How to Become a Manager? Opportunities to Help You Start Your Career as a Manager

The Internet is full of advice on how to become a manager. You can find there, for example, "10 steps to becoming a manager" or "7 key skills for a manager". There are also those who go a step further and suggest "how to become a better manager". However, right at the beginning you should stop and think carefully about why you want to take a management position, whether you have the necessary knowledge for it and in what industry you want to work. Finding the right answers is not easy, especially at the beginning of your professional career. You have to approach the subject comprehensively.

Who is a manager and what does he do?

Before we start thinking about the competencies of a manager, it is worth answering the question – who is a manager and what does he do?? According to the simplest definition, a manager is a person who manages a team. Their main tasks include: motivating their people, setting priorities for them, supporting them in achieving their goals, but also assessing the effects of their work. How to become a manager? You can often hear opinions that to become a manager you have to be of a certain age and have a lot of experience. Nothing could be further from the truth! If you manage your career properly from the beginning, are focused on achieving results and have a proactive approach to work, then after 2-3 years you can be promoted to a junior manager position.

7 Characteristics of a Good Manager

How to become a good manager? Many people ask themselves this question. The catalogue of a manager's characteristics and skills is very wide and is certainly not a closed set. Competencies valued in this position include, among others: knowledge, experience, communication skills, assertiveness and consistency in action, charisma, stress resistance, and also analytical thinking ability.

To a large extent, it is the so-called soft skills that decide whether someone should lead a team and take a managerial position. Many skills can be learned over time. Therefore, it is not true that a person who is an introvert will do worse in this position. A good manager constantly works on themselves, develops themselves, but also shares knowledge with their colleagues.

Types of managerial positions

Being a Manager is not a profession in itself. The responsibilities of managerial positions have a common denominator. However, in each case, specialization is needed. In addition to the managerial competences described above, knowledge of the industry or areas of activity is needed. Among the offers on the market, you can find those that give you the opportunity to work in a managerial position. Examples are:

How to become a manager?

If you are motivated enough to take on a managerial position, there are several methods that will make it easier to achieve this goal. First, it is to take part in courses and trainings. They are usually run by practitioners and you can learn information from them that is not in any book. Second, mentoring programs are an interesting solution. Mentors are people who have knowledge related to a given industry and experience, which is invaluable. Participating in an internship or a management program also gives you the opportunity to quickly advance to a managerial position. At the beginning of the year, it is worth looking for the most interesting offers and applying to companies that are leaders in a given industry. Of course, taking part in such a program is not a shortcut. It requires commitment, a proactive approach and perseverance. However, in the end, it is a ticket to a managerial position. 

In that case, how to become a manager? The solution is quite simple – you can take part in a program such as Management Trainee. After completing it, a managerial career path is much more achievable. It also does not require 5 or 10 years of building your professional position. Currently, "tailored" managerial or internship programs allow you to achieve your dream position faster. You just have to remember to think carefully about your choice, because sometimes the chance to work for a leader in a given industry only comes around once!