The Pursuit of Happyness gave the Hollywood twinkle to the story of Chris Gardner, who overcame homelessness and a lack of formal training to make it as a stockbroker. Can grit and determination really get you to the top? Or are these cases the lucky few?
The unfortunate truth is that in the corporate world these stories are unusual, and are getting even rarer. With a 2:1 in your university degree a prerequisite for most job applications, and getting on to a graduate scheme becoming the routine procedure for landing a job in big corporations, the likelihood of being able to start from nothing and work your way up to the top is becoming even more of an unlikely dream. What these stories do reveal is the importance of understanding the company you work for inside out. Working on the shop floor will give you a taste of how things run on a day to day basis, and therefore can give you insight on how to improve things at the top. It is therefore a good thing to try and get some experience working at the bottom rung of the ladder of your chosen career. If you wish to work in advertising or marketing, a part time job in a shop while you are at university will give you insight into what methods of sale are most successful. These transferable skills are likely to impress employers. These experiences will also install within you other skills that are appealing to employers: how to manage people, overcome difficult situations and team work. These skills are seen as so important that many graduate schemes now include a period of working at the grass roots levels of the company as part of your training. Small businesses are more likely to reward hard work at the grass roots level with promotions, largely because it is easier to get noticed in a smaller work environment. The important thing, in whatever job you do, is to bring a positive work ethic. Your aim should not be how you can do the job to a satisfactory level, but how you can go above and beyond.
