Well, well, well. This article almost had a very different slant. You see, I was laid off a few days ago, after ten years at "a major telecommunications company." (They treated me well for a decade, and I wish them well) And I almost decided not to pursue PMP certification.
However, though I am not going to pursue another corporate position (at least for seven weeks...more details in a minute), I have decided to employ project management tools and techniques in my new work...and to continue on the path to certification.
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This was not an easy decision, but it will serve me well. Working independently, the certification will assure potential clients of my level of expertise, and if working independently isn't all it's cracked up to be, my PMP certification should greatly reduce the time before I land another position.
I will be adding project management skills to my website, and for the 10 or so of you who saw the site already, it is much improved now (thanks for the advice, Ed!). I am going freelance, not in the PM arena, but in the writing and marketing arena. That means my PM focus takes on a whole new slant.
Marketing/writing is what makes my blood run faster and stops the clock while I'm working, so that is where I'm going. (If any of you are also closet writers, don't sneeze at business writing. I highly recommend a book called The Well-fed Writer by a gentleman in
For those of you who remember that I hate numbers and math, the Cost Management part of a project will now absolutely enthrall me, because it will be my money (or lack thereof). What a motivator! I will be using PM techniques to establish my business and client base, from the basics of determining what part of my work is a project (like establishing a marketing campaign) and what is just regular, ongoing work (like prospecting for clients).
One challenge as far as the PMP exam goes is the fact that many folks I worked for were also laid off. My Web-development manager is still there, but the training manager under whom I completed four years of project work is gone, so I might need some extra time confirming details on my application to take the exam.
More about the seven weeks I mentioned...my severance package is 14 weeks. Depending on how my client base looks at the half-way mark, I might start interviewing for real jobs in about two months. Wish me luck! (You Dilbert fans will appreciate the strong motivation that is supplied by picturing myself sitting in another corporate cube. I must work, work, work!!!)
At a Crossroads Yourself?
If you find yourself in a similar situation--at a crossroads and deciding what to do and where to go, to be or not to be a PMP--I highly recommend this book Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton.
The book doesn't discuss project management at all, but is a delightful and informative read about a paradigm shift in which we stop training ourselves and others to compensate for our weaknesses, and begin to focus on and build our strengths for exponentially greater results.
The book contains a code that allows you to take a very credible survey to discover your talents. It does not recommend a specific job, but goes a long way to confirming some things you might suspect about yourself, and affirms the importance of using our talents. The book and the survey were two of my best investments in time in the past few years.
Between layoffs and rumors of layoffs, I have gotten behind my self-imposed study schedule. This week, I should have studied the PMBOK Chapter 12, "Project Procurement Management," then be moving on to "Professional Responsibility" next week. I have some catching up to do. Bear with me as I refocus, and switch my PM techniques from Web development to marketing.
By the way, if any of you are also studying for your PMP Certification exam, or are about to take the exam (or just passed or failed, for that matter), please drop me a line to let me know how it's going, and maybe I can share your adventure with other ganttheads.
Donna Boyette used to work at a major telecommunications company...and she has no regrets. They treated her well. You can now find her here...and boy is she excited!
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If I had only known, I would have been a locksmith. - Albert Einstein |
