When an interviewer asks the question 

“Can you please describe your management experience?”

You should know that what she is really trying to get at is:

Have you had to be responsible for work beyond your own? 

While it takes a lot of different skills to manage people effectively, the average interviewer is really only concerned with the basics of management. 

• Can you delegate tasks effectively?

• Can you help others improve performance?

• Can you lead?

I think the answers are yes for you. By the end of this exercise, you will too.

1. Take a moment to think about your career and note the times when you a) led a group project that involved task delegation, b) gave a colleague feedback about her performance that led to improved outcomes for her or the company, and c) a time when you stepped up to lead something. Your examples of these experiences don’t have to have the most impressive outcomes. You just have to speak to what you learned along the way. Self awareness is very attractive in a candidate. 

2. For each of your 3 examples, map out a) how you did what you did, b) how it went, and c) what you learned. You may be surprised to find that in each of your examples, there are several moments where you demonstrated “management-ready” skills. For instance, did you lead a group project and have to give feedback to team members to improve the final product? One example that touches on 2 skills. Did you step up to train new staff when you noticed your supervisor was overwhelmed? Maybe it went well or maybe you learned how not to on-board new employees. Talk about that! How would you do it differently next time? 

3. Get clear on which examples you want to use to demonstrate that you have the capacity to manage others. An interviewer may not ask such a broad question as noted above. She may say something like, “Tell us about a time when you delegated tasks and how it went.” You’ll want to know quickly which of your examples to draw from, and which skills they speak to. 

Having years of management experience tells me absolutely nothing about a candidate. I have no idea how effective they were. Unfortunately, your average hiring manager assumes that experience = competence. They are wrong. And a little lazy to be honest. You’re going to have to convince them that despite your lack of formal experience, you’ve thought through how to do this job well—which is more than they’ll be able to say about a seasoned manager who isn’t looking to improve her skills or evolve in the role. You really can do this. And you’re qualified. You just need to think outside the box and help others follow that logic.