Discrepancies in Experience - Required vs. Accumulated

michaelotey

To anyone who might be able to provide advice or encouragement-

My name is Mike. I'm 31 years old and I have about 11 years experience in the automotive industry and 3 of which are in quality. I'm on permanent contract for one of the big 3 automakers and I would like to move into a direct position with a higher level of responsibility. Currently, I'm about a mid-level employee with no direct reports but have a finely-honed set of technical skills. My business acumen is not quite as sharp, as I do have formal education in business but I have not been in a position to use much of what I know regarding formal business practices, so my nuanced skills are lacking (according to qualifications needed for certain mid-level mgmt jobs). I will be finishing my business degree (minor in Operations Mgmt) in Decemeber 2015, so I have quite a large gap between experience and educational level and this tends to feel like the culprit behind being stuck in a mid-range employment level, while accumulating a nice amount of time under my belt.

My concern is, as I'm trying to re-position myself, I'm finding it difficult to "wedge" my way into the company since they will not consider me for entry-level or internship work, and I am missing approximately 50% of the qualifications in most job listings that would consider someone with 11 years auto experience and 3 in quality. My previous manager was ready to bring me in once I finished my bachelor's but he has since moved on and I lost one of my best "in's". So at least someone has seen my potential and it's a nice confidence boost, but none of this is really spelled out to the recruiters who are doing the quick checks. I suppose I will be more worried in January when I have completed the degree and still have no bites. Even if this is the single item holding me back, I still see the difficulty in finding a job description in my field where I meet even 75% of the basic qualifications.

Thanks,

Mike

Gem7321

Have you kept in touch with your previous manager at all? Could he 'bring you in' wherever he is now assuming he has remained in the industry?

Sorry I'm a bit confused, what is the question?

michaelotey

He moved upwards in the company and there currently isn't a position available under his part of the org. There are sometimes assistant management positions for larger programs that fall under his position type but his current assignment is a smaller project and doesn't require an assistant position. However, we have kept in touch.

My concern lies with trying to market myself from this abnormal position without any outside help. I'd like to know that my record, cv and interview can stand on their own if needed. Should I advertise my experience level in a more specific way as to minimize the perceived amount of time in the auto industry?? IE - I have 3 years in auto quality rather than boasting the full 11?

So more clearly-

Question 1 - Should I modify my CV so that my experience would follow a more cohesive growth pattern with my educational background ? ie Reducing the work history.

Question 2 - Is there a way to position myself to move upwards in my field/company since I have too many years of experience to take entry-level/internship positions (according to HR standards) but I also do not meet approximately 25-50% of the basic qualifications needed to take on a mid-level job because my current quality job was highly technical (a bit unorthodox) and did not focus as strongly on business acumen and practices.

I know this is quite the detailed level of critique I'm asking for but I'm trying to dig deeper because I've consistently modified the resume and have had a few professionally written versions to no avail. I've gone back and have written my own CV, using my own style as well to try and spark some attention, knowing it isn't probably what a recruiter or hiring manager typically sees.