes, and gradually learn about the performance management process. Many don’t fully grasp that process until the end of year 1. By having the plus-minus conversation on your first day, you are in effect gaining a 1-year head start on your new colleagues. You’ll approach that first end of year review cycle with much less mystery and a more intentional career strategy.
So, to my friends in your junior and senior years in business school, worry not. Almost any landing spot you choose or chooses you, will be the right one. The right one for you to learn and grow. You can use your solid footing as your new launching pad for your next landing. And your next. Eventually you’ll land the perfect career fit for the very best you.
Lead well.
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