I am currently a Marketing Project Manager for a construction project management software company. I am certainly very early in my career and am finding myself interested in and wanting to pursue greater, differing responsibilities. No plans to move companies or change career paths entirely.
I love my job and what comes with marketing/advertising management but I currently find myself bogged down with low level duties and activities. I am looking for more significant and interesting activities, areas or responsibilities along the lines of PMing that will benefit my experience and "broaden my horizons", per se.
Any advice would be very much so appreciated.
Thank you! Saving Changes...
To broaden your horizons, I think there are different paths:
1/ volunteering for PMI and at the same time networking and talking to people. Volunteeting will help you also to discover new skills or things you like or not
2/ taking some online courses: there are many at the moment. It is also a way to network
3/ taking some project certifications
4/ taking part in some communities to exchange
I think the main part is to exchange and talk to poeple: by talking you can define your path. It takes time and work.
Is there opportunity to advance to a more senior PM role within your company, perhaps taking on larger or more interesting projects? As you are in marketing right now, is there an opportunity to move into the client implementations area of your company (assuming one exists) where you'd get broader stakeholder engagement and have a more interesting time managing to constraints?
If such growth prospects don't exist within your company, you can certainly look at volunteer PM options with your local PMI chapter or another not-for-profit organization.
Speak with your manager about growth opportunities in your annual performance planning. Then it's not just you looking for opportunities, but your manager should be actively looking too. They often have a better view of emergent staffing needs than non-managers.
If there aren't project leadership openings in the near-term, you can also position yourself better for them in the future. Roles where you develop specialized knowledge in a skill that spans many projects can provide good exposure of your skills to a broad audience, and you get exposed to more breadth of the activities in the overall business. If you perform well, you have demonstrated your skills and increased your knowledge. You are then more capable for larger responsibilities, and more likely to be chosen based on past performance. Saving Changes...
Karen HaefnerSenior Manager, Marketing Communications Program Management| K&L GatesBethel Park, Pa, United States
I'm a big believer in the concept of doing the job you wish you had. It requires a strong commitment because that work/effort/time must be above and beyond your current responsibilities, not in place of them, but it's the fastest way to demonstrate that you are ready for and capable of more. That could mean something as simple as looking for ways to complete those low level/administrative tasks more efficiently or as complex as identifying the need for a new project (and volunteering to initiate research, planning, etc.). Look for ways to go above and beyond--in a positive work environment it usually doesn't take long for someone to take notice. Saving Changes...
Alex KuczeraProject Manager| Stormtec FiltrationCanmore, Alberta, Canada
Riley have you taken any courses or certifications specific to PM?
I found doing a CAPM course very insightful. It introduced me to the theoretical side of project management and I've since begun introducing more PM processes/templates/systems into our organization. Essentially I did not know what I did not know, and the course opened my eyes to all the possibilities there are for making our company more efficient, streamlined, and in turn more profitable. Saving Changes...
