Applying for a job I may be crap at?

[RedCrochetedWigFace]

TL:DR An opportunity to manage people in my current job is coming up. I don't know if I will be good at managing people but I think it's a good opportunity to test this to see if going for promotion is a good move.

I've been in my current role over 3 years. I like it, am good at it and am (I think!) well respected.

2 people on a higher grade are retiring at the end of the year and work will interally promote at my grade into them. Promotions don't come up very often.

The catch is, that all the next grade are management posts and I don't know that I have the people skills. I also don't know that I want to manage people.

Work have advertised external jobs in the grade below mine. They want someone at my grade to manage them.

My wife doesn't think I should apply for this because:

• There isn't any extra money. Work are selling it as a promotion but it isn't.
• I would still be doing my job plus managing them which is a lot.
• She doesn't know that I would be good at it (I acknowledge that managing people is a specialised skill and I may not have it).
• If I am rubbish at it, it will undermine my hard earned respect and will knock my confidence.
• if I'm rubbish at it, it will hamper future promotion opportunities. Even if a non-mamagement role comes up (very, very unlikely), I will still have a "failed" job behind me.
• I am really happy and doing well in my current job and she's worried it'll spoil it.

I think I should apply because:

• it's as "safe" as something like this will be. It's a new role and I don't think anyone who can apply has any recent management experience so we're all starting from the same place. Work know we're all starting from zero.
• there will be lots of support. The company are good at this.
• if I'm rubbish, I will be able to step back from the management aspect (assuming someone else is available) and go back to what I'm doing now. I won't have left my current job. It won't look good though and gossip!
• it will help me to know whether to apply for the promotion when it comes up.
• I want to progress. If I do this and it fails, it will be a lot less damaging than being promoted and failing.

My current manager is blowing smoke up my arse about it. I'm having coffee with an old manager about it next week and I know she'll be honest.

YANBU - give it a go. It's as safe as it ever will be to try this and you might surprise yourself (and your wife!).

YABU - you have a good thing going. Why spoil it? You're not in a rush to progress and something will probably come up at some point so just wait. Plus, think of the new recruits who'll be stuck with you.

If you don’t try, you’ll never know whether you’re any good. Sometimes it’s a good idea to do something out of your comfort zone and even if there’s no extra money, it looks good on your CV, shows you’re motivated and want to progress.

I have a similar dilemma at the moment, but if I got my job it would be more money and better hours so more obvious motivation to go for it.
It´s something I have kind of adjacent experience rather than direct experience although the job says experience isn´t strictly necessary.
But I do feel a bit conflicted because I really like my current job and team and I don´know if there would be a way back if it didn´t work out, they would probably recruit to fill my currrent position.

But I think it´s always good to go for these things.

I’d only go for a promotion nowadays if it was actually more pay. Too often have I stepped up to “prove” myself and they have just got me to do more/work harder for no reward. If the job is needed and worth more, then it’s worth them paying for it.

This sounds like a mugs game

It sounds as though they are trying to get you to do more work for the same money so I would be wary of applying for it unless they guarantee they will give you some training in management, you are confident that it will help get you actual promotion and they reduce your current workload to make up for the extra work

I agreed with your wife as soon as I saw your first bullet point about extra work for no less pay.

Managing people is a skill - you are right - but HR can help by offering training - surely? They should invest in you.

You should apply because you will look very static if you don’t. You also know the people you will be managing so it’s easy enough I think - unless there are some awful people there. You need to read the staff handbook and closely observe what the best managers do. It’s not an exact science of course but applying the rules/policies fairly usually works. It cannot be that difficult or no one would do it. Also it could be a stepping stone job to something better and negotiate a better salary if you get it.

Technically the grade I'm already at is a manager grade and my contact says this. Colleagues at my grade in other teams manage people. So work aren't taking advantage when asking someone to do this. Although obviously I would be doing extra work that the other people doing my specific role wouldn't be.

The people I'd be managing are being recruited externally so they may be brilliant to manage or they may be awful! If I knew them, it would definitely affect whether I applied. I guess that's why the are sorting the manager out before them! 🤣

You are not being unreasonable to go for promotion… but do not accept any job that is more responsibility for no more money !! Tell the powers that be that you would be interested in progressing your career and are keen to learn new skills but that you need remunerating appropriately.

I wouldn't be able to re-negotuate my wage, wages are in set levels. I could negotiate a small bonus if I'm successful.

The grade I'm in is already classed as a management grade although no one in my specific team manage. Work aren't taking advantage by doing this. It would mean I'm doing more work than my colleagues in my team on the same wage, but you could argue that we're all doing less work than colleagues on this wage in other teams who do manage.

I would be put on management training etc but we've all had managers who have been on every course imaginable but who are just crap. So training doesn't mean I'll be any good.

Extra work for no extra pay? Fuck that.

Also, I would say I have good people skills but I would hate to be a manager. It’s more difficult than people realise to be a good one. You need the balance of having people like you but also respect you and your authority.

If you’re happy in your current role, then why rock the boat? Especially as there is no financial incentive.

Go for it. Someone I worked with stepped up to management, she didn't like it so she stepped back down. No one thought any worse of her for it.

Managing people well takes masses of time/input and should be compensated. If you're happy in your current role and we'll respected, stay put unless there's £££ on offer.

My partner has managed to fob off any management responsibilities and I'm so jealous. He's super respected in his field, earns a low six figure salary plus bonus annually and just focuses on the role he's really good at. On the few occasions he's been approached to lead/manage he's just said no thanks, I'll stick to where I give you max value as an employee.

Yes, I've been lucky to get to this point with no management tbh. In any other team at this grade, I could be just given a team to manage.

If I want to progress higher, unless I get a very specialist role (no idea what), there is that risk.

@RedCrochetedWigFace I see. So it’s a new team. Do you get to help appoint? That’s key really - input.

No. I wouldn't have the knowledge to do that.

So you would not be involved in the recruitment process if you got the job? That’s odd. Surely it matters to you. Would you try and read up about what’s needed?

The only reason I'd do it is for the experience managing staff. Once you've got 12 months experience you can apply for a job elsewhere.

How would the extra pressure and responsibility affect your home life?

This. Can you get a temporary secondment as part of CPD?

Also, men are always applying for jobs they might be crap at. See it all the time on CVs, absolute chancers.

Do it. Your reasons for applying are good. Better to regret something you did, rather than something you didn't do

Agree with this. You must be thought of highly if your senior staff are encouraging you to apply, and you can always go back to your own role, but you should be compensated for taking on extra work.

I don't know if you are male or female but I read somewhere that men apply for jobs they are half qualified for and women have doubts even if they are fully qualified! Regardless, too many of us doubt our own abilities when the best way to gain the skills is through experiencing the role in the first place!

For no extra money I wouldn’t bother. Managing people is a pain in the arse and takes up loads of time and headspace - esp if you have someone in the team who is trying to work through the latest edition of ‘why I can’t come to work today’ and alternates that with ‘I can’t do my work because’ when they are here honestly its a huge pain in the rear end and then objectives, reviews, weekly check in, monthly one to ones, mid year reviews, end of year reviews, urgh the bureaucracy

Managing people can be a nightmare if you get the wrong recruits. How much do you trust the recruitment team to bring in decent people? If employees are easy to work with then it's relatively straightforward. However some of the things I had to deal with as a manager included interpersonal conflict between members of the team, team members needing lots of time off with poor mental health and then having to cover their work myself, an employee that barely worked and I had to put on a performance plan, supporting staff members during a formal grievance, issues of racism raised left right and centre. I also had my own work to complete and found it impossible to do it amidst all the check in meetings, and firefighting various conflicts and issues. I think I was a good manager and had the respect of my team but I would never want to do it again

That said, I'm glad that I have the experience professionally, so I would say go for it! Try it for 12 months. It sounds like the stakes are very low in your context so potentially a good time to try it out? Just make sure you get plenty of support. It's a steep learning curve and it's important to try and do it well.

I wouldn't be happy about not being renumerated extra, but in this case I think you'd be gaining in terms of experience so would maybe think of it as free training.

Also, men are always applying for jobs they might be crap at. See it all the time on CVs, absolute chancers.

Unless I've missed something OP doesn't say if they are male or female. Could be in a same sex relationship. Either way I think OP needs to work on their confidence and your wife doesn't sound very supportive either. Why are you assuming you'd be rubbish at managing people? You also say say you wouldn't have the experience to be involved in recruitment. We all have to start somewhere. I did a secondment for mat leave and I line managed a team of 10 people with little experience and also had to recruit soon after. However management were very supportive and I loved managing people.

Thank you all.
I'm female. I think I read about men applying for jobs they are not experienced in too.

My wife will be supportive if I apply. She's not being unsupportive, she just doesn't know that it's the best role for me.

I can't be involved in the recruitment. Most of the interview sifting is done automatically. Its designed to remove bias so people only really get involved at the interview stage. Then once at interview you have to have undertaken specific internal training. I won't have time to do that this time round but I have asked to go on the next course. There is only the application form and one normal interview for those posts. It's an international company (although the divisions are run as almost completely separate entities and mine is and only in England). I think there have been issues with unfair recruitment in some of the other divisions so the top has made sure they are really careful about this.

Hoping I'm not being outing! If you do recognise this, please don't say anything at work!

I also think there will be too much of a rush between recruiting to the management post and recruitng to the staff post and they want to focus on getting the manager up and running, not on them getting involved with recruitment which I understand and makes sense.

I like the idea of seeing if it can be a secondment type situation. I don't think it can be but no harm in asking. At least then, there is a clear exit strategy if needed. My real boss has been on his 6 month secondment for almost 2yrs. He likes it so keeps finding ways to get it extended. 🤣