Submitted by jchi8888 on
in
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Hey Folks,
I'm a big fan of manager tools having listened to all the "Basics", and Tools, and most of the Career Tools casts as well.
My question: Would you recommend downplaying a resume to take a manager role, or writing a cover letter explaining why I'm looking for a major opportunity at a company the likes of Google, Apple, etc? It never crossed my mind that these companies would look at me as over-qualified for a manager or sr. manager role until one of my friends mentioned it to me as a possibility.
Has anyone been in a similar situation where the company you're at has simply stalled out and its time to move on to bigger and better things, even if bigger and better things = lateral or even lower role for the potential of more future opportunity?
Background: I'm a Director of Software Engineering, managing all technical details across all products for our company including: product management, design, development, qa, release engineering, and technical services. If there's anything related to technology in our company, it's handled by one of my teams. I have an intensely loyal team and have had one of the lowest attrition rates in the entire company. I've grown with the company over the last 8 years; have seen multiple mergers and acquisitions and senior managers; have promoted multiple people out of my organization into other leadership roles throughout the company - some my peers, and through it all have believed intensely in the opportunities that lay ahead of us.
Sadly, with the latest change in ownership on the horizon, it seems quite clear now that I've hit the ceiling at this company and find myself squarely in middle-management.
I've sent my resume out to great companies like Google, Apple, and other hyper-growth public or soon to be public software companies in the valley for roles that are either lateral moves or even down a level (sr. manager, or manager) - in reality these would be a significant step up in pay, but less in terms of responsibility, and definitely opportunities I'd be excited about. Unfortunately, I haven't received a single call-back. I've written my resume directly from the advice in the Manager Tools Resume pod-cast, and I've had friends at the company forward to HR.
It's been a great ride at my gig, but the opportunities in my career lie elsewhere at this point.
I would really appreciate any advice folks could provide.
Don't Downplay
I think any resume you submit needs to be tailored for the specific position. So if the job is as a first line or mid-level manager, highlight your leadership results (low attrition, promoting directs, etc.) with a secondary focus (but a close secondary focus) on your technical results. If the job is as an individual contributor, highlight your technical results but absolutely don't downplay your management results. How bad would it be to apply as an individual contributor at Google only to find out that they had a managerial position that was going to open up in the next couple months that you would've been well-suited for?
--Steve
Dilemma
I tend to agree with not downplaying as the experience is the experience, and definitely can lead to bigger and better things, and also agree with tailoring the resume to fit the position (with below dilemmas on this particular subject).
I guess the issue that I foresee is that in the days of infinite searchability these large companies (Google certainly) have software that adds candidates and resumes into a system. I'm sure it would be strange to see a candidate (putting myself in the employers shoes) with multiple resumes on file. The question that comes to mind: "Is this guy/candidate a senior manager, manager, or individual contributor? What gives? Who is this guy?"
As a Director I've managed an organization size upwards of 45 people across multiple disciplines: product management, development, qa, technical services and technical support.
Many (Sr.) Manager positions often are looking for folks who have managed 5 to 10 individuals in a singular discipline.
Question: Do you think its off-putting (in an overqualified sort of way) to receive a resume from someone who's managed as many as 50 people?
Friends are hypothesizing that maybe calls aren't coming my way because they don't think I'll be happy with the position... which leads me right back to: How do I submit multiple resumes to an organization with the kind of resume tracking software these places have?
Ugh... the dilemma!
Tailoring resume and application tracking dilemma
JCH - I understand your dilemma. I'm looking for a new job and would like to leave my current organization as soon as possible. Since I tailor my resumes to the jobs I'm applying by including the accomplishments that are most relevant to each position, I've run into a bit of a dilemma about what to do with organizations that post multiple positions that I could apply for, but would want to highlight different aspects of my experience. It's particularly difficult when there are multiple positions in the same department open that I could apply for.
In regards to your question I don't think it is off putting to receive a resume from someone who has managed a large number of people, but do I think it is important to be clear in your cover letter WHY you want the position and how your experience would be an asset. If you can be genuine and professional then you can easily overcome being "overqualified."
Personally I have a bigger issue with resumes and cover letters that are one size fits all and/or are indifferent to the specifics of the organization and position. For example, when I'm working for a University and receive a cover letter that states how much the person wants to work for my company. Or 10+ year VP applying for position that the job description states is entry level -- in that case I chalk it up to the person is meeting a quota of applications to continue receiving unemployment benefits and I just put it in the no pile.
The point is to the cover letter is your opportunity to connect what they are looking for to your experience. If you can make that connection, then they'll look at your resume and with any luck call you in for an interview. BTW - if you have not done the Interviewing Series yet, I highly recommend it.
Good luck!
AJ