Job doctor

“I am a maintenance administrator. It seems I am more organised than my maintenance manager and I sometimes find myself managing him and the two other maintenance officers. My manager often leaves things until they are forgotten, and then I have to fix them when complaints arise. He is now creating another post in the department and I feel I am left with the boring jobs.

I have started to search for a management role, but I am not sure how to go about this. My manager turned down my request to shadow managers in other departments, saying they would just use me to do favours. Should I look for administration work in another department, try a different role such as a development worker, an event organiser or even go for a managerial position?”

The fact that your request for a management secondment was refused is a concern. If you are suitable for a management role, then this could be an excellent idea, so you deserve a better explanation. I suggest you approach your human resources department directly and they can speak to your manager informally to ask his reasons for refusal. If it’s still a no, they can set up a formal meeting between all three of you to explain why.

Next, you need to take a good look at the skills you have. Taking stock of your strengths, weaknesses and ambitions will help you work out what role would suit you best. This will help you see whether you are a candidate for promotion or whether a lateral move to a different department would suit you better. For example, you could move to a role that uses your planning and organising skills.

Self-assessment should not be difficult, particularly if you have regular appraisals with your manager in which your competencies and career aspirations are written down. Once you have worked out where you want to be, you should look at the opportunities in your organisation and whether there are any vacancies that match what you can offer.

Finally, maybe you would benefit from training in time management or assertiveness. You need to set boundaries around what work you take on and stop doing things outside your job description.