I have been working for some years now in a Corporate (since 2018 in a row), in an office of a multinational. In between of those years I worked several years as a freelancer. Right after my studies I did not start my career in a multinational, neither as a freelancer. After several jobs, mostly in Sales, in the Netherlands, I decided to seek my luck outside abroad and pursue a career in the corporate world. Of course I could have done this in the Netherlands too, but I wanted something completely new.

If you believe you are the person that would like to join in this company then do not hesitate to write me. You can click on the button below to see where Johnson Controls has an opportunity for you. They are active all around the globe, there has got to be something for you too!

Corporate Strategy

Deciding to build a career in the corporate world should be a choice for life. Jumping in and out will not bring you to the point where you are aiming for once you start. For many people it is the first job after having the study finalized, or even during the study. So what does it mean to actually work in a multinational?

A multinational is a corporation that pursues business in more than one country. In general often business are seen as multinationals when they operate on different continents and when their stocks are publicly traded. You can think of Johnson Controls, IBM, Accenture, Facebook, Google, Amazon and many others. To the first is often referred to a Dutch organization, the VOC (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie) from the 17th and 18th century.

What is your corporate skill?

Usually such a company consists of many smaller units and several different departments. If we look at Johnson Controls we can see a concentration of local to global operations in conglomerated business centers. This business center consists of several departments. For Johnson Controls there is such a center in Mexico, Slovakia, India (2x) and China. The center in Bratislava (Slovakia) operates some global activities but the main focus is on the European, Middle East and African (EMEA) market. It is defined as a financial and/or language center because the majority of the positions are finance positions, procurement or customer service mostly with a specific language. Of course, there are also several other supporting jobs in this business center. For instance there is a HR department, Continuous Improvement team and TAX department.

You could say that no matter what study you have done, there is always a skill that can be useful.

Freddie

In a business center with such a diversity of positions there are many skills required, quite common for a Corporate. For some jobs the communication skills are extremely important while for others your analytical capabilities will prevail. To grow up in a multinational there are in general two directions you can go. You will be a manager or a specialist. To do both is impossible. It is actually the same as when you have your own business. You need a focus. By doing a little bit of everything you will not grow upwards. Rotating to similar positions can help on the long-term to familiarize yourself with the company in different areas. However, you will not specialize. Neither will you get into a managerial position.

Leadership

Note here as well that there are many ‘manager’ roles where you actually do not manage people. However, often you bare a certain responsibility, you are in charge of a project (implementation or process change) and you will need to make sure all the involved people are working aligned. In some roles it is good to work closely with others, while there are also positions with a strong specialized character (SME).

Leadership you find as an individual and by leading others. It is something you can learn (no, you do not need to be born with it) and develop. In corporates there are plenty of ways to do this. Either from your own role or employee led resource groups. You can run activities throughout the organization or taking active roles in event organization. Keep in mind with leadership you care about others, as a rule of thumb, more than about yourself.

So how to grow in a Corporate?

Focus. Set yourself a goal and work towards to that. A good thing is that companies offer a lot of tools to help you with this, for instance Johnson Controls provides a perfect personal profile for this. You can create a complete CV and do training according to your preferences. And yes, you have to make a strategy, a clear path towards your ultimate career goal. Read also this article to see which steps you should take by creating your strategy.

Once you have set out your strategy you have to ensure you follow up on it. It can be difficult if you face a high workload but realize your employer wants you to build a career. You have to plan time for it during your working hours. From my experience and many business e-readers it is advised to take one hour a day for your personal projects. This you have to spend on your own projects, your personal development or in other words on your career building. Note that if you go for a 1- or 2-day training you already spent this time.

CEO….or not?

Your strategy should show clearly if you aim for growing into a specialization or leadership. I was asked: “how realistic is it to say to become CEO?” If you start in a company I would call this a “far from your bed show”. This is not realistic at all (unless you start your own). In general you have to qualify for a couple of courses and become a lead assistant/junior. Once you have lead a team you can develop yourself into a more skilled/people manager and level up. This is up to you but five years pass by easily if you start at the bottom. Combine also the internal training offers with training outside the company. In this way you ensure other companies recognize it as well. Most important is that you are doing the work that suits your actual needs.

To become a specialist means you focus on a specific area e.g. accounts payable. You can become a senior and eventually a manager and/or trainer. By choosing this path there are always new books to read, courses to follow and improvements to be done. High management will come to you before they make a decision. Either to hear your opinion or simply to execute a project that will answer their questions and make an idea a ‘GO’ or “NO GO’.

Make a switch

If you decide to switch the company you usually have several grounded reasons for this. Changing employer can be a good thing but make sure you leave on good terms and bring with you a motivating reference. You should consider a switch once your current position does not fulfill you anymore and the company does not have an open position. It does more harm to your personal development to work only and not to build on your career. For instance it would make no sense to remain junior lead once you got all your training complete, you got to level up! If this is being offered in another company then that might be the right move.

Switching a company after a short period of time you can do once….twice. However, this does not look reliable on your resume. Building a career only works if you gain some trust from your employer. Do not forget they invest in you. It is highly appreciated to return the favor by using your newly learned skills. It can happen that you decide to do something completely different. Once you are in this situation it is completely normal if you start in ‘lower’ position. It is up to you to show that you are able to grow once more. From my personal point of view this is not easy and I happily tell you all about my experiences (you can see it here as well).