Must Have Prior Experience

As some of you may have surmised, I am desperately trying to get out of engineering and into a leadership position, such as management. Unfortunately, my efforts are hindered by one requirement that I see in every single job posting I come across: every management position out there (including those at the Shitshow) is looking for someone with prior management experience.

Now I have a beef with that because it implies that anyone with prior management experience will be a better manager than anyone without management experience. But if every person in management was a good manager, why do so many people hate their jobs and their bosses? Why do so many people see their bosses as incompetent? Why do so many companies go from cutting edge to falling behind the pack? Poor management, of course. In fact, poor management is so common that there is even a saying in the Consulting Industry: “If you don’t know the root of the problem, take a look at Management. If still you can’t find what’s wrong, take another look at Management.”

So why is everyone pretending that management experience is always a plus? There are a ton of bad managers out there, and the business world just keeps shuffling them around. If you ask me, there are a lot more bad managers out there than good ones. Odds are you’d be better off hiring someone without management experience. At least then there’d be a chance for some fresh new ideas. Yes, I know that’s just wishful thinking. I just hope that by the time I do get some managerial experience, I won’t be jaded, having learned everything from the “mentors” above me at the Shitshow.

Because even the worst managers at the Shtishow are still more marketable than me, I throw rocks.