Quick rise to managerial positions?

Question

Ok, after reading a lot of books and forum posts about b-schools looking to see how fast you progressed in your work exp to "managerial" positions, I have a question:

What if the company you work for is in an industry (e.g. defense, government, aerospace, etc...) where promotions do not come as quickly as consulting/banking etc where everyone seems to have a VP title after a few years?

I know that people are not supposed to "whine" in their essays, since it makes them look bad, but how would you address this issue if the b-school looks at a 30 yo guy with 6 years experience and wonder why he's not a "manager" yet?

I think I've been on the "fast track" and been promoted more than most people I know. I can talk about leading some small teams and managing some people unofficially (de facto). Do you think that's enough or does the "career progression" really matter (i.e. promotions, titles, official manager title)? Would the adcom know about the industry I'm in or would I have to explain it? If the latter, how should I do it so it doesn't sound like "whining?"

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

riverripper · Answer

I think schools see so many applications they have a sense of what different areas and to some extent certain industries and companies advance people. Remember you don't have to be a manager to be a leader. One of my examples I am planning on using is something I implemented to our way of doing things to stream line things and the hard part wasn't getting the new engineers to do it...it was getting a bunch of 40+ year old guys who have been doing it one way for 20 years to switch to a new way. Leadership to a school is more about action than title. I am sure we have all had a boss or two or ten that were borderline incompetent and the only thing that kept them from looking bad was the hard work of their employees.

I think schools wont get caught up in title as much as you think. In an industry that promotes quickly based on talent and doesn't care about seniority its probably harder unless you really are one of those superstars. But if you work as an engineer, in software, or in IT then schools will understand that your title has a lot more to do with years in than skills...they are relatively flat where a supervisor may have 50 people under them and senior management could have a couple hundred. Being in an industry that promotes based on performance makes it harder unless you are the top candidate; schools will know that if you are as great as you say you are that you should be at this level at a minimum. In common industries they will also know what role someone in a given position usually has so they will spot some BS about starting a new fund or directing consulting projects at a major company if you are two years out of school and haven't been promoted yet.

mNeo · Answer

Titles are over-rated. As riverripper said, just focus on your leadership and how you are contributing, innovating and leading (Without getting into the tech details like how Torvalds wrote his kernel by essentially doing a cp -r ~kryzak ~torvalds).

When I started considering MBA, I also started planning to change jobs or change teams and get a more fancy looking title, like "Customer Relationship Manager". But after getting deeper into the process, I realized that I had better stories to tell in my current job anyway.

kryzak · Answer

ahh, thank you for the tips and confidence booster guys!

riverripper · Answer

I was at an admissions forum last night with H/S/W, MIT, and Kellogg. There was a question about people coming from a science background. The Harvard admin said that engineers are the highest represented group there, more than business majors or any other major. There were lots of nods of agreement to that statement and the stats back it up at most schools. 

So I am sure they have a great idea what its like at work for engineers, IT folks, and all those with techincal jobs. Just tell good stories and dont worry about job titles. I know people who work in business and instead of getting a raise as large as they were hoping for they get a bump in title but no real change in function or responsibilities. Job titles are pretty worthless.

lanter1 · Answer

It matters how much you contribute to the organization as a leader than your job titles. I know people who have cool titles in my organization and I find myself questioning what they actually do all the time.

lepium · Answer

Wow wow wow, don't go there, that's what an MBA open doors for! :lol:

On the original post, just explain that you are a star within your organization (fast track, top 10% evaluation, special praise from the CEO, whatever). Don't worry about the years of experience before a promotion. L.

kryzak · Answer

awesome, thanks! I have gotten the top evaluation rating a couple times and high ratings over my career, and am considered on the "fast track" for promotion purposes so far. I will talk about that and see where it takes me then!

lanter1 · Answer

Great point...I too want the big salary to send motivational emails all day.

Quick rise to managerial positions?

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