New to PM, seeking a Mentor

I'm actually finishing up my MBA with a specialization in project management, and I'll be sitting for my PMP exam next week (using my various PM-adjacent experience to meet the requirements). So basically I've got a lot of theory and I need to marry it with practical applications of the subjects.

The long and the short of it is that I'm terrified of landing a great PM role and then burning that bridge right away because I'm stumbling through my first real formal project. I have a contact at Amazon, and I'm hoping to land a PM role there, but I know that that's the big leagues and I need to bring my A game. I feel like I have to reach for it, but then I worry I'm not good enough yet.

This is interesting Alexander and you might be right about worrying to burn the bridge as you don't have much experience yet. Experience is key.

On another note, while you mentioned you are new to project management and have no experience in this field, I noticed you also mentioned that you are sitting for the PMP exam next week. Isn't one of the requirements for sitting for the PMP exam is to have at least 36 months of experience leading projects ?

RMK

Here's the problem I keep running into. It's exactly like you said, "Experience is key." Well, I can't get any experience because I don't have any experience. My previous organization actively punished anyone who tried to improve themselves (I had to keep it a secret that I was taking classes at all, or they would have fired me). So basically where I'm at is I need to know someone or else just lie on my resume to get a chance to work.

As far as the PMP exam, the experience requirement is actually pretty loose. The verbiage is something like 36 months of project leadership experience, but that doesn't necessarily mean "36 months with the title of project manager". I was involved with leadership in projects, and it seems to have satisfied the PMP requirements, but I still don't consider myself ready to dive head first into PM because I only ever got to lead small portions of projects, or else I was delegated some authority to execute part of a plan but I was never allowed to make any actual decisions.

It's been maddening, every time I've tried to thrive and develop myself and my career, some old fossil who's been with the company since the stone age comes along and cuts my legs out from under me because he thinks I'm trying to take his job.

Thanks for the recommendation. Unfortunately, my local PMI chapter is a ghost town. No one is there, and the officer in charge of the mentoring program is MIA and non-responsive to contact. I guess I can keep paying the fees to join more and more chapters but I don't know how effective it's going to be. I hope this is not the norm, maybe other chapters have actual activity. Maybe it's just that I'm in Florida and there's no real industry growing down here.

I am sorry to hear that Alexander.

For the PM_, correct, you don’t need to have a title of PM in order for your experience to be counted. What matters most is that you’re doing actual PM activities.

Based on what you said and I mean no judgement, but your company’s environment seems really toxic so not sure why you’re not looking to change employers. Demotivating employees. not allowing them to improve, and having them taking courses in secret is very alarming. As a career coach and mentor, I believe that this anti-growth environment will affect you negatively much more than you think it will.

You can ask any question that comes to your mind either on the discussion thread or in private messages and I am sure many will be providing input including myself.