u/shakemilton23

I’ve been with my company (a nut processing plant) for about 3 years and I’m considering applying for an internal Value Stream Manager role that just opened up. I’d love some honest career advice on whether this makes sense or if I’m at risk of getting pigeonholed.
Quick background:
• Started as Assistant Manager of Shipping, Receiving, and Material Handling.
• Promoted a year ago to full Manager overseeing Shipping, Receiving, Material Handling, Prep, and Industrial Packaging.
• I currently manage 25 people directly and report to the Value Stream Manager position that’s now open.
• The Value Stream Manager role oversees ~100 employees with 6 direct manager reports. It covers the full end-to-end value stream: receiving, material handling, prep, production, packaging, and shipping. The two biggest departments are production and packaging.
I have outstanding performance reviews and several company-wide recognitions. I’m good at relating to the floor employees and boosting morale in a pretty rough company culture. However, I’m not as strong as some of the other candidates when it comes to managing big programs or more strategic initiatives.
My main concerns:
• Will this look like a logical/good career step on my resume, or will I just be seen as “the warehousing/operations guy” going forward?
• It’s a big step up in responsibility and scope, which I want, but the company culture is pretty poor overall.
Questions:

1. Does this seem like a normal and reasonable career progression?
2. If I don’t get the role, should I start looking externally? (I worry staying too long in one place without this promotion could limit me.)
3. Any tips for interviewing internally or preparing my case for why I’m ready for the bigger role?
   Appreciate any insights from people who’ve been in manufacturing/operations management or made similar jumps. Thanks in advance!