Mechanic to manager? Is it possible?

Crimson2v

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
3,254
Location
North Carolina
Hey everyone I have an interview for a fleet supervisor job coming up and needed some input. This is going to be my second time going for an interview for a job like this. The first was at my current job, was interviewing for supervisor job and was told I didn't have any management experience. A couple of weeks prior to this our superintendent had a meeting with all who applied internally and told us he did not want any mechanics they were looking for managers, really bummed me out because I was hoping one day to move into management. My background is over 15 years of being a mechanic, about 10 years ago I went back to school to finish my bachelor's degree in business administration, last year I acquired my ASE master tech certification. Do you all feel like this is good experience for this type of job or am I wasting my time and the employers time by trying to get into management? Also has any of you transitioned from mechanic to manager, pros/cons?
 

1 Alibi 2

Veteran,...retired Navy !
Established Member
SVTP OG 4 Life
Joined
Aug 27, 2011
Messages
6,798
Location
Hackettstown, N.J.
Hey everyone I have an interview for a fleet supervisor job coming up and needed some input. This is going to be my second time going for an interview for a job like this. The first was at my current job, was interviewing for supervisor job and was told I didn't have any management experience. A couple of weeks prior to this our superintendent had a meeting with all who applied internally and told us he did not want any mechanics they were looking for managers, really bummed me out because I was hoping one day to move into management. My background is over 15 years of being a mechanic, about 10 years ago I went back to school to finish my bachelor's degree in business administration, last year I acquired my ASE master tech certification. Do you all feel like this is good experience for this type of job or am I wasting my time and the employers time by trying to get into management? Also has any of you transitioned from mechanic to manager, pros/cons?
.
How many people have worked directly for you, where you were responsible for their work output / performance ?
 

derklug

Seriously? No, never.
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
May 28, 2012
Messages
4,417
Location
Mi
There are two schools of thought here. One school holds that a mechanic is better able understand the day to day operations of the department and knows when the mechanics are doing their job. The other school feels that a mechanic will side with the other mechanics and not be willing to come down on the mechanics for not working as hard as they should. With a business degree and experience as a mechanic, I would feel that you are a top candidate in a fleet position. A dealership service manager position often leans more towards someone with sales experience.
 

7998

Don't Care
Established Member
Malt Liquor Mafia
Joined
Mar 12, 2008
Messages
3,766
Location
PA
Hey everyone I have an interview for a fleet supervisor job coming up and needed some input. This is going to be my second time going for an interview for a job like this. The first was at my current job, was interviewing for supervisor job and was told I didn't have any management experience. A couple of weeks prior to this our superintendent had a meeting with all who applied internally and told us he did not want any mechanics they were looking for managers, really bummed me out because I was hoping one day to move into management. My background is over 15 years of being a mechanic, about 10 years ago I went back to school to finish my bachelor's degree in business administration, last year I acquired my ASE master tech certification. Do you all feel like this is good experience for this type of job or am I wasting my time and the employers time by trying to get into management? Also has any of you transitioned from mechanic to manager, pros/cons?

No you're not wasting your time. Realize that having experience in your trade is only part of what can make you a successful manager. Often times upper management is afraid of promoting off the floor because they don't need a manager that is going to side with the workers.
Being a manager means making tough decisions. It means firing Freddy because he isn't working to capacity. Even though you know Freddy is a good guy and has a family. But you need to increase productivity by X% amount and Freddy is the dead weight on the floor.
Let me ask you a question. How many things can you identify at your work that would increase profitability with a 0 cost impact, or better increase profitability and save money?
What traits are the superintendent looking for in a manager? Don't be afraid to ask this.
 

tistan

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2005
Messages
5,976
Location
savannah
My experience, although construction rather than mechanic, is that a lot of bosses always see you as what you were originally hired to do. The only way I moved up was by switching jobs and finding an employer that appreciated the fact that I wanted to move into management.
 

svtfocus2cobra

Opprimere, Velocitas, Violentia Operandi
Established Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
26,241
Location
Washington
This seems odd as someone with prior expert experience is ideal for the automotive industr. I have been in a manager position since I started in the auto industry and I dont have expert experience with cars as a technician would but I have learned most of it along the way. From my experience, guys who are techs in the field and can transition over with managerial skills are ideal for the position because there are a lot of instances where managers have to do work to make sure a product gets finished on time or at least knows intimately how the time frame for a job will affect productivity when scheduling what work to do for the day. To just take someone with managing skills only and little experience over someone with a lot of experience is not ideal in my opinion unless that person with less experience still knows the field really well.
 

Machdup1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
6,134
Location
U.S.
If you don’t get the job, here is a school of thought. You are a good mechanic, you show up on time, you do good work and you are a self starter who your boss does not have to manage.

Unless they have a problem they can’t solve any other way, there is no upside for taking a great asset and replacing them with an unknown.

This implies that if they are adopting that school of thought, you will need to move on to another shop to make that move.

Never get comfortable at any employer. Always look inside and outside the organization if you want to move forward.
 

IronSnake

Beers for the boys
Established Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
4,337
Location
South Carolina
Your experience is perfect from a context perspective, but your practical knowledge will hinder you. Managing people is entirely different than actually performing the job/dept you control. I think a lot of people forget that.
 

Crimson2v

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
3,254
Location
North Carolina
It just depends on the company. The heavy truck dealership we use, one of their master mechanics became the shop manager and did a great job. He's now in sales and absolutely killing it
That is great to hear! I would do sales if it was more stable, I love helping people find vehicles that suites them.

Who wouldn’t want a experienced mechanic to manage mechanics, nothing like being mechanic managed by a restaurant manager
The manager they did hire worked as a parts salesman and before that managed a grocery store, funny you mention that. He is also ex military which most if not all of the people hired for supervisor positions have prior military history as does the superintendent who makes the decisions to hire.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

.
How many people have worked directly for you, where you were responsible for their work output / performance ?
Before our previous supervisor left he was training me after hours and whenever he was out or the lead tech was out he left me to run the shop by myself. I was responsible for keeping 6 guys and made sure they kept their productivity up and kept the shop flow rolling.

There are two schools of thought here. One school holds that a mechanic is better able understand the day to day operations of the department and knows when the mechanics are doing their job. The other school feels that a mechanic will side with the other mechanics and not be willing to come down on the mechanics for not working as hard as they should. With a business degree and experience as a mechanic, I would feel that you are a top candidate in a fleet position. A dealership service manager position often leans more towards someone with sales experience.
I can appreciate that, the bad thing is that I do see when people are not doing their job and slacking but I can't do anything about it and it bothers me because our current supervisor does nothing about it. I would not have any problem cracking down on some folks because I can't stand it when people are getting paid by the hour and aren't pulling their weight.

No you're not wasting your time. Realize that having experience in your trade is only part of what can make you a successful manager. Often times upper management is afraid of promoting off the floor because they don't need a manager that is going to side with the workers.
Being a manager means making tough decisions. It means firing Freddy because he isn't working to capacity. Even though you know Freddy is a good guy and has a family. But you need to increase productivity by X% amount and Freddy is the dead weight on the floor.
Let me ask you a question. How many things can you identify at your work that would increase profitability with a 0 cost impact, or better increase profitability and save money?
What traits are the superintendent looking for in a manager? Don't be afraid to ask this.
That makes sense and honestly that has crossed my mind. Having to fire someone would be tough but if it needed to be done to better the business then it has to be done. I have identified some inefficiencies at my current job but they don't listen, they don't take well to recommendations from us mechanics. Would you ask what traits they are looking for prior to the interview or during?

My experience, although construction rather than mechanic, is that a lot of bosses always see you as what you were originally hired to do. The only way I moved up was by switching jobs and finding an employer that appreciated the fact that I wanted to move into management.
That's probably what I will have to do unless I wait until the upper management retires but they already have their successors lined up.

This seems odd as someone with prior expert experience is ideal for the automotive industr. I have been in a manager position since I started in the auto industry and I dont have expert experience with cars as a technician would but I have learned most of it along the way. From my experience, guys who are techs in the field and can transition over with managerial skills are ideal for the position because there are a lot of instances where managers have to do work to make sure a product gets finished on time or at least knows intimately how the time frame for a job will affect productivity when scheduling what work to do for the day. To just take someone with managing skills only and little experience over someone with a lot of experience is not ideal in my opinion unless that person with less experience still knows the field really well.
Thank you for you input, that is what I was thinking and this is the reason I went back to school to get my degree. I wanted a leg up on the competition if I ever wanted to get into management.

If you don’t get the job, here is a school of thought. You are a good mechanic, you show up on time, you do good work and you are a self starter who your boss does not have to manage.
That is true, thank you for the kind words!

Unless they have a problem they can’t solve any other way, there is no upside for taking a great asset and replacing them with an unknown.

This implies that if they are adopting that school of thought, you will need to move on to another shop to make that move.

Never get comfortable at any employer. Always look inside and outside the organization if you want to move forward.
 

Crimson2v

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
3,254
Location
North Carolina
Your experience is perfect from a context perspective, but your practical knowledge will hinder you. Managing people is entirely different than actually performing the job/dept you control. I think a lot of people forget that.
That's true, until you are in the driver's seat everything is speculative as far as management is concerned. I may or may not be a good manager but until I try it I will never know.
 

Coiled03

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jun 25, 2004
Messages
12,265
Location
IL
Hey everyone I have an interview for a fleet supervisor job coming up and needed some input. This is going to be my second time going for an interview for a job like this. The first was at my current job, was interviewing for supervisor job and was told I didn't have any management experience. A couple of weeks prior to this our superintendent had a meeting with all who applied internally and told us he did not want any mechanics they were looking for managers, really bummed me out because I was hoping one day to move into management. My background is over 15 years of being a mechanic, about 10 years ago I went back to school to finish my bachelor's degree in business administration, last year I acquired my ASE master tech certification. Do you all feel like this is good experience for this type of job or am I wasting my time and the employers time by trying to get into management? Also has any of you transitioned from mechanic to manager, pros/cons?

There's virtually no reason it shouldn't be possible. The only question is whether or not the company you work for supports that kind of move. If not, I'd question whether or not that's the place you want to work long term. That goes double considering you took the initiative to go back and get a degree.
 

shurur

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2011
Messages
3,760
Location
Lutz, FL
Problem is you are already a threat to the management caste, because of the depth of your resume/background. You were a mechanic and know the score without having to get info from the floor (You don't need to know the lingo as you already speak the language) and NOW you have taken the time and effort to get a degree besides!!

Management is afraid of you and your potential to move up beyond them and slice through their ranks like warm butter.

You need someone to teach you a bit of interview manager-speak to ease their minds that you will be willing to make your uppers look good and wait your turn....then after you get in bob and weave your way around them.

You need a mentor NOW.
Good luck and never forget where you came from.
 

Crimson2v

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2009
Messages
3,254
Location
North Carolina
There's virtually no reason it shouldn't be possible. The only question is whether or not the company you work for supports that kind of move. If not, I'd question whether or not that's the place you want to work long term. That goes double considering you took the initiative to go back and get a degree.
They have with others but one of the guys who is now the assistant superintendent knows some people above the superintendent which may have helped. The other guy wasn't considered until the original guy they wanted didn't accept the job. The most recent guy had prior military experience, major in the national guard which helped.

Problem is you are already a threat to the management caste, because of the depth of your resume/background. You were a mechanic and know the score without having to get info from the floor (You don't need to know the lingo as you already speak the language) and NOW you have taken the time and effort to get a degree besides!!

Management is afraid of you and your potential to move up beyond them and slice through their ranks like warm butter.

You need someone to teach you a bit of interview manager-speak to ease their minds that you will be willing to make your uppers look good and wait your turn....then after you get in bob and weave your way around them.

You need a mentor NOW.
Good luck and never forget where you came from.
I know the lead tech was not happy that I was a candidate for that supervisor job because I would have been over him. I had heard through the grape vine that he told the upper management that if I got that job he would quit. I could definitely use some interview help because I tend to freeze up and I get really nervous. I don't have anybody that can mentor me unfortunately. I will need some luck, I will never forget where I came from. I have seen so many people that have done that and it's quiet disappointing.
 

Logan2003Cobra

Active Member
Established Member
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
756
Location
TX
That's true, until you are in the driver's seat everything is speculative as far as management is concerned. I may or may not be a good manager but until I try it I will never know.

As previously mentioned by you and others, the skillset that makes someone an amazing mechanic doesn't necessarily translate in to a management role. Some companies recognize this and create supervisor or lead roles to give people opportunities and see if they are capable of making the transition.

Also, depending on the responsibilities of the position, a business administration degree will help in some areas (big picture operational perspective, budgeting, finance, marketing, etc.) but do very little to help with communication, coaching, mentoring, motivating, team building, employment law, interviewing, hiring, disciplining, firing, etc.

Something else to consider is most "employees" view management as "out of touch" or "don't understand how things work at the bottom" when it's exactly the opposite. A mechanic, while having a large skillset, only has so much responsibility at any given time. Managers on the other hand are responsible for EVERY mechanic, all of their responsibilities, their safety, their training, how good of an employee they are, what management expects of EVERYONE including profitability, opportunities for growth and improvement, cleanliness, customer satisfaction, etc.

As for interviewing advice, just be yourself and focus on your strengths including steering a conversation or question towards those strengths. Also, try to answer questions from a big picture perspective, not from a mechanic's point of view.
 

Bdubbs

u even lift bro?
Established Member
Premium Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2010
Messages
16,043
Location
MN
Op you definitely should qualified.

I work at a butter factory, and I'm one of the shift leads running a crew of 25-30 people. I'm contemplating getting out of that position and going back to being a machine operator. Pay isn't worth the headaches most days.

5 people can be on PTO at a time, throw in 5 more people on FMLA, and that's already 10 people I'm missing, yet I need to have these machines running and getting out production.

Basically, what I'm saying is make sure it's something you want. It's a lot more responsibility, and having the HR and upper management breathing down my neck all the time isn't fun.

Sometimes running a machine or turning wrenches isn't so bad, after trying a supervisor role.

Good luck

Sent from my Moto E (4) Plus using the svtperformance.com mobile app
 

Machdup1

Well-Known Member
Established Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2007
Messages
6,134
Location
U.S.
I am open to any pointers or advice if I do get the job.
Management is easy. Here is the starter set:

1. Build a process for everything.

2. Release each process to staff at a pace they can absorb.

3. Take the time to train everyone in their jobs.

4. Communicate your expectations.

5. Hold everyone accountable in a reasoned manner.

6. Report to your bosses, clearly and regularly. If they have to ask for info, you are under communicating.

7. Build people up, don’t tear them down.

8. Run to Problems, make decision, fix issues.

9. Never fear getting rid of bad employees. If you can’t fix them, fire them.

10. Never forget that you create the cultural.

11. Take care of your people.

12. Take care of your clients.

13. You cannot be friends with your employees.

14. Always be fair and do not lay favorites.

15. Know exactly what your boss wants you to do and deliver 100%.

16. Regularly seek clarification from your boss.

17. Business is chess, not checkers.
 

Users who are viewing this thread



Top