You can become a manager in all sectors, companies and countries. With little management experience you can gain a place on a general management graduate scheme, although many people also join a company in a junior position, gain the required skills and knowledge and then work their way up towards a management position. Graduates with previous management experience should be able to successfully apply to advertised management roles.

Skills required by managers include (but are not restricted to):

Leadership aptitude
Ability to listen to your staff and customers
Strategic thinking
Seeing the bigger picture
Problem solving
People and communication skills
Drive and motivation

Thinking about a management career?

Decide on the sector in which you would like to work - as it is possible to become a manager in any sector, conduct some research into different sectors to decide where you would be best placed (see useful links)
Research that sector - use the resources section on the appropriate employment sector pages to start getting to know who the employers are in your sector, the work that is carried out, what is going on in current news, whether it is possible to enter at management level or whether you will have to work your way up. All of this information can help you to increase your commercial understanding of the sector, improving your applications
Speak to people in management positions in that sector - ask them how they became a manager and if they have any advice for you. Did they begin in a junior position and were then promoted to management or did they enter through a management graduate training scheme?
Gain experience within that sector - through work experience, internships, work shadowing

Useful links

Job roles

As managers work across all sectors you will find job titles will vary. Have a look at the employment sector webpages for the sector you are interested in working in to begin researching the specifics of the role you might be expected to carry out. The following is a short list of management job titles you might come across whilst conducting your job search.

Operations manager

Ensuring the economical and smooth running of the operations of a business, from incoming materials, clients and assets to the output, whether this be product or service based. They would be involved in operations strategy and processes and would manage the HR and development of their employees too. Liaising with other managers across different business functions would be a key part of their role.

Project manager

Managing a project from its very start to its successful conclusion is the role of the project manager. As well as starting the project (budgeting, client interaction, goal setting, timelines) they are also responsible for ensuring the smooth running throughout the project. This might involve designing the project, liaising with internal and external colleagues/contractors, ensuring the project progress is monitored and evaluated constantly, checking the spending and budgeting, and finally ensuring the successful completion of the project.

Office manager

Depending on the sector and the individual employer, the officer manager would generally be expected to ensure the smooth running of the office. This would entail managing all administrative processes, seeing to problems that might occur with technology or admin processes, spreadsheet management, invoice claims, filing, coordinating training or away days and other duties required by the office. Depending on the size of the department or organisation the office manager might manage a small team of administrators or could manage the office by themselves.

Useful links

Prospects.ac.uk
- Risk manager
- Office manager
TARGETjobs
- Office manager
InsideCareers
- Operations management
- Project management

Routes in

There are a number of ways to become a manager within the sector or organisation you would like to work for. Many companies have management graduate training schemes, there are some internships you could apply for and there are many management opportunities advertised as and when the business need requires it.

You could also consider talking to your current manager about gaining management experience within your part time job, which would give you some really useful skills to talk to a future employer about.

Internships

There are very few internships with management as the specific focus, although students interested in gaining management experience through internships would certainly pick these skills up in other schemes, especially those that have a focus on leadership.

Search for management internships on CareerHub.

Graduate training schemes

Lots of graduate schemes have a management or leadership focus, especially with large, corporate organisations. Search for full time, graduate management vacancies on CareerHub.

For more graduate schemes see Inside Careers, Prospects and employers’ websites. Visit our resource centre to pick up copies of the Times top 100 graduate employers, The Guardian UK 300 and TARGETjobs which list employers with graduate vacancies.

You can also search LSE CareerHub for graduate jobs and find organisations who are coming on to campus to recruit LSE graduates.

Advertised positions

Depending on your previous experience it is possible to gain a management role from advertised positions. As well as the websites of employers, think about looking on sector specific websites for the sector you want to work in.

Search for jobs on CareerHub and see the relevant employment sector areas of the LSE Careers website for other job sites. Some other job sites are listed below:

Graduate Jobs, Recruitment and Careers at Target Jobs UK
Site on employment advice and jobs for students and graduates TARGET jobs has a large choice of graduate jobs, work experience and internships. It also includes advice on how to get hired and includes employer profiles for some of the larger firms.
Health Jobs UK
Healthcare entry level job search.
Inside Careers: Job search
An opportunity to search for internships, graduate schemes and industrial placements in many sectors.
Institute of Credit Management
Credit training, credit jobs, credit vacancies and an integral recruitment agency.
Milkround
Specialist job board and for student and graduate opportunities which also features information on work and student life.
Prospects
Prospects is a leading graduate career sites offering a wide range of information and advice and vacancy board. Hundreds of jobs are advertised along with post-graduate study opportunities
Target jobs - healthcare
Information about healthcare operations and management. Vacancies and information about healthcare operations and management

Recruitment agencies

Before approaching a recruitment agency, please read our advice on how to get the most from the interaction. See recruitment agencies: the basics.

Chamberlain Beaumont
Executive recruitment specialist and Interim Alliance, a dedicated Interim Management resourcing specialist
Executive Interim Management
Recruitment agency specialising in interim management solutions.
Fuel Recruitment Agency
Fuel was founded in 2003 and is a Technical and Management Recruitment Specialist. They particularly specialise in IT, Telecoms, Broadcast, New Media and Engineering Industries.
Investigo - Recruitment Agency
Recruitment agency for Financial Services, Management & Consultancy sectors.
Odgers Berndtson - Recruitment Agency
Odgers Berndtson is the UK's pre-eminent executive search firm, helping private and public sector organisations find the highest calibre people for permanent and interim management appointments in the UK and internationally.

Resources

As well as looking at general management news, keep up to date with news from the sector you are interested in working in by visiting the resources pages in the relevant sector.

News

Bloomberg Business Week
Keep up to date with news and information for management and business professionals.
Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
Professional body for management and leadership, with qualifications, news and advice for those interested in a management career
Financial times: management
News and stories from the Financial times, tailored to those interested in management.
Management Today
Management news site centred around four key content areas: business news analysis, management tips and techniques, the latest and best management thinking and the lighter side of business

Further information

Association for Project Management (APM)
News, qualifications, training and advice for project managers
Association of Business Schools (ABS)
Association representing the leading business schools in the UK. Includes a list of members and directory of courses
Chartered Management Institute (CMI)
Professional body for management and leadership, with qualifications, news and advice for those interested in a management career
CIMA learning resources
Using real information from CIMA employers, these online case studies bring to life the complexities of business and help students engage and learn
ecch - the case for learning
ecch is a non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the case method of learning. Its collection of management case studies and journal article reprints is a unique and accessible resource of teaching materials
Harvard Business Review Store
Purchase business cases, articles, books, and management resources
Health Jobs UK
Healthcare entry level job search.
Health Professions Council
Professional body which register and regulate health professionals.
Heathcare centre.org
Guide to health careers, degrees, schools and job search resources.
Institute of Healthcare Management
UK's management and leaders healthcare website.
Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM)
Offers flexible leadership and management qualifications, as well as information and support for managers at all stages in their careers
Management Standards Centre
The standards setting body for management and leadership
Monster
Useful answers to healthcare career questions through a series of articles.
NextStep
Contains information about job roles within various sectors.
NHS Careers
Entry requirements for working in management.
NHS Careers
Entry requirements for working in management.
NHS Service Directory
Find NHS services in your local area.
NHS: What can I do with my degree?
Find out what NHS career you could go into with your degree.
Private Healthcare UK
Lists private health care locations in the UK.
Prospects - Business, Consulting and Management
Graduate careers information on business, consulting and management.
Prospects - Healthcare
Information for careers in health and social career. Includes job role descriptions.
Support for doctors - consulting
An alternative careers section outlining careers in healthcare consultancy.
Target jobs - healthcare
Information about healthcare operations and management. Vacancies and information about healthcare operations and management
Times 100 Case Study Archive
Series of business cases and resources in special teaching resources section of TimesOnline
TotalProfessions
An information portal providing one place to easily access UK professional bodies across different job sectors. Includes a 'Profession Finder,' 'Sector Summaries' and 'Job Search.'

Links to external sites

Some of the links on this page are imported from our Diigo social bookmarking account. You can view all our links directly on our Diigo site. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained on our website and to update it regularly, LSE cannot be held responsible for the content on external websites.