I still run a desk at my shop Sterling Consulting Group. Keeps me semi out of trouble and in the fray. Real time information from candidates and clients alike. It’s almost like having a looking glass or a machine that can see the future, maybe not 100% accurate but a solid glimpse anyhow.

I field calls on a daily basis from candidates that are “on the bench” looking for their next gig. I also speak with many candidates that I am trying to recruit to find out what makes them tick and what they are looking for in their next role. It can be a really crazy conversation at times, especially when the candidates have a total unrealistic expectation and vision of what they can and cannot do.

It goes something like this. “Mary thanks for the call and the updated resume, sorry to hear that you in between assignments, what type of roles do you think you are best suited for and what are you looking for in your next employer?” Mary chimes in “Next role I’m looking for something in a supervisory or management capacity where I can just come in do my job and go home” I can’t count the times I hear this on a daily basis. It seems there is an impression out there that being a manager is super easy, you get to just work the minimum hours and go home on time everyday? WRONG! Back of the line for you!

Here is when it starts to get really interesting. “Mary, I’m looking at your file right now and I don’t see any management or supervisory experience at all, did you forget to put it on the resume?” She quips back “ Well I don’t have any real experience but I have been a XYZ for a number of years and the next step for me would be management and I don’t want to start a new role at the bottom”  Who knew? No one wants to start at the bottom. The new reality is you just might have too, if you want to eat that is!

My desk and computer is full of Resumes for Managers, what clients are looking for is people that can actually do the required task not watch people who can do the required task. That’s why Middle management in the corporate world has been decimated in the last decade. Inefficiencies are being pushed out of every system. We are not going to go back to the way it was in the past. The days of joining IBM out of school with a job in the mail room, moving up the ladder and retiring as a mid level manager at 60 years old are long gone.

It’s a new economy and things that worked in the last decade or century do not necessarily work now. Nobody is guaranteed upward mobility you have to earn it. If you are out of work you may have to take one step backwards to take two steps forward. Sorry Mary I know that you feel that you have paid your dues, I know you feel that the next role you should be in a Manager but I cannot help you. I’m a Headhunter not a miracle worker.

Happy Hunting