Pyramid of power - misconceptions of a graduate

As previously shown in a survey of 10,000 graduates, autonomy, progression, training and money are what a graduate is looking for in their first position.

The graduate misconception however, is that due to the fact that they have a university qualification, they can move into any industry they want, into a high paying and high power position automatically.

Realistically, a graduate needs to understand that in order to find what they are looking for, progression will not be automatic, but with hard work and dedication, the graduate will reap the rewards. Therefore, in order to find autonomy, progression, training and a good salary, they need to look at the Pyramid of Power within a company and work out the best place to start.

Graduates look at companies through "rose tinted glasses" when they leave University, and often feel or believe that companies will just provide a rewarding career for them. The reality is that all businesses must generate revenue and return profits to their share holders. If this is the case, the most important part of any business is the sales team as they are responsible for generating the revenue.

The Pyramid of Power demonstrates this perfectly. The most important departments are on the outside of the Pyramid of Power with direct reports into senior management. Senior management needs to have regular access to this these departments to manage the business effectively.

If revenue generation is the most important issue to a business -  then senior management would not only recruit the best people in the country to join the sales/finance department, but also make sure they got the best training to guarantee their success.

As a graduate looking to enter the corporate world this information is essential in making the correct career decision in deciding which department to start in.

Success in the sales department can happen very quickly and senior management harnesses this early within a graduate's career. Graduates that show potential are quickly progressed in the upper section of the Pyramid of Power, and in doing so achieve massive autonomy in their roles as they are now the individuals managing teams.

Blair Whitehead from Graduate Recruitment firm Prograd claims that "graduates pinpoint which industry they want to work in far too early in their career.  Instead, they should be focusing on which department they want to work in."

He states that many graduates have plans to work in departments including Human Resources, Admin, Technological Support and Marketing.  These are operational departments and often outsourced services.

Blair states that “Businesses in the economy are trying to cut costs at every corner and no longer have big marketing, admin, tech support or HR departments. These units are often headed up by one person with a massive wealth of experience. Their role is to manage outsourced services effectively. As you can imagine, a graduate would never be able to fit into this type of role as they lack the experience!  Even if they did have the experience, why would they want to?! The departments in operations provide little growth for progression, training or an increase in salary."

In conclusion, from the pyramid of power we can summarise that the underlying issues that most graduates face is that they determine which industry they want to work in before they actually decide which department they want to work in.

In order for graduates to make the right career choice, they need to consider the Pyramid of Power within these organizations as a starting point. The business to business sales department is the perfect place to begin because they receive the best training, get better salaries and have fast progression into management roles.