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Do You Know Your Stats?
Bob Weinstein is a journalist who covers technology, project management, the workplace and career development.
There isn't an IT headhunter who isn't looking for project managers--experienced and entry-level. If you think you have what it takes to be a PM, this is the time to start laying the foundation for a career.
The key to landing a job is knowing your "stats," according to Doug Berg, CEO of HotGigs, a Minneapolis-based website serving contract IT workers throughout the United States. For experienced project managers, your stats, or statistics, are accomplishments that demonstrate your competence. For entry-level candidates, they're accomplishments in part-time jobs or internships.
Berg is amazed when he interviews experienced PMs who are unable to reel off impressive numbers from projects they've managed--for example, stats that demonstrate savings (completing projects under budget) and efficiencies (making do with limited resources).
Entry-level PMs may start out assisting experienced PMs and then build skills and confidence. The only way they're going to work their way out of the "minors" is to constantly look for opportunities to grow and learn, says Berg. That means leaving a job with a bunch of impressive accomplishments, proving they're ready to move up to the next level.
Berg speaks from experience. He began his career as IT director of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, managing a midsize data center with a 20-member…
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Egotism is the anesthetic that dulls the pain of stupidity. - Frank Leahy |