In your opinion, When is a Project Manager ready to be called a Senior Project Manager? Is being a Senior Project Manager or a Project Director solely based on experience? Are there other skills that a Senior Project Manager/Project Director should possess? Saving Changes...
Thank you Sergio. I am gaining more and more seniority every minute.
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1 reply by Sergio Luis Conte
Oct 28, 2019 3:43 PM
Sergio Luis Conte
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Jejeje. I understood. Just to live the joke I will write what I think about the topic which is a very serious and interesting topic. The point here is: what does mean seniority?. For example, for a chance of the destiny, I was designed CIO of one of the most important places in Argentina at the edge of 25 were I have to manage more than 650 people splitted in three different computer centers (desing - money design-, administrative, production and manufacturing) were some of the people were my workmates time before. So, what does mean seniority? The ability to solve problems? The ability to resolve tecnical issues? etc, etc. That is the point. Seniority is defined as the convenience of the company but not because taking the basement into account. That´s my personal experience no matter that I was "senior" something from the edge of 25 up to date.
My definition is based on years as line manager at EDS. You may recall EDS was a technology service company with over 300,000 technologists before its decimation following its purchase by HP. (Remember the cat herding commercial? That was EDS'.)
It's always a safe answer to say "it depends". I try to offer advice beyond the obvious.
I do remember seeing that commercial. Very clever.
Thanks for your insights Stephane. Saving Changes...
Thomas WalentaGlobal Project Economy ExpertHackenheim, Germany
Have seen senior project managers at the age of 30, so the title says little.
A natural development path for PMs is to exploit their leadership capabilities, influencing others. So they may become PMO leads (including portfolio mgrs), Program Managers, or PM red-necks saving the troubled projects in an organization.
With project success in mind, you often make enemies, which may be detrimental to an ordinary career.
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1 reply by Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
Oct 28, 2019 2:03 PM
Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts Thomas.
I have had my fair share of pissing people off, while focusing on the project objectives but I have also been able to restore most of those relationships after the project ended and they were able to see the value.
Have seen senior project managers at the age of 30, so the title says little.
A natural development path for PMs is to exploit their leadership capabilities, influencing others. So they may become PMO leads (including portfolio mgrs), Program Managers, or PM red-necks saving the troubled projects in an organization.
With project success in mind, you often make enemies, which may be detrimental to an ordinary career.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Thomas.
I have had my fair share of pissing people off, while focusing on the project objectives but I have also been able to restore most of those relationships after the project ended and they were able to see the value. Saving Changes...
Since they vary by company, I find the titles somewhat arbitrary.
When I started as an engineer many years ago, in Year 1 my title was Engineer. After a year it became Senior Engineer. Then it became Specialist Engineer followed by Senior Specialist... Later they just changed to a numerical ranking.
Although I sort of miss the impressive sounding titles, I quickly realized that the title does not make the capability. It just looks good on business cards.
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1 reply by Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
Nov 13, 2019 7:29 PM
Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
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You are absolutely Correct, the title does not necessarily mean that the person is more capable of doing the job, however you know as well as I do that having the title will make a difference on the resume.
Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
Oct 28, 2019 12:34 PM
Replying to Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
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Thank you Sergio. I am gaining more and more seniority every minute.
Jejeje. I understood. Just to live the joke I will write what I think about the topic which is a very serious and interesting topic. The point here is: what does mean seniority?. For example, for a chance of the destiny, I was designed CIO of one of the most important places in Argentina at the edge of 25 were I have to manage more than 650 people splitted in three different computer centers (desing - money design-, administrative, production and manufacturing) were some of the people were my workmates time before. So, what does mean seniority? The ability to solve problems? The ability to resolve tecnical issues? etc, etc. That is the point. Seniority is defined as the convenience of the company but not because taking the basement into account. That´s my personal experience no matter that I was "senior" something from the edge of 25 up to date.
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1 reply by Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
Nov 13, 2019 7:27 PM
Arash Max Ghorbandaei, PMP,RMP,ACP,LSSBB
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Very Impressive Sergio. What I meant was, Some people described Seniority as having experience with a variety of different projects. Some consider the number of years as a Project Manager as seniority. Some years ago I was up for a promotion and I asked my manager at the number, what it would take for me to move and text the next step in my career and he told me he considers seniority as being able to manage 3 4 projects concurrently which I do not necessarily agree with.
Jejeje. I understood. Just to live the joke I will write what I think about the topic which is a very serious and interesting topic. The point here is: what does mean seniority?. For example, for a chance of the destiny, I was designed CIO of one of the most important places in Argentina at the edge of 25 were I have to manage more than 650 people splitted in three different computer centers (desing - money design-, administrative, production and manufacturing) were some of the people were my workmates time before. So, what does mean seniority? The ability to solve problems? The ability to resolve tecnical issues? etc, etc. That is the point. Seniority is defined as the convenience of the company but not because taking the basement into account. That´s my personal experience no matter that I was "senior" something from the edge of 25 up to date.
Very Impressive Sergio. What I meant was, Some people described Seniority as having experience with a variety of different projects. Some consider the number of years as a Project Manager as seniority. Some years ago I was up for a promotion and I asked my manager at the number, what it would take for me to move and text the next step in my career and he told me he considers seniority as being able to manage 3 4 projects concurrently which I do not necessarily agree with. Saving Changes...
Since they vary by company, I find the titles somewhat arbitrary.
When I started as an engineer many years ago, in Year 1 my title was Engineer. After a year it became Senior Engineer. Then it became Specialist Engineer followed by Senior Specialist... Later they just changed to a numerical ranking.
Although I sort of miss the impressive sounding titles, I quickly realized that the title does not make the capability. It just looks good on business cards.
You are absolutely Correct, the title does not necessarily mean that the person is more capable of doing the job, however you know as well as I do that having the title will make a difference on the resume. Saving Changes...
Product Operations Program ManagerBarcelona, Cataluña, Spain
Just as an addition to this thread, I have observed that millennials crave for “big” job titles. More frequently in areas such as marketing or recruiting, I noticed that after one year or two in the job – typically entry level – they become Senior.
Luckily I have not seen this occurring in the Project Management field, where Senior is mainly used as synonym of “seasoned”. Saving Changes...
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