I never thought of myself as a manager...

Submitted by coius on February 28, 2007 - 11:49pm

I have been looking for a steady job for some time, and since I am not up on certification, I can't really get a job in the computer area right now. Although, i have managed my homebrew business, I have not been getting much business, as on occasions, some of my clients move (no one wants to be in this city) or I have not been able to advertise as much, and am probably not totally sure how to run a company right to get people. I started out with a lot of clients, mainly through reputation and the word_of_mouth advertising, but It has been getting slower, and have now found myself looking for work and shutting down the home business for now.

I started applying about 3 months ago, as a way to pay for college, and to support myself and hopefully get some money into my account. Until I found myself going for an interview with Target Corporation.

Now, i never considered a job in management, but I have now been offered a higher salary than I have probably had in my life up to this date, and find it kind of exciting to move to another area outside of my normal comfort zone, however, this places a lot on my plate that I have never wandered into the territory of. I am not even sure how I would do at the job, but am looking forward to seeing if I can make it within that.

I have an interview on Thursday @ 10am with the store head manager, and will be going through about 4-6 interviews and could take up to about 2-3 hours. depending on if I advance to the next level. I SO want the job, but am dreading at if I will fail at it, and now that I see my position being moved up to manager, i probably can't back down without there being no room for advancement in the future, having them think I can't handle the responsability.
So, right now, I am sitting scared at if I will make it, or if I will fail at it, and start the job search all over again, but with a major mark against me for being laid off due to not being able to accomplish a job that I was hired for.

I am used to working for myself, where I am leading myself and I know what decisions will affect me directly, but have never considered having people under me, and don't know what I would do if there was something major I had to confront. And it has made me lie awake the past few nights scared of what will happen.

I have a few friends that are managers, some with trucking companies, some with newspaper offices, and they have been successful, but they have had a lot of experience with dealing with people, and when they started, i remember hearing how hard it was to deal with people if they had to fire them. I am not the most tactful person that I know of, and I tend to have trouble telling people bad news. But it will come with the job if I have to make a decision like that.

I guess what I am saying, is I saw myself looking at a whole change of what my job career would be if I keep at this, and actually like it, or if I would fail and have to start all over again. A blemish on a career is NOT something you want to have when you are just starting. especially at the age of 22.

I'm sorry I am rambling in this blog, but it would feel better to get it off my chest on the internet than to tell some of my friends. yes, they are managers, but I have seen them take charge, and sometimes it scares me about what managers do. And I hope I will never become one that employees will hate...

Anyways, thanks for reading this, even if it is to ramble, and wish me luck!

Comments

Submitted by reklus on March 1, 2007 - 12:11am.

Everyone screws up all the time. The secret is that companies usually are too scared of litigation to give bad reviews to your new perspective employer, plus if you've got your own business you can always say you were running that to cover any employment gaps. An LLC is a good thing to have.
If it doesn't work out just think of it as learning at a VERY young age what you don't like.
Jobs are fun, especially if you're young and have no kids...think about it. If you get fired after six months, you get unemployment that's probably still more than you were making before the job.
Also, the way to succeed in management isn't learning how to deal with people, but learning how to get OTHER people to deal with people.

You'll be fine, especially if you start drinking early in the day ...then you'll be TRUE middle management material.

Remember: THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CAREER BLEMISH (that doesn't involve a children, puppy or goat related conviction)

coius's picture

Submitted by coius on March 1, 2007 - 9:06am.

The interview is in one and a half hours. And what a day it is. 8" of snow, making it impossible to get around. I am lucky enough for my dad to give me a lift since I don't have a car, but even then, i would head out extra early if I had to take the bus. Even if It meant I would have to wait out there for 1 or 2 hours. So, wish me luck!

eeun's picture

Submitted by eeun on March 1, 2007 - 11:08am.

Coius, I was promoted to management in my first year of full-time work. Not much of a people person myself, and having had no management training (at the time) it was really daunting.

I found it wasn't as bad as I thought. I think there's an idea that being a manager is about telling people what to do, but that's not the case. People generally know what they need to do, and just need occasional assistance or a polite nudge in the right direction. Put yourself in the other guy's shoes, and it's easy...mostly. You don't need to know how to do the job of every person there - just that every person there can do their job.

And there are short courses out there on management, so there's no harm in saying you're confident you can do the job, and would like the opportunity to build your skills with course x. Depending on the organization, they may even subsidize of pay for the course outright.

Management/supervisory skills can really broaden your job prospects, too.

coius's picture

Submitted by coius on March 4, 2007 - 5:51pm.

this will be the 7th interview, apparently the last ones went fine.

I am getting more and more confident about being able to do it as I hear what will be required of me to do the job. On Monday at Noon CST, I will be taking yet-another-interview, and It seems I got the job, I think they are looking at where they are going to place me. After that, there's the drug test, and then work (assuming i get it, I am pretty sure i did)

Anyways, i am glad I got the offer as I will start to have a steady income instead of come-as-it-comes Computer business.
Anyways, continue to wish me luck!

Thanks for responding on this topic, you have given me encouragement

coius's picture

Submitted by coius on March 5, 2007 - 2:40pm.

they told me they weren't hiring for "team leaders" :(. instead, they are starting ALL OVER to get me into a sales position. I don't know why they sent me through that if they knew they weren't going to hire.
I'm sorry if I am ranting, but I wish they would have hired me for a different position instead of sending me through this when they knew they didn't have this position open.

I am just a bit peeved that they did this.

EDIT: I was talking with a friend, and it occured to me, that if they didn't want me, they could have told me that. I am man enough to take that. what would tick me off more is if they didn't tell me that I didn't qualify and instead told me they don't have a position open.

Jon's picture

Submitted by Jon on March 5, 2007 - 4:18pm.

Or, it was a test. They may want to see how you handle getting expectations, then having them not come through. You may end up in sales for a while to build experience with the company and operations, and then if you work out well, they may promote you. In many cases promotions come from within mostly because the company knows quite a bit about the work style and capabilities of people who already work for them. They may want you as a team leader but without experience they need to give you some time to see how quickly you can get up to speed, before you are actually responsible for very much.

Submitted by reklus on March 5, 2007 - 4:36pm.

Or, it was a test. They may want to see how you handle getting expectations, then having them not come through. You may end up in sales for a while to build experience with the company and operations, and then if you work out well, they may promote you. In many cases promotions come from within mostly because the company knows quite a bit about the work style and capabilities of people who already work for them. They may want you as a team leader but without experience they need to give you some time to see how quickly you can get up to speed, before you are actually responsible for very much.

No.

That's all.
Management is NEVER going to hire you as a sales clerk to see how you'd qualify as a manager.
That's a BS line that some HR goon cooked up as a way of reducing turnover.

There are DEFINED paths of promotion. A random person from the street has a million times better chance of getting to be management than a clerk does.

coius's picture

Submitted by coius on March 5, 2007 - 7:30pm.

But I will be VERY PO'd if they just jerk my chain and then send me something in the mail that reads between the lines of "We don't want you, go someplace else"