Beginners Guide to Interim Management

As the use of Interim Managers in the Food Manufacturing sector continues to grow, increased opportunities for new Interim Managers to enter the market abound. We are often asked ìhow do I become an Interim Manager?î The first step is to understand the nature of interim work. An Interim Manager is a professional who has a client agreed assignment with significant decision-making authority. An interim is not a consultant, a contractor or a temporary worker. There are two tiers of Interim Manager within the Food Manufacturing sector, mid-tier, where rates are 300 to 600 per day, and senior-tier, where rates are 600 to 1500 per day. Mid-tier roles will generally involve project management and/or functional or departmental management responsibility. Senior-tier interim roles will typically involve change management, business strategy implementation, project management and business improvement.

Don't miss the Online Recruitment Exhibition - Come and see some of the suppliers who can streamline your recruiting efforts. View the Exhibitors here. Complete this enquiry form and a member of the Onrec.com team will be in touch.

A question we ask candidates tentatively seeking interim work is ìwhy do you think you will be suited to it?î Candidates who will make a successful career out of Interim Management will answer, ìBecause I am flexible, focused on delivery, culturally in tune, not interested in political manoeuvrings, have a persuasive personality and am only interested in completing the task at handî. These are the qualities that we expect of Interim Managers, coupled (of course) to a demonstrable track record of achievement within the Food Manufacturing sector. It is also worth noting that although Interim Management is no longer the preserve of the corporate executive reaching the end of their career, it is unusual to find an Interim Manager aged under thirty, as client companies generally seek to engage Interim Managers with substantial experience, gained from different environments/product sectors, possessing the credibility and perspective this experience brings.

If a candidate believes he possesses the characteristics required of a good Interim Manager, and has made a pragmatic decision where to pitch their service (mid-tier or senior-tier) based on their experience, the next stage is to put together an interim focused CV. Many successful Interim Managers have a number of CVís, and submit the most appropriate CV to the client given the assignment brief. The CV of an Interim Manager will not mirror that of a candidate seeking to obtain a permanent role, and candidates seeking to break-into Interim Management are advised to re-write their CV from scratch. Recommendations include:

* Use headings such as ëResponsibilitiesí and ëAchievementsí and detail information under bullet points rather than lengthy paragraphs ñ this both maximises space and makes it much easier for potential clients to locate critical information.

* When detailing previous interim assignments, make it easy for potential clients to find out what you did and what you achieved by firstly providing a brief explanation of the project, followed by expectations and outcomes achieved. Bear in mind client confidentiality.

* With an Interim CV, you can provide more detail that a CV used to obtain a permanent role, but place the emphasis on the last 5 to 10 years and do not produce a CV of more than 4 pages.

* Potential clients will want to look at your CV and quickly see the quantifiable and measurable benefits that you have provided to previous clients, so detail cost savings achieved concisely in ëpoundsí, or mention what the organisational change you implemented meant to the business in financial terms, or how you improved a business in ëpercentage pointsí and what the financial benefits were.

* When highlighting your strengths always document examples to back this up, and be prepared to discuss your examples further at interview.

* As you build your portfolio of past assignments as an Interim Manager, you may need to reduce the amount of space devoted to your previous permanent career in order to keep the document to a reasonable length. It is acceptable to summarise your permanent career in bullet points detailing job titles with two or three bullet points covering responsibilities and achievements.

* With an Interim Managers CV, the client will be more interested in your relevant experience than your qualifications, so detail your career history/interim management assignments at the top of your CV, directly below your Personal details and contact information. Relevant professional qualifications should follow your career history, and education and general qualifications should then appear.

* Be realistic about the breadth of your experience and achievements ñ it is better to under promise and over deliver than damage your reputation by not delivering.

* When writing the CV, remember that the art of Interim Management is to deliver what you promise. You will be doing a disservice to yourself and your client if you exaggerate your experience.

* As with any CV, presentation is key, and spelling and grammatical errors will create a bad impression. Ask someone to proof read your CV; Food Careers would be happy to do this.

The next stage in the process to establish yourself as an Interim Manager is to land your first interim assignment, and to do this you must overcome the interview/s. You should never attend an Interim Management interview before firstly obtaining and dissecting the assignment brief. Food Careers will discuss the assignment brief with you at a face-to-face meeting and we have developed an assignment template that will cover all the crucial elements of the assignment in a logical format. This will provide the following information: a.) Details of the assignment/requirements, b.) Why the interim is required, c.) Introduction to the client including, background, products, culture, financial data, size, markets, customers etc, d.) Fundamentalís of the assignment (start date/rate/location/length of engagement etc). We recommend that the information Food Careers provides acts as supplementary input to the research the Interim Manager will conduct independently, prior to the interview.

The final stage is to make a success of your first interim assignment, detail this on your CV, network at every opportunity, and engage a recruitment specialist who knows the industry and can recommend you to potential clients.

Source: Chris Burns - Food Careers Limited ñ www.foodcareers.net - 15th May 2008