Dear Bob: I have been an IT Project Manager for the past 8 years. During that time I have pursued and achieved an advanced degree (MBA), become certified through the Project Management Institute (PMP), and continually educated myself on various business and IT best practices. No, I haven’t read your book yet… but it’s on my Christmas list! Recently, I interviewed for a position in another company which could hav Dear Bob:I have been an IT Project Manager for the past 8 years.During that time I have pursued and achieved an advanced degree (MBA), become certified through the Project Management Institute (PMP), and continually educated myself on various business and IT best practices. No, I haven’t read your book yet… but it’s on my Christmas list! Recently, I interviewed for a position in another company which could have 12 direct reports.Although I did my best to point out that I had supervised in excess of that number during some of my projects and dealt with various personnel issues on a daily basis, it fell on deaf ears.The interviewer was looking for direct supervisory (hire/fire) experience. She offered a position under the one I was interviewing for as a possibility but frankly, it’s the same work at a different location. I could build new relationships at this other company to forge new opportunities but that might take upwards of two years with no guarantee of success. Unfortunately, this story has not been an isolated incident in my current job search. I’ve attempted to pursue opportunities within my current employer (a.k.a. The Evil Empire) but they are limited to non-existent. Their need is for Project Managers not for more “chiefs”. Never turning down a project, always doing what’s been asked of me, taking on new assignments, offering ideas and suggestions, and volunteering for additional work has done little to advance my career. I should have saved my energy!My questions (both internally and externally) are what else can I do or say to prove I’m ready for a supervisory position and how else can I prepare?Sign me, – Living EnnuiDear Ennui …What can you do differently? Continue to aggressively pursue managerial positions. From your account it sure sounds like you’re doing the right things and gaining the right experiences. If your goal is to transition from project management to line management, your biggest obstacle is hiring managers who are too short-sighted to understand that your success in managing projects demonstrates both your ability to manage and your ability to lead. I don’t know how you’re finding your leads and pursuing them, of course, and this might be an issue for you. For example, I’ve known many IT professionals who have a blind spot for smaller companies. They look for jobs in the large, high-profile companies where they live because they’re the easiest ones to find.But the better growth opportunities are often found in smaller businesses. It’s the smaller businesses that more often are looking for generalists rather than specialists; for potential rather than credentials; and for candidates who consider opportunity to be part of the compensation package.Oddly, smaller businesses often offer more job security than larger ones, at least for strong performers, because they’re less likely to have a massive across-the-board layoff that ignores individual performance in response to a bad quarter or two. One other thought: Ask yourself if you really want to make this transition. If you enjoy managing projects and are good at it, there are an increasing number of companies – both end-user companies and systems integrators – that recognize the importance of offering a career path for good project managers. You can achieve a very nice level of compensation if you have the ability to manage large programs.– Bob ——– Technology Industry