Category Archives: project management jobs

Careers Advice, guest blogger, project management jobs, Transferable Skills

Why Project Management Skills Are Desirable For Any Job

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Project stakholder from New York State Department of Evnironmental Conservation

If you are looking to get ahead in your career regardless of your occupation then project management skills can be a great way to make your CV stand out against a pool of applicants. You don’t need to specifically be going for project management jobs to make use of such skills as the abilities and responsibilities of a good project manager are applicable across a wide range of disciplines and positions.

A good project manager is flexible and quick to adapt to new situations, but in general there is a core set of abilities that employers look out for when hiring project managers. There may be specific desirable skills that depend on the industry you are looking to enter, but there are some skills that are applicable across all disciplines:

Time Management
Project managers are held responsible for carrying out the details of their project on time. Delays can be very costly for companies, especially those working under strict contracts and missed deadlines can have very serious repercussions. A good project manager will be able to provide estimates for project milestones and make sure each milestone is met on time.

Budget Management
As project manager you may also be in charge of the budget for the project. You will be expected to complete the goals of your project with a set budget and be able to allocate funds appropriately. Effectively managing your budget is vital as in competitive markets profit margins can be thin, so overspending can result in eating into profits.

People Skills
Project manager jobs inherently involve working with a team under your command, so it is vital for project managers to be able to both instruct and inspire people. Project managers may be hired from outside but often companies will look from within when seeking to find a project manager, so you may find yourself in a position of authority with your colleagues and work friends. A good project manager must be able to remain professional in such situations and not let private relationships interfere with fulfilling professional duties.

Effective Communication Skills
Being a project manager involves not simply interacting with the team members under your command but also reporting to your bosses and potentially meeting with clients. Both situations will demand good communication skills of the project manager; superiors will want to know how the project is progressing, whether target deadlines and budgets are being met and how any potential issues will be resolved.

Good Technical Knowledge
Leading on from effective communication skills, when meeting with clients they may have several questions about the project which will require a technical expertise to answer. Project managers will be expected to handle any and all queries professionally and confidently so having a good grasp of your project and the technical knowledge surrounding it will be vital to assure clients.

All the above skills are vital for project managers but can also be applied to a wide range of roles. People who possess these skills can be very valuable so if you’re looking to increase your employability then investing your time into improving your skills in these areas can pay dividends in the end. There are a wide range of books on the subject which can help you, so if you’re looking for a new job or want to improve your CV then learning project management skills can be a great personal investment regardless of your occupation!

Featured images:

Amy Sawyer provides career advice and tips for jobseekers at Gatwick Diamond Jobs – a UK job board specialising in local jobs in South East England

Careers Advice, Networking, Project management career progression, Project Management Careers Advice, project management jobs, project management recruitment, project management resume

Hidden Project Management jobs – how to tap into them

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Only a small percentage of jobs are filled by recruiters, in fact the percentage doesn’t increase greatly with advertised roles either. The majority of roles filled are through other means – now I have always said that recruitment can be like a lottery, you need to be in the right place at the right time. However there are some things you can be doing to ensure you are likely to be in the right places and highlighted specifically for upcoming roles and roles which haven’t necessarily been identified.

  • The key to successNetworking – personal networking and social contacts are a valuable tool when you are looking to secure a new position, do keep in touch with your contacts regularly and not only when you want something! Update or create a LinkedIn profile and connect with your previous employers, colleagues, friends etc. Make sure you join groups and get involved in discussions, this keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds but also demonstrates your passion for your profession and you can easily gain new valuable contacts through this practice. Go to PM specific events, there are a fair few which are free to attend – go listen to seminars and network with delegates to strengthen your contacts list. Join in social networking discussions beyond LinkedIn – twitter has a regular gathering on a Friday afternoon under the hashtag #pmchat – the topic differs from week to week and it is a great opportunity to talk live about PM related subjects with other Project Professionals.
  • Create opportunities – if you are already in a contract or employed you can take the consultative approach and get involved with other project teams, understand what changes are afoot and identify how you could tap into these changes. Even talking to other PMs over coffee and hearing their challenges can unearth some interesting pieces of work you can take to Head of Projects etc.
  • Direct approach – I can almost hear your sigh at the thought of a speculative application, after all in the past you have done this and received the generic response of “keeping your details on file”, but there is a more effective way to approach businesses.
    • Create a list of companies you would like to work for and know have project management functions.
    • Research the companies, track them online – identify changes, look at anything which might generate jobs, from new product launches to mergers.
    • Identify Heads of Projects – a bit of searching online will soon generate some names and contact details.
    • Draw up a tailored cover letter, talk through the change you have identified and match up your experience to how you have delivered similar change in the past.
    • Tweak your CV to ensure it is relevant to the business and look at other employees’ profiles from that business to grasp an idea at what attracts the business to them.
    • Approach the contact, be assertive but not pushy and ask for a call or to meet for a coffee to discuss.

The direct approach is time consuming but, think about how your chances of securing a new role have increased significantly by demonstrating key skills such as being proactive, commercially astute, good researcher etc. you could also save them costly recruitment fees moving forward and avoid the long queue for a role which has later been adevertised.

Job Applications, Job Hunting, LinkedIn, project management jobs, project management recruitment

Part time Project Management jobs

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More and more project professionals find themselves in a position where they need to work part time – this may be due to home commitments such as caring for dependents or even other interests such as writing books / working for charities etc. It may seem that employers will not be interested in part time employees as projects can be very time consuming, however there are a great deal of organisations out there who would benefit from experienced project professionals working on a part time basis due to budgetary constraints.balancing home and work

These types of roles are rarely advertised as the hiring managers have not yet thought about taking on additional support in this capacity but it does make sense. Therefore it is important to really think about how you can add value to a project or business and make contact with heads of projects etc. A first port of call would be your existing contacts base – update your CV and drop them a line explaining your desire to work on a part time basis and don’t forget to add in the benefits of a cheaper resource with a great skill-set. Once you have made contact with previous employers, colleagues, and contacts then you are on their radar – hopefully they will keep their ear to the ground and suggest you for additional resource with their contacts too. Then you should look to research organisations who have project management functions to see what is new with them – the best starting point would be to look at their news articles to see if they have anything new in the pipeline which could potentially yield new roles, such as new products / mergers / overhauling legacy systems etc. Before making contact – look to see if any of your contacts have any connection to the organisation, LinkedIn is perfect for this. If you find they do – ask for an introduction to HR or ideally heads of projects. The next part is really important: write a speculative covering letter which includes detail about their changes then talk through your relevant experience and exposure to this, do not be afraid to blow your own trumpet – but simply stating you are brilliant isn’t the way to do it, talk about your actual accomplishments which are relevant to the project and how you add value. Then talk through your desire for a part time position and spell out how this can be a cost effective resource for the project. Some flexibility to your working hours is always a bonus, so if you can be flexible – tell them so!

There is a fair bit of work required on your side with this approach to finding a new role but with competition high for the few part time roles advertised, it is this proactive behaviour which will yield results.

Project Management Job Boards, project management jobs, project management recruitment

The Benefits of Using Project Management Specific Job Boards

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I listed some Project Management specific job boards in an article last month and wanted to talk through the benefits of using such boards when you are looking for a new role. If you have heeded my previous advice about putting the work in before sending applications which includes:

  • Researching the market for roles similar to your skill-set.
  • Understanding salary grades pitched at your level.
  • Working on your CV to ensure it is in peak condition.
  • Creating a spreadsheet of all your applications to track where your CV is being sent to form a pattern for better results.

Then you are ready to start applying for jobs, it is important to make sure you are targeting the right places for jobs and if you are taking the recruitment agency route then the job boards you use can be your friend or can be a lost cause. Here are some benefits to using Project Management specific job boards:

  • By applying through PM specific boards you are likely to send your CV to PM specific recruiters or ones who tend to mainly deal in your profession. Therefore you may not be quite right for that role (for many reasons such as being too late with an application – shortlists are usually filled within a few hours of the recruiter qualifying the role, or your skill-set may not be sufficient as the job adverts are too generic etc) but there may be a new role that recruiter is qualifying which you could be considered for.
  • Employers who use these PM specific job boards will have a smaller pool of applications to choose from – as it is industry specific and considered niche then there will naturally be less people applying through these boards. This is a bonus for the employer as application lists can reach the hundreds on the generic job boards.
  • Often roles posted on these smaller boards do not get published on the larger job boards; which means again that the pool of applications will be smaller.
  • Recruiters are often swayed to open applications from specific job boards over the more generic job boards first – usually there is a better harvest from smaller specific board applications.
  • Reputable job boards are the way to go, some of the larger boards have a great deal of advertised roles which aren’t real, it is a way to get hold of CVs for databases and increase traffic on the website to make money.

By keeping your applications down to a healthy load of say 4-6 per week you have a greater chance of yielding success – those who take a pepper gun spray approach find themselves being ignored by recruiters and employers as they tend to apply for anything with the word “project” in them and the roles vary massively, this does not demonstrate good attention to detail or a good understanding of where your skill-set sits. Make time to tailor your CV for a few roles and write a cover note matching up your core skills and experience to the role being advertised – trust me, it is a much better use of your time.