I've written a lot on this topic and even produced a training course for new project managers.  Today, I'd like to outline an order of operations for thinking about how to pursue your own project manager career path.

1 - Start at the Beginning

It's easy to do a search online and start studying for a certification or think about going back to school for a degree in project management. 

Not so fast.

Before you do anything, take stock of your current starting point.  What advantages and disadvantages do you currently have to deal with when trying to get into a career like this where most job postings require many years of experience?

What are your career goals?  Are they written down?  How will you know when you are heading down the right path, and when you are lost?

2 - Plan Your Career Trajectory

Now that you know where you are starting from and what you want to accomplish from a 10,000-foot view, it's time to figure out how.

Now you can start educating yourself about the various educational options, certifications, and most of all: how to gain experience.

See, project management as a discipline doesn't have a lot of internship programs yet; and just because you have a degree or certificate doesn't mean I want you to run a project team in my company.  There are many ways to get into a project management role, and the considerations are different for each trajectory you might take.

3 - Learn From Others

My youngest brother and I are 10 years apart in age.

His favorite joke is to tell people how much he learned from me; by NOT doing what I did.  Learning from others' mistakes and successes is a powerful way to teach yourself to be successful.

Do whatever you can do learn from others who are doing or have done what you want to be doing.  (Wow, that was a confusing sentance!)

Gantthead's Project Management Central is a good place to start.

4 - Build Professional Relationships

Most people are hired through professional networking.  It's true, whether you like it or not.  I happen to like it, because it means decisions about hiring are made more from actual experiences with real people and less from what you read on someone's resume or CV.

Networking is an art, and it can be learned.  Sure, some people are naturally better at it than others, but it can be taught.

You start building your online network right here at Gantthead.com.  Reach out to people, ask them about themselves, and in general just get involved!

5 - Now Worry About the Details of Execution

How do you know what organizations would be good to grow your career in?  Are you researching organizations, or jobs?

You SHOULD be researching organizations.  Remember, most jobs are never posted for you to see.  But what if you pursued the right organization in a way that made them come to you when a relevant positition came about?  I've even had companies create positions for me, because they knew me and wanted me to be a part of their team.  You can make that happen too.

Then there's the resume writing, cover letters, portfolios, and the actual interview process.  All of these details are important, no matter how you are going about finding positions that are a good fit for you and the organization.

So that's my approach to helping my students with their project manager career paths.  If you are interested to learn more, you can always check out my project management career coaching course.

photo by Randy Levine

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People are not widgets, don't treat them that way!

Experienced project managers know there is a difference between what works on paper in a project schedule and what will work in reality.

Da da daaaaaaaa!

Kanban to the rescue!

Shim asked me about how Kanban helps manage multitasking, and this is my response by way of trying to demonstrate how it works.  Leave a comment and tell me what you think or if you have any other questions I can answer.

Getting started in project management can be tough.  When starting out, there are many questions and challenges to face, and they are different based on your particular background and situation. 

People who struggle with this come from various backgrounds:

Project Newbies - You might be a recent graduate or switching careers.  If you have no experience whatsoever with working on or managing projects, it can seem almost impossible to get your foot in the door. 

Technical Gurus – You have been on project teams and been “in the trenches” getting things done.  Now it seems that managing these projects is your calling, but you have to go through a paradigm shift and learn new skills to make the transition.

People Managers – You have been managing people and are good at it.  Now you want to expand your horizons and switch from the day-to-day management of functional teams to the dynamic environment of delivering unique projects.

You might be trying to break into project management, or you may be an “Accidental Project Manager” who looked up one day and asked, “What have I gotten myself into?”  A project fell in your lap somehow.  How do you get good at managing it?

The questions I get most from these groups center around expanding knowledge, gaining experience, and planning your career path.  Answers change based on individual circumstances.  Your personality attributes and background play heavily into the path forward.

Hard and Soft Skills

Natural aptitudes vary from person to person, but you can acquire a level of competency for nearly all project management skills through education and experience.

Hard Skills refer to competency with the tools and techniques of formal project management.  If you are analytical by nature, hard skills are relatively easy for you to acquire and master.

Soft Skills or “people skills” include competency in communication and relationships with other people.  Outgoing “people persons” have a natural aptitude to be comfortable in this arena, but can also engage in many ineffective approaches when lacking in knowledge and experience.  Do not confuse personal attributes with soft skills.  I cannot influence personal attributes and aptitudes, but I can teach soft skills.

Building Knowledge

Regardless of which group you belong to, you will need to expand your knowledge base.

Technical Gurus will likely pick up the hard skills quickly, but many of the soft skills practices of managing people effectively and politics may be somewhat new.  People Managers will find soft skill nuances in project environments and many of the hard skills will be new territory.  Project Newbies may be familiar with some of the theories in project management, but are going to need a lot of real-world knowledge, experience, and coaching to land that first job and formulate their project manager career path.

Some great sources of real-world project management education include:

• Blogs/Podcasts – Use sites like http://blogsearch.google.com to find them
• Books – Focus on the basics first, follow the cutting edge later
• Join PM Organizations – Local PMI Chapters are a great example
• Training – Focus on gaining useful knowledge, certifications come later!

Finding a Mentor and Gaining Experience

A mentor is a huge boon to you if you can find one.  You can find mentors by networking locally or online, but be sure you approach them in the right way and offer benefit to them in exchange for their wisdom.  Your goal should be to offer valuable assistance to potential mentors, with the hope (but not expectation) they will reciprocate by sharing their lessons learned.

Do not just ask to “shadow” them.  What value are you offering them?  Ask if there are tasks (mundane as they may be) that you could do for them, to free their time up.  If you are a project team member, ask if you can help compile the status report or take meeting minutes during project meetings. 

Donate your time; this is in addition to your current responsibilities.  Whether volunteering for another organization or within your own company, this is a great way to gain experience.  Within your own organization you should let it be known you are interested in project management; not just through words but by your daily actions.

What You Need To Grow

Is the organization you work for now a good environment for your desired career path?

Does your company make money by delivering successful projects, and/or do they respect Project Management as a formal discipline worth investing in?  If so, you will likely see opportunities for entry-level positions in project management that provide specialization such as:

• Project Controller
• Project Coordinator
• Project Assistant
• Project Analyst
• Project Scheduler
• Junior Project Manager
• Assistant Project Manager

Other organizations may have a progression of technical or management roles through which you can pass and eventually start managing your own projects.  Whatever your situation, put yourself into the best environment possible, and plan out your career path ahead of time so you have a roadmap with goals to follow.

Oh, and when you get there, be a mentor for someone else!

photo by n.kuzma

Dux Raymond Sy shares his 3 lessons learned while we were at the PMI North America Global Congress:

• Keep re-affirming customer expectations and priorities
• The difference between influence and interest - who is writing the check?
• Be a project facilitator and leader, not a control freak!

Lastly, Dux shares his thoughts about the conference.  Then of course I had to open my big mouth and add my opinion to Dux' second point about who is really influential on your projects.  From there we have some good back-and-forth conversation on related points and the acknowledgement of project management at high levels of government and corporations. 

(Notice the awesome Gantthead shirt I snagged while I was at the conference!)