In a digital, forward-thinking, innovative economy, employers expect you to either know what to do, or be able to figure it out. There is no-longer an insulated ramp-up time. You have to be OK, with making mistakes and learning from them. You have to be comfortable with being challenged, and you have to be persevering. You will not be handed a to-do list, and most of the time you won’t receive any appreciable training.
Even though higher-education does not address these kinds of skills, you WILL have to know how to move fast, manage projects, and develop plans. Every job involves being a Project Manager. Except for industry specific knowledge, a CERTIFICATION for this really is valuable only as an alternative to the experience. The landscape will be constantly changing, and your new job description may even contain the word “ambiguity”.
Do you have the “grit” to fail, pick yourself up, and live with anxiety? Without this sense of urgency you may not have the “drive” necessary to succeed in a growing tech or start-up environment. Most importantly, are you ready to OWN the outcome of your decisions? Real business opportunities hold no guarantees. There is no security.
If you have had an internship or industry experience that showcases these abilities, AND you can quantify this experience with numbers; then you should be able to clearly communicate this. Having a proven track record of saving money, increasing productivity, or dealing with an impressive number of clients or projects simultaneously will help an employer see that you have already been successful at “making things happen”.
Growing companies need people who can take initiative, and have a sense of ownership. The days of “padding” and “vertically siloing” job descriptions has come and gone. Everyone is expected to do more, and responsibility has spread way past leadership. Drive is best learned through suffering the pain of failure. Are you really ready?