I'm not sure how to find a new job in business management
May 4, 2018 6:31 AM Subscribe
Failed med school applicant seeks help to advance in a business management career
A good friend of mine, we’ll call him James, is struggling to advance in his career and has requested that I “ask the internet” on his behalf.
James originally intended to go to med school but did not get an acceptance after several application rounds. He graduated from college in a “soft” major (Humanities?) alongside the pre-med program. Although younger and computer proficient, he does not possess any particular technical or artistic skill. In other words, he’s not about to become a programmer or a web designer or copywriter.
For the last 5-6 years he’s worked as a low-to-mid-level people and staffing manager with some product and budget oversight. I guess this falls under “general business management” type role. He has done very well in his current position and is respected by his colleagues and superiors. His strengths seem to be in people and project management.
Unfortunately his employer lacks direct advancement opportunities and has a poor history of lateral moves. Short version is that lateral moves never have an accompanying pay raise, and you end up in a grunt work backfill loop worse off than you were before.
While looking at new companies, what kind of titles should James be focusing on in his job search? He is looking for a moderate pay raise (mandatory) and would prefer a role at least one step above that he can stretch into. I think this would be classified as project managers, team managers, team directors, or something in that vein. But I don’t know the jargon for business management positions.
So far he has applied to some project management jobs for SaaS providers, but they declined to interview him because they specifically wanted managers with previous SaaS management experience. James is definitely technically savvy enough to pick up the nuances of a product for a PM or PdM job. But he’s getting frustrated that most of these positions really want an ex-engineer to learn people and business skills, rather than a business manager learn a product.
Neither of us are sure what else to look for. Most of the positions seem much more specific than what he does. I see accounting, sales, and HR positions everywhere but nothing that sounds comparable to his current job. I thought what he does is PM or PdM territory…but maybe not.
He is the first one in his family to receive a college education and lacks an understanding of advancement on a management track. He fell into his current position almost by accident while looking for any job after failing to get into med school. His boss has been a great mentor but is definitely not interested in grooming James to leave the company. I am not much help as I work in a technical field with a different trajectory. I have no idea how to roadmap a business management type career.
Suggestions are appreciated.
A good friend of mine, we’ll call him James, is struggling to advance in his career and has requested that I “ask the internet” on his behalf.
James originally intended to go to med school but did not get an acceptance after several application rounds. He graduated from college in a “soft” major (Humanities?) alongside the pre-med program. Although younger and computer proficient, he does not possess any particular technical or artistic skill. In other words, he’s not about to become a programmer or a web designer or copywriter.
For the last 5-6 years he’s worked as a low-to-mid-level people and staffing manager with some product and budget oversight. I guess this falls under “general business management” type role. He has done very well in his current position and is respected by his colleagues and superiors. His strengths seem to be in people and project management.
Unfortunately his employer lacks direct advancement opportunities and has a poor history of lateral moves. Short version is that lateral moves never have an accompanying pay raise, and you end up in a grunt work backfill loop worse off than you were before.
While looking at new companies, what kind of titles should James be focusing on in his job search? He is looking for a moderate pay raise (mandatory) and would prefer a role at least one step above that he can stretch into. I think this would be classified as project managers, team managers, team directors, or something in that vein. But I don’t know the jargon for business management positions.
So far he has applied to some project management jobs for SaaS providers, but they declined to interview him because they specifically wanted managers with previous SaaS management experience. James is definitely technically savvy enough to pick up the nuances of a product for a PM or PdM job. But he’s getting frustrated that most of these positions really want an ex-engineer to learn people and business skills, rather than a business manager learn a product.
Neither of us are sure what else to look for. Most of the positions seem much more specific than what he does. I see accounting, sales, and HR positions everywhere but nothing that sounds comparable to his current job. I thought what he does is PM or PdM territory…but maybe not.
He is the first one in his family to receive a college education and lacks an understanding of advancement on a management track. He fell into his current position almost by accident while looking for any job after failing to get into med school. His boss has been a great mentor but is definitely not interested in grooming James to leave the company. I am not much help as I work in a technical field with a different trajectory. I have no idea how to roadmap a business management type career.
Suggestions are appreciated.
Has he considered looking outside of tech? While I can't speak to his "mandatory" moderate pay rise, I can say that retail (for instance) generally is more flexible about experience for project roles. But if he's in tech now, it might not be a pay rise.
I might start networking and take a pitch like: "My current job is a mix of product/staffing/people. I like it, but I've come to realise that the staffing side is what really fascinates me. I've been realising that staff planning really rocks my world and I'd like to transition into it full time."
I've done this kind of step many many times, *but*, I generally only insist on salary parity for lateral moves. Not an increase. That's the piece which seems to me to me difficult.
posted by frumiousb at 8:25 PM on May 4, 2018
I might start networking and take a pitch like: "My current job is a mix of product/staffing/people. I like it, but I've come to realise that the staffing side is what really fascinates me. I've been realising that staff planning really rocks my world and I'd like to transition into it full time."
I've done this kind of step many many times, *but*, I generally only insist on salary parity for lateral moves. Not an increase. That's the piece which seems to me to me difficult.
posted by frumiousb at 8:25 PM on May 4, 2018
Outside of strict technology companies, many employers are comfortable with candidates who have parallel experience in another domain. PMP and/or Agile training will help in opening doors to other companies.
I've been the business person who learned about tech my entire career. I won't apply for jobs that require a degree in Computer Science (unless they or it with business). Depending on the market he's in, there are likely plenty of companies that aren't so focused on the engineer turned business-y career path.
Moreover, job hunting does require perseverance so he might have to work at not getting frustrated when companies decline to interview him. It's ultimately better that he not get a job where he is a fundamental poor fit than land a job where he isn't set up for success.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:10 PM on May 4, 2018
I've been the business person who learned about tech my entire career. I won't apply for jobs that require a degree in Computer Science (unless they or it with business). Depending on the market he's in, there are likely plenty of companies that aren't so focused on the engineer turned business-y career path.
Moreover, job hunting does require perseverance so he might have to work at not getting frustrated when companies decline to interview him. It's ultimately better that he not get a job where he is a fundamental poor fit than land a job where he isn't set up for success.
posted by toomanycurls at 10:10 PM on May 4, 2018
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Otherwise, product management or business development might be some potential sectors with opportunities for advancement or at least a pay bump. If he gets a certification or something, he might even be able to parlay his project management skills into some kind of consulting?
posted by helloimjennsco at 8:17 AM on May 4, 2018