Career Principles – Finance Career Planning Toolkit

How do we think about career development at Mars?

Here are some important career development principles we all need to keep in mind as we explore opportunities. While these are our principles for Mars Finance, the majority also apply to other functions.

Key considerations

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Everyone’s career is different

There is no right or wrong, just a match of current opportunities with your personal values and priorities. Always make decisions that are in line with your own aspirations.

You are the owner of your career

Mars provides growth and development opportunities, your Line Managers provide guidance and empower you to build experiences and skills, and colleagues in your Mars network provide inspiration and support – then it’s up to you.

Your performance in your current role is just one factor in progressing to your next

The nature and scope of your next role is also influenced by your potential – your projected ability to take on new and different experiences.

Embrace a variety of career experiences and be flexible

Progressing your career in any function means challenging yourself to take on new and different assignments and make the most of the learning opportunities these provide. It is important to spend enough time in a role to gain the variety of experience in that role.

Understand Finance

Understand the Finance function (i.e. processes, practices, roles) as much as you can and be open to experience each pillar of Finance particularly early in your career. If you want to continuously progress, we encourage you to gain experience across the three Finance job families (Innovative Business Partnering, Smart Financial Operations, and Enhanced Specialized Services). See the Job Family section to learn more about each.

Understand the Business

To be a credible Finance professional, Associates need to understand and contribute to the wider business. Take all the opportunities you can to do this, from joining a cross functional or regional task group or taking on a new assignment in another function or location – networking at Mars is a critical enabler. These experiences will help you build business insights, organization agility by organizational savvy, perspective by global perspective.

Balancing depth and breadth

Both expert and generalist paths can provide fulfilling careers. Expert paths mean you are becoming an expert in a functional area like Tax & Treasury. Generalist paths are about casting a wide net to gain understanding in a variety of topics and breadth from experiencing multiple functional areas. You need the right balance between breadth and depth to be successful in Mars Finance.

Build unique Finance skills and strengths

Take advantage of the unique set of Finance skills available, so you can thrive at Mars and continue to add value to the business. Click here to find out more

Embrace a variety of people management experiences

Clarity around business needs, supporting the development of others and creating an inclusive and engaging work environment, requires strong people management experiences. Whether you are a line manager or influencing without authority, you can develop these skills and competencies through project management, managing vendors, and working on cross functional teams.

Sharpen your ability to influence others

The impact you have on the business is directly linked to your ability to influence others –regardless of your role or level. Think about how you can continue to develop your influencing skills in your current role, and how this will support you in future roles.

Myth Busting

Let’s break some myths we often hear from Associates as they consider their careers.

MYTH - There is just one path to my dream job.

TRUTH -

Today, roles are constantly changing and evolving. Managing a career path is more about collecting experiences and building skills that will prepare you for your job. It’s no longer possible to check the boxes on specific roles you will want to do before your dream job; instead, you’ll need to gain multiple experiences and develop a variety of skills.

MYTH - I must be a CFO to have a successful Finance career.

TRUTH -

You can decide to have a more generalist path and if so, becoming a CFO could be a milestone. But you can also decide to become an expert, in which case you would not have to advance through a CFO role. All roles at Mars provide opportunities to learn through experience and capability building, increasing your potential to reach more senior roles. For example, there are more and more digital-related or future-related roles that have much more visibility to senior leadership and/or much more impact to our global organization than CFO roles do. As we move toward the Finance of Tomorrow, we’ll continue to see new and exciting career opportunities, so keep a lookout.

MYTH - A similar role in a different segment or region will give me the same experiences.

TRUTH -

Every part of our business has its own strategy, goals and challenges. In each, you will experience different market dynamics, regulations, and government guidelines and you will also have the opportunity to work with new teams. Whether or not you are in a similar role, the experiences and scope could be quite different – broadening your perspective and strengthening your leadership skills.

MYTH - If I want to become a tax expert, I should only focus my career in tax roles.

TRUTH -

A well-rounded organization requires Associates with perspective and understanding of both the function and the business. Senior leaders need to have breadth and experience from inside and outside a specific job family. While you could progress within specialist roles, we recommend you also gain breadth and experience from other roles.

MYTH - My manager owns my career path.

TRUTH -

Your Line Manager aims to provide you with guidance and responsibilities aligned to your development objectives. It’s up to you to demonstrate your potential, connect with peers and mentors, and keep a lookout for future opportunities matching your profile and aspiration. We encourage you to work with your Line Manager to discuss your aspirations and to help you connect with the right people across the organization.

MYTH - Staying too long in a role will block me from having a successful career.

TRUTH -

We value time in role so that Associates can learn, contribute and grow; when you leave a role it should never be the same as when you got it. There is no maximum time in role as long as you continue to develop and grow. Your contributions to the business and the quality of your experiences is what matters most.