Preparing for your Career

In the previous post we talked about deciding what you want to be. It is always be useful to make a roadmap with job titles - for example, you want to be a brand manager in 3 years and then become head of marketing in 5 years or a lead programmer in 2 years and a software architect in 5 years.

Your roadmap is only indicative and helps you frame the problem so that you have actionable tasks.


The next steps involve:

• Understanding the roles,
• Learning the concepts & terms
• Mastering the tools

The Role for any job describes the tasks, the deliverables and the broad interactions with collaborating roles. For example a brand manager manages the brand values and perception. i.e s/he defines broad properties of the product, the packaging and delivery, the advertising and all aspects of communication with the customer. S/he will need to ensure that the producing and delivery teams deliver correctly, the advertising and communication is appropriate and the sales process is appropriate to the brand value.

From the brief description above we see that anyone who wants to be a brand manager needs to understand several concepts & terms. What is Brand Value; what are the elements of advertising and communication. How product presentation and delivery affects the brand. How the sales process affects the brand. This understanding of relevant concepts is key to demonstrate that you are indeed prepared for the role and will also determine your success in the role.

All jobs require tools for delivery and measurement. Tools include software programs, conceptual models, standard procedures of work etc apart from physical tools. In our Brand Manager example, tools include software programs for surveys, conceptual models which include things like "Brand Equity Index", "Conjoint Index" etc., and several standard measurement and management procedures.

In the linked Skills for Excellence blog you can see how skills are assessed in a candidate.