Want to step back from manager role - ideas for interviews?

K-Anderson

I have been in my current job (fast food industry) for 6 years, and manager since 2010. I used to love my job, but now I am starting to hate it. It's got much tougher since I first started with the company, not just standards but expectations of me and my staff, and dealing with my managers is a nightmare.

I'm starting to look for other jobs but I want to step away from the management side of it all. I am happy to go back to a lower salary, minimum wage even, and have said recently I would be quite happy working on a till in Tesco etc just to get out of that place.

I've had a pretty stressful year, my parents are ill and we lost my Dad recently, I have also had to deal with ill health and operations myself so want to look for something less stressful and with little/no responsibility.

My biggest worry is interviews - I didn't have an interview for my current job (just went in with an application form and was hired pretty much straight away) and before that I had been unemployed after being made redundant. The last interview I had would have been November 2004.

I dread being asked why I want to leave a management job for something 'lower' (forgive the phrasing) and I don't want to shoot myself in the foot for the future if a promotion of some kind came up because they thought I didn't want any responsibility ever.

Another concern is not even being offered an interview because I am 'overqualified' having been a manager for 2 years.

I don't want to step down and stay at the same company as I don't want to be told what to do by staff who I was once in charge of, or for people to not want to tell me what to do because I used to be the boss.

Just looking for some advice really for interviews, perhaps someone has done a similar thing themselves.

Thanks in advance

InsideInsurance

What is your actual title? "Manager" can be anything from a team leader of a couple of people to someone with P&L responsibility for a number of stores with a few hundred staff reporting to them via a number of layers of other "managers".

Firstly, just as people play up their roles to get promotions, you can always down play them if your going for a lower role.

Secondly, if you are moving out of catering then you can always say you understand the need to step lower when changing industries

Thirdly, with the ideas of "recruit for attitude" etc becoming more common place then employers can very much like people that want a straight forward job that they can do their 9-5 (or whatever), go home happy with a basic wage and will happily do that job until retirement.

I wouldnt mention stress (not a good word) but you can talk about having to do lots of unpaid & unplanned overtime etc and whilst your happy to step up to help out occasionally you want a more stable working environment etc

getmore4less

It's a tough one, in the UK we tend to expect people to progress and standing still is seen a weekness

With a change of industry you can use the I need to know the job before I can return to management you get more respect if you have done the job etc.

what about looking for catering/manager jobs in stores or pubs hotels

related but likely to be a different ambiance.

K-Anderson

InsideInsurance wrote: »

What is your actual title? "Manager" can be anything from a team leader of a couple of people to someone with P&L responsibility for a number of stores with a few hundred staff reporting to them via a number of layers of other "managers".

I am a store manager responsible for around 20 people.

Also forgive my ignorance but when you say downplaying my role, how exactly do you mean? I assume any reference from my company would say 'store manager' so I don't want to lie on a CV/Application form. Apologies if that is not what you meant.

Thank you for your input

InsideInsurance

Not saying to "lie" but you could for example drop the "store" part from in front of the title and just say you were made Manager in 2010.

I would be exceptionally surprised if the reference came back with Store Manager -v- your CV that said Manager would cause any problems in the slightest. A large proportion of CV's and references dont have a perfect match on job titles for various reasons but as long as they are in the same ball park I've never known it be an issue.

In some call centres to "only" have 20 people under your command you would be a "team leader" and not even a manager. In my last call centre involvement the call centre had 600 staff and the manager grade started at shift manager and there were 3 of them and then 1 centre manager.

Linton

Are there opportunities in your industry for more "technical" roles - something that would use your knowledge and experience without the daily stress of dealing with awkward people? In that case, focus your CV on that knowledge and experience. So in a sense I am asking whether you could actually look for promotion to a more business oriented level.

It seems to me that going back to the shop floor (sorry!) could be frustrating as the deficiencies of your manager could be very apparent to you.