Management Experience When Youre not a Manager

Management Experience When Youre not a ManagerManagement Experience When Youre not a ManagerManager. Five to ten years of experience required. Proven track record of effective management. Its hard to land a management position when you dont have the title manager on your resume or cant provide specific examples of your management experience. So whats an aspiring manager to do without holding formal management positions? Plenty If you are interested in becoming a manager, here are five ways to get management experience without being a manager Lead a Project The skills required to be an effective project manager are very similar to the skills required to be an effective manager planning, organizing, setting goals, managing budgets, leading people, and juggling multiple priorities. If you have never managed a project before, start by volunteering for project teams. It doesnt have to be a huge project. Start small. Perhaps volunteering to be a part of the office Thanksgiving food bas ket drive. Hopefully, youll get to see what a good project manager does. Or, watch what an ineffective project manager does anddo the opposite. Then, once youve established yourself as a dependable team member, step up and volunteer to lead a project. Take a course in project management, read a good book on the topic, and interview successful project managers. You can evenget certified as a project manager, but that may be overkill unless you are planning to make a career out of project management. Train, Teach, Coach, and Mentor A big part of being an effective manager is developing your team. To do that, a manager needs to know how to onboard and train new employees, coach experienced employees, and eventually, mentor employees. Of course, to be considered for an opportunity to train new employees, its a given that youd need to be very good at your job, or whatever it is that youre teaching. Beyond being good at something, its important to learn and practice the skills of tra ining, coaching, and mentoring. The best way to learn is by doing Volunteer to develop a training program volunteer to mentor underprivileged kids or coach a sports team. Learn the art of coaching learn to ask great questions. Hone Your Interviewing Skills Many organizations use selection committees, hiring teams, or will involve others when interviewing job candidates. Again, volunteer for these opportunities. Dont just wing it when its your turn to interview a candidate. Develop a list ofgreat interview questions, practice active listening and asking probing follow-up questions, and learn how to establish rapport quickly. Being able to screen, interview, and select great employees is an essential management skill and can be learned and practiced For more on how to interview, Id highly recommend Alison DoylesJob Search site its the best there is. Learn to Manage Conflict, Have a Crucial Conversation, and Give Feedback Yes, dealing with those sticky people issues is the mos t challenging part of a managers job. We all face challenging people issues with our co-workers, family members, and friends. Life is target rich when it comes to opportunities to resolve a conflict. Learn to do it in a positive, constructive way. Id recommend reading the bookCrucial Conversationsand look for opportunities to practice and get good at it. Being able to provide specific examples of when you were able to handle conflict, provide difficult feedback, or address a sensitive issue will demonstrate that you have the willingness and capability to handle the people aspect of a management position. And believe me, there are plenty of experienced managers that wont or cant deal with people issues, so it really will set you apart. Create and Manage a Budget As a manager, I would love it if one of my employees volunteered to create and manage a budget for me While some managers enjoythe number crunching aspect of management, its my least favorite part. If youre good at Excel , you can learn to create and manage a budget. A good place to start is with your home budget. If you cant convince your boss to let go of the budgeting responsibility, you can still do what you can do learn finance, budgeting, and accounting. Take a course, learn to do a cost-benefit analysis and ROI, and learn to speak like a bean-counter (A Finance and Accounting Glossary for the Non-Financial Manager.) There are a lot more skills you can learn to prepare for being a manager, including presentation skills, communication skills, leading change, and strategic thinking. Its important to be able to talk about what you havedone, not what youcould do. The suggestions listed above will give you that practical management experience needed to help land your first management position.