Has anyone here ever applied for a job that was several rungs above their role and get it? Did it turn out well or was is a disaster? Did you just pick things up as you went?
I need help deciding whether to apply for a job that is much more senior than my current role. I am currently low/middle management level at a good University. I work above my grade in a role that doesn’t technically exist. I was given a ‘senior’ job title to reflect that I am more experienced and do more high level tasks (including a lot of people management) than my peers working at my grade. But because the university system is so rigid and our finances are so tight it is not possible for my managers to create a new role on a higher grade to accommodate me. This has led to a lot of frustration as while I like what I do and am good at it, I graduated 20 years ago and feel like I’m ready for and capable of so much more than what I’m doing.
I recently saw a job advert for a role at a charity that is several levels more senior than my current role. But I really think I could do it. The job sounds interesting, the pay and benefits look good, and there are a couple of quite niche essential criteria that I meet that are not easy for everyone to meet. There are a few others that I’d have to be quite creative (yet honest) about how I meet them. But my biggest problem is self doubt and telling myself that I’m not good enough for really senior roles. But in reality surely the people who have these jobs are only human and maybe sometimes wonder themselves how they became so senior? Is the only way to learn how to do these roles to just do it?
In my current organisation there is almost no opportunity for progression. I’d need some people to leave and free up their roles, and those people are very unlikely to be going anywhere anytime soon. Plus I think sometimes the best chance of progression is by moving on to somewhere new.
What should I do? I’m having a crisis of confidence that very senior people probably don’t have!