How to Get a Job as a Business Operations Manager
Professional organizations could help you network your way to an operations manager job. "We encourage people to go to meetings, hand out their resume, and start to build a network among the operations management profession," says Schaudt, about the Association for Operations Management. "The best way to break into the profession is to build a professional network. A lot of the time, this can and does lead to a job interview."
Interview Questions Submitted by Real Business Operations Managers
"Describe your best and worst bosses, and how you were able to work with them effectively." - Comcast Business Customer Operations Manager Candidate (Philadelphia, PA)
"Tell us about time when a Customer made an unreasonable request. What was the request, what did you say or do, and what was the result?" - Lockheed Marin Business Operations Manager Candidate (Sunnyvale, CA)
"How would you deal with a certain key stakeholder team that our business is highly dependent on and does not collaborate very well and you cannot burn a bridge with and need to bend your way?" - Microsoft Group Manager Business Intelligence and Online Marketplace Content Operations Candidate (Location Unknown)
What is the Job Like?
Operations managers need to interface with all the different departments within an organization, including specialties as diverse as marketing, sales, and human resources, and interact with customers and suppliers. "There's a lot of collaboration. You need good speaking skills and good teambuilding skills," says Schaudt. "You have to be very adaptable and agile in the workplace. Conditions are changing, in some cases every five minutes, and so you have to be able to adapt and overcome those challenges and obstacles throughout the day." You will need to formulate new policies and make decisions, often quickly, in order to meet the goals of the company. Long hours, including evenings and weekends, and extensive travel to meet with customers, staff, and other executives is standard. There may be intense pressure to succeed, but you can expect sometimes significant compensation if you exceed expectations.
Real Reviews From Business Operations Managers
+ "Ability to work at home and with professional, smart and talented individuals." - IBM Business Operations Manager (Somers, NY)
+ "There is plenty of work to go around. There are tons of opportunities to streamline old manual processes and add value." - UBS Business Manager in Operations (Weehawken, NJ)
- "The breadth and depth of the business has evolved quicker than the capacity to create efficient processes and policies that can be globally adopted." - Cisco Systems Business Operations Manager (Raleigh, NC)
- "Growth & opportunity depends highly on how well you get along with your supervisor (or how well you can market yourself) - there's too much "favoritism" and not as much real performance based ranking/evaluations/promotions." - Qualcomm Manager, Business Operations (San Diego, CA)
Review information and interview questions supplied by Glassdoor.
