Advice on applying for management role when I've never been a manager

[RuinedAndNotorious]

Hello, just looking for a bit of advice from any managers out there.

I enjoy my current role but have been in it for three years and there are no real opportunities to develop. I have seen a job advertised which is a maternity cover role for a team leader in another organisation in the same sector. It is to manage a team of 5, so obviously one of the essential criteria is experience of managing and motivating a team.

I have never done this. However, in a previous job I managed four part-time interns working on projects for the charity I worked for, and in a different previous job I managed one temporary member of staff for a year. In my current role I do manage contractors working on projects but it is pretty hands off. I've also recently helped with recruitment of junior members of another team.

I've been considering a move for a while, and think this job would be a good next step for me. I have a lot of the other criteria they are looking for, but on paper it would be a stretch for me to even get an interview because I don’t have management experience.

Any advice on how to address this in my application? How can I talk up my limited experience and show that I have the capabilities required to be a good manager? If you recruit managers, what sort of experience would you look for? Or if you are a manager, what sort of experience did you have when you moved into the role?

Sorry, should clarify that when I managed the temp for a year, I was her line manager on paper, but in practice we were both managed by my boss on a day-to-day basis, so I didn't have a whole lot of 'managing' to do, just checking that she was getting on with her work OK and whether she needed any help.

I would look for example of when you showed leadership. I.e. When you pursauded people to do something/got everyone behind a new initiative/ dealt with difficult colleagues.

Example of

• showing leadership and organisation
• coaching / supporting people to improve their skills
• how you are seen as a role model in your current job. That's really important when I'm looking to recruit
• time when you have had to have a difficult conversation with someone

Thank you both, I will try and think of some examples along those lines.