As you progress through your career, you might feel
pressured to supplement your qualifications with a Master
in Business Administration (MBA) degree. This is especially
relevant if you work in certain trades or industries like
finance/banking, pharmaceuticals, construction/real estate, and
professional services.
An MBA graduate is assumed to possess superior business
skills that is expected from the upper management level. However,
as much as an MBA degree can be beneficial to you and your career,
it is not the only way to enter upper management levels.
If you find yourself in a position where pursuing
an MBA degree is not possible, here are other alternative
choices you can take to help advance your career.
If you want to be known as an ‘expert’ in a particular
business skill, getting yourself certified in a specific, niche
area can be an extremely powerful move. There are many
certifications available in many types of business skills,
including accounting, human resources, operations and marketing.
Certificates are a lot more cost-effective and less time consuming
to get than an MBA degree.
For example, in Singapore you can get an Advanced
Certificate in Training and Assessment from here,
a Professional Certificate in Business Management
from here,
or a Certificate in Logistics and Supply Chain Management
from here.
There are many other options not listed. Furthermore, you can also
opt to take long-distance or online learning, which may work better
for your schedule.
If cost is a major barrier to you, here is a list of
over 60 free certificate
courses that you can take.
Singaporeans like brand names, even for jobs – many
people will pick the chance to work in a famous multi-national
corporation (MNCs) over an SME.
However, the nature of SMEs allows an exceptional,
often-overlooked benefit to your career – because it is smaller
than MNCs, chances are you will be exposed and involved in many
aspects of the business. It is not uncommon for SME staff to take
on different roles and wear many hats. For example, an event
coordinator might have to work on other aspects such as the
marketing, advertising, designing, budgeting, recruiting, and
more.
Furthermore, the small nature of SMEs means that it is
easier to talk to the upper management, including the CEO. In our
opinion, the upper management in a successful SME is a force to be
reckoned with – they have faced many challenges and accumulated a
treasure of experience during the process. They also tend to be
very determined individuals who possess unique and complex
problem-solving skills – and may be willing to share those with
you.
Having a part-time or freelance work can have many
benefits to your life. Besides the obvious benefit of having
an extra
source of income (always a great thing), having part-time
or freelance work can help you develop skills that you can only
learn outside the classroom and in real life.
Yes, we are talking about a drastic self-improvement
methodology, but a great one if executed well. In order to be a
juggle your full-time job and a part-time/freelance career, you
need to be extremely efficient with your time management.
Furthermore, you will find that you need to improve
your communication skills, networking skills, marketing skills,
sales skills, research skills, stress management skills, hiring
skills, public relation skills, and many more in order to be a
successful part-timer/freelancer. Like jumping straight into the
deep end of the pool, it is up to you to rise up to these
challenges and come out better.
All these skills can be applied in your normal job to
advance your career. Better networking skills? Rub shoulders with
the upper management to be remembered, come next promotion period.
Better hiring skills? Get better quality candidates during job
interviews. The applicability of your upgraded skill set will know
no limit.
Some companies have excellent in-house employee
development programs. There are many different types of development
programs – we do not claim this article to be exhaustive, but
rather a generalisation and starting point.
One type of program usually offered are ‘fast-track’
leadership development programs for high-potential employees. These
types of programs are usually highly competitive, however if you
persevere, you may have a decent chance to be promoted into senior
management in due time.
Your company may also provide support for you to attend
trainings, seminars, conferences and courses related your field. It
is not uncommon to hear employees sponsored on an all-expense paid
trip, especially if you work for a larger company.
Another type of in-house development program (that is
usually not advertised as such) is cross-training programs to
different departments. Exposure to different departments can be
extremely beneficial to your career as it shows great initiative on
your part to know the bigger picture of the business. Furthermore,
this program allows yourself to get yourself known in different
departments – a great
networking opportunity.
As you can see, an MBA degree is not the only way to
advance your career. If you are not in the position to pursue it,
you have many other options that are equally (or in some cases,
better) than going to a business school.
Try to see your available options – sometimes the
advice you are looking for will come in the unlikeliest of places.
Seeking qualifications is important, but so are the right
mindset.
thenewsavvy