How to get that people manager job, despite your lack of experience Viewpoint careers advice blog

How to get that people manager job, despite your lack of experience Do you see people management as the next step in your career, but you’re just not quite sure how you’re going to get there? After all, you need people management experience to get a people manager job â€" right? Not necessarily. Many people move into people management roles with absolutely no experience in managing people. How? It’s just a case of demonstrating to the interviewer that you have the potential to manage other people by emphasising all of your transferable people management skills, backed up with real life examples such as the below: Example 1: You have strong stakeholder management skills As a new manager, you will need to discuss your team’s performance and progress with senior stakeholders and subsequently manage their expectations. For this reason, prior to your interview, prepare to talk about your relationships with the stakeholders in your current role. Explain how you have kept an open dialogue with them, are a good communicator, and have built a strong professional rapport which has led to the establishment of credibility and trust. Example 2: You have experience in training and guiding other team members As an experienced member of the team with a huge amount of expertise, you may have been asked to train new starters or other departments of the business. Similarly, people may come to you regularly for advice, input or guidance as you are a knowledgeable and experienced team member. In order to increase your chances of being considered for a people management position, you need to demonstrate this during your interview. If you are stuck for examples, think about situations outside of work; whether it was volunteering at a school, coaching a football team, or acting as a college mentor. By coming prepared with examples of situations in which you have taught or guided others, then you will be able to demonstrate that you have the clarity of thought, communication skills and patience needed to be an effective people manager. Try mentioning these examples when asked “Why do you think you are right for this role?” or “How would you describe your relationships with your colleagues?” Example 3: You are comfortable delegating to others It’s one thing being able to teach others. It’s another to be able to let go of the reigns and hand work over to them. An effective people manager won’t try to take everything on at once. Once trust has been established, they will feel comfortable delegating tasks to team members based upon their strengths and the remit of their respective roles, giving clear instructions and deadlines. Whilst it may not be possible for you to delegate within your current non-managerial role on a day-to-day basis, there may still be situations when you have passed work to others; for instance when you went on annual leave and handed tasks over to a colleague, or when that intern joined to help with administrative tasks within your department. Whatever the example, be sure to outline how you communicated your expectations to ensure the task was completed on time and to standard. Given that you are interviewing for a people manager role, you might get asked “What are your people management/delegation skills like?”, so make sure you have some examples, or at least a strategy for delegating, in your mind. Example 4: You are a team player If you have the potential to be a good people manager, you will understand the importance of being team-spirited and passionate about reaching shared objectives. Think of examples in which you have gone above and beyond to achieve a victory for your team or organisation, whether it’s speaking at an event, spending time nominating your organisation for an award, or simply supporting a colleague in need. In preparing examples, you will be able to demonstrate your team spiritedness if asked “How would you describe your current team?” or “What is your relationship like with your colleagues?” Example 5: You have a high EQ Lastly, a good people manager  will have a high level of emotional intelligence (EQ) i.e. â€" they will be aware of the emotions of their direct reports, and will be able to monitor their own. Having this ability is essential for employee relations, engagement, productivity and ultimately, retention. As my colleague Michael Jones outlines in a previous blog, you can showcase your EQ in myriad ways during an interview, but for a people management role, I would suggest focusing in on examples of times where you have been sensitive and tactful when managing the emotions of others, for instance dealing with conflict between two team members, or being compassionate and helpful towards a stressed colleague. What about tapping into positive emotions, like feeling motivated? A good people manager will know how to motivate team members, so if you can think of times you have given a colleague an inspiring pep-talk or the boost that they needed in that situation, this will work in your favour. You will typically be asked a trickier interview question to gauge your EQ, for instance “Can you describe a challenging situation you were faced with in the workplace” or “How do you deal with conflict?” This is where your emotional intelligence really has a chance to shine. I’ll leave you with this don’t try and brush over the fact that you have never had a people management role before, during the interview. On the contrary, explain that you are excited to be interviewing for this role, because you feel you are ready for your first step into the world of managing people.  If you are truly ready, and you have some relevant examples to share, then your lack of people management experience shouldn’t hold you back from getting your first people management job. After all, every people manager started off somewhere. If you found this blog helpful, you may enjoy these blogs: Still waiting for that promotion? Here’s your action plan Want to be a manager? Here’s how your potential will be assessed No pay rise? Heres what to ask for instead Under thirty and think you’re underpaid? It’s time to take action