Project Management

Sell Yourself

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Categories: Career Development


As circumstances change, career expectations change. In boom times, you think about self-fulfillment. In lean times, you think about survival.

In either case, your best strategy is to create demand for your skills as a project manager. You have to make potential stakeholders aware of who you are and what you can do to help make their projects a success. It makes no difference if you're in a corporate culture or working independently. The very nature of the project business is such that even before you start a project, you know that it will end. Staying alive as a project manager means being known to the people who can keep you alive.

As a result, you're constantly selling yourself and your ability to help people with their projects. You can't help them if they don't know you, so you have to take steps to make yourself known. It's not enough for people just to know you, however; they also have to like you. Common sense says people buy from people they like. You're selling. They're buying.
 
You have to network in such a way as to not only be known by others, but also to be liked by them. And one of the best ways to win people over is to ask them sincere questions. Not only does it endear you to people, but it also helps you discover their needs and what you can do to help their projects succeed.


Posted by Jim De Piante on: August 24, 2010 02:50 PM | Permalink

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