How do people get upper level/exec jobs they are not qualified for?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Connections. Getting your foot in the door is most of it.

I’m government but financial regulatory, so finance is paid well. There is a high level senior advisor to the CFO at my agency who doesn’t know the difference between a debit or a credit. Can’t do basic tasks and even emails are sloppy and incorrect. The person was somehow a supervisory GS-15 at another agency before this job. They were hired because the CFO knew them and thought they were great. CFO left less than two months after they started and now we’re stuck with a dud for who knows how long.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have seen several examples recently, both within my organization and in others, of unqualified or under qualified candidates landing high level positions (VP finance, CFO etc). This is within the accounting/finance field. What gives? I feel like I am working myself to the bone and have so much varied experience, but whenever these positions come up, the qualifications they purport to require are vast, yet repeatedly people are hired who do not have half the experience or qualifications listed. How?

Because at that level people interviewing don’t know day to day. They also rather hire someone already at that level.

Honestly the C level my company or board have zero clue what people below VP do every day, so easier just to hire externally someone at that level already doing it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neoptism
Go along to get along.
Overconfidence
Resume fluffing
Height (tall people are promoted more)

Gender. Is a man.

At one point my F500 company had so many male executives in our unit named Dave, it was ridiculous.

I'm reminded of this because today I was on a web call with a Dave executive I've never seen before. He looks like a Dave executive that retired 3 years ago. Like they could be brothers.

Yes. I refer to this as "looking good in a suit." Someone who "looks like they should be an executive." Tall, with a good haircut, broad shoulders. Don Draper

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Neoptism
Go along to get along.
Overconfidence
Resume fluffing
Height (tall people are promoted more)

Gender. Is a man.

At one point my F500 company had so many male executives in our unit named Dave, it was ridiculous.

I'm reminded of this because today I was on a web call with a Dave executive I've never seen before. He looks like a Dave executive that retired 3 years ago. Like they could be brothers.

Yes. I refer to this as "looking good in a suit." Someone who "looks like they should be an executive." Tall, with a good haircut, broad shoulders. Don Draper

Dilbert called it "Executive Hair".

[Anonymous]

confidence to ‘fool em. use key buzzwords like “leadership” and “law 360” with no execution to display competence in the terms

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

It might be and it might not be. First of all, if connections to leverage for bringing in work is key to your business, then that's an important part of the job. It's unlikely that the people doing that are only using childhood friends. Second of all, if "superficial appearance factors" are holding you back, figure out what the low-hanging fruit is and fix it, if you care enough. You may think it's superficial but it sounds like your employer doesn't.

Or if you don't like the rules for how this works, go get prestige outside your organization. Speak externally. Network. Maybe someone outside your organization will see your value in a way that your organization doesn't.

[Anonymous]

My sibling resembles these remarks. Once he got into upper-level position, he just lateralled into various other ones through out his career. White and 6'3, though not a Dave.

[Anonymous]

I (overweight, short, female) got my job through connections. I'm qualified, but definitely on the minimum end of the scale. However, 3 people who were in the position to find someone for this job recommended me out of the blue (I was not looking for a new job) and I was approached about it. My interview was pretty much a "let's make sure she's not completely incompetent".

I'm a hard worker and a team player but I was never one who drew much attention to myself. I was pretty widely know as someone you could go to when you needed someone reliable or to work through a difficult issue.

[Anonymous]

Settlement from harassment claims? Slept way to the top?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

I’ve worked with people who want to discuss every little thing and get consensus before making any moves. They refuse to survey the information available and make the best call possible in the moment. It’s a good way to completely shut down productivity, so I would argue that making decisions and taking responsibility for the results is absolutely a skill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

I’ve worked with people who want to discuss every little thing and get consensus before making any moves. They refuse to survey the information available and make the best call possible in the moment. It’s a good way to completely shut down productivity, so I would argue that making decisions and taking responsibility for the results is absolutely a skill.

THIS. My staff will have 12 meetings across the division and the general counsel's office before coming to a list of potential recommendations/options. Sometimes, you just need someone to make a decision in order to make progress and move forward toward the ultimate goal. If you can make decisions and move toward the goal without upsetting delicate feelings, you're even more valuable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

It might be and it might not be. First of all, if connections to leverage for bringing in work is key to your business, then that's an important part of the job. It's unlikely that the people doing that are only using childhood friends. Second of all, if "superficial appearance factors" are holding you back, figure out what the low-hanging fruit is and fix it, if you care enough. You may think it's superficial but it sounds like your employer doesn't.

Or if you don't like the rules for how this works, go get prestige outside your organization. Speak externally. Network. Maybe someone outside your organization will see your value in a way that your organization doesn't.

Exactly, get leg lengthening surgery or skin color bleaching so you look the part.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

I’ve worked with people who want to discuss every little thing and get consensus before making any moves. They refuse to survey the information available and make the best call possible in the moment. It’s a good way to completely shut down productivity, so I would argue that making decisions and taking responsibility for the results is absolutely a skill.

You must be lawyers. I’m in engineering and we don’t have that problem among ICs. I think any field with quantitative nature understands how to break down decision points and arrive at the locally optimized choice.

[Anonymous]

I sit on interview panels. Every so often we get a candidate who is AMAZING. They completely blow us out of the water with their confidence, knowledge and they say exactly what they want (like if we're hiring someone, to fix X, they tell us exactly how they'll fix X). I'm actually one of the SMEs who is supposed to sus these things out and everything they say is accurate.

And then we hire them and they're the biggest duds who have zero clue what they're doing.

I'm convinced these people are sociopaths. They manipulate your emotions and say what you want to hear.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because a lot of the qualities that are valued and necessary for senior leadership roles are different than the technical skills needed for mid-level roles.

Plenty of people share I’m not qualified for my job but what they don’t understand is I can lead a team, make decisions and present to senior leaders.

There are plenty of employees who think they know more than I do, but you couldn’t have them put a presentation together and present at a board meeting. Or they can’t lead a team meeting and be effective.

Also lost jobs are BS and no one really knows what they are doing especially the employees who think they are doing something important.

I love how “making decisions” is a skill. I’m a technical IC, I make great presentations for my executive to present, and I am capable of speaking in front of audience as I’ve given several technical presentations to leadership.

But I’m not promoted because I’m not “executive presence” according to my VP, which I assume is code for superficial appearance factors and that I grew up dirt poor so have no connections to leverage for bringing in work.

It might be and it might not be. First of all, if connections to leverage for bringing in work is key to your business, then that's an important part of the job. It's unlikely that the people doing that are only using childhood friends. Second of all, if "superficial appearance factors" are holding you back, figure out what the low-hanging fruit is and fix it, if you care enough. You may think it's superficial but it sounds like your employer doesn't.

Or if you don't like the rules for how this works, go get prestige outside your organization. Speak externally. Network. Maybe someone outside your organization will see your value in a way that your organization doesn't.

Exactly, get leg lengthening surgery or skin color bleaching so you look the part.

Pay attention to the clothes and shoes that senior leaders at your organization wear and dress more like them. If you have skin issues, go to the dermatologist. Get a good haircut. Or don't listen to anyone's advice and keep seething about not getting promoted.