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Im trying to get a management level job but all the jobs listed have requirements such as "must have 1-3 years management experience." How can I get the experience without the job? I have plenty of entry level experience plus a degree.
This is the classical circular reasoning that dominates most "job" postings these days. You must have 3 to 5 years experience doing exactly whatever the job entails, often right down to: using the same software tools - including company proprietary ones, designing the exact same product, following the exact same quality management system (6 Sigma vs. TQM, etc.) and so on. By the time the laundry list of laughable requirements is finished, the only "qualified" applicants are those who already work for the company. Sometimes, that's the goal - the job was never meant for external applicants. Other times, it's used as an excuse to then hire visa workers, the boss's nephew, etc.
The only advantage you have here is that it might be possible to get some level of management experience in your current job. "Management experience" - unlike "experience designing automotive transmissions" - is rather generic and can be obtained at a wide variety of companies. I'm not sure what your current job is, but look for chances to do anything "management related" - those can then be put on your resume as management experience. It's not a perfect solution, but it could help.
Im trying to get a management level job but all the jobs listed have requirements such as "must have 1-3 years management experience." How can I get the experience without the job? I have plenty of entry level experience plus a degree.
Here is the trick I used:
I wanted management experience but was a only a couple years out of college so clearly I wasn't in a position to manage any new hires. So, I created a "special project" to help workflow in my department and got the ok from my boss and HR to bring in a couple unpaid interns.
The most difficult part was scaring up some space for the interns.
The project was a limited success and I learned loads about going through resumes, delegating and keeping the interns busy and motivated. It was a lot of work (harder than I though it would be) but it changed the way that upper management perceived me and I was able to leapfrog over a few others when it was time for promotions.
well i have night audited hotels for 6 years so technically i was a night manager.
It is a start. Were there any other overnight workers that you supervised? Did you set up the housekeeping or kitchen staff when they came in for the day?
Being a manager has a few components. One is taking responsibility and making decisions. That would be covered by your night shift job. Another is supervising people. If you have done anything along those lines, even if not related to your night auditor job, bring it up and count it as experience.
Don't worry about budget development, financial analysis, contract review or any of that other managerial stuff. It won't be necessary at the entry level. Make your case on decision making and supervision.
It is a start. Were there any other overnight workers that you supervised? Did you set up the housekeeping or kitchen staff when they came in for the day?
Being a manager has a few components. One is taking responsibility and making decisions. That would be covered by your night shift job. Another is supervising people. If you have done anything along those lines, even if not related to your night auditor job, bring it up and count it as experience.
Don't worry about budget development, financial analysis, contract review or any of that other managerial stuff. It won't be necessary at the entry level. Make your case on decision making and supervision.
You technically did have some management duties, and you had a management task to be performed. When you setup the breakfast room, were you directing other people in the process? If so - bam! - you have experience leading others.
A lot of this type of more general experience comes down to looking at your actual job tasks in a new light and seeing how what you've been doing can be classified as whatever experience you're seeking. As I said before, that's one advantage of more loosely-defined experience requirements such as "management experience" vs. very technical ones, such as "3 to 5 years experience using C++ in a medical software environment." The first one - management experience - isn't too hard to find in other jobs. The second, more detailed technical requirement, however cannot be found in anything but that exact job description.
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