People change jobs every few years, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but new jobs don’t come with instructions. Anyone starting a new job as a manager should come equipped and be prepared to perform well in the management position. This applies whether the candidate has experience or is a new management trainee, whether the candidate has a traditional business degree, or an online business degree. This also applies whether the person is
being promoted from within the company
moving to a new organization
starting a new business
Prepare for a Management Job by Learning Expectations
A new manager can begin preparing by learning what will be expected of him. A new hire in management should know what is expected of anyone who is in the role of manager. People in all of these positions will have expectations of the new manager:
Superiors
Other managers
Subordinates
Stockholders and other stakeholders
Customers
Vendors
Each person, in each role, will likely have different expectations. Each role is important, but some have more immediate consequences on the manager’s job than others do.
It is important for a management candidate to know what superiors expect. Failing to meet a superior’s expectations can have immediate consequences, such as termination. Superiors who can affect a manager’s job include not only the manager’s direct superior (boss), but also executives and other upper management. At corporations or not-for-profit organizations, this list may also include board members.
Anyone trying to find a job in management can prepare and gain management skills by reading books on business management or taking a class, perhaps a business course online. Many business courses are available online. It is worth it to invest in one’s future.
How to Discover a Company’s Manager Qualifications
Candidates can find out what superiors’ expectations are by browsing a company’s website and reading official materials such as employee handbooks, but often will learn more by asking questions. If possible, a job candidate should speak with the person who was formerly in that position. Barring that, before interviewing, a job-seeker could meet with someone else who is doing well in that type of position, and ask what superiors will probably expect of someone in that position.
In his book, The Success Principles, Jack Canfield [Harper Paperbacks, 2006] encourages readers to find someone who has done what they want to do. He says, “Success leaves clues.” During the job interview(s), candidates can ask about what will be expected from someone in the position. Interviewers should list management qualifications, such as a Bachelor’s degree in business management, or two years of experience in human resource management.
New hires can ask questions during an orientation, or on or before the first day of work. Regardless of when the new manager asks the questions, she should take careful notes of the answers, and should not settle for answers that are evasive or ambiguous. Unclear answers are a sign of trouble. If there are no written job descriptions, offering to create them might be just the edge over other candidates that the job seeker needs to get hired.
Pleasing the Stockholders and Other Stakeholders
Few employees think about what stockholders and other stakeholders expect from the company and its individual employees. Some mistakenly believe that only the CEO needs to worry about pleasing the shareholders or the board of directors. Giving stakeholders’ expectations, some consideration can make a manager more effective and can contribute to the manager’s job security. In an increasingly troubled workforce, most workers welcome anything that can provide job security.
It seems that everyone has their own expectations of those in management. Some managers find it easier to handle the expectations of coworkers or those of customers and vendors than the expectations of superiors and other stakeholders. Some expectations may be difficult to meet, but pleasing the right people is important to a manager’s success.
