Hello, I am looking for granular feedback on the details of my career pivot attempt.
Executive Summary: I am CAPM certified (spring 2022) with operations management experience in the education sector seeking to pivot into a full time entry level project related position (F2F or remote). I am an American citizen living in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. My 7 month job search (local and remote) has been fruitless and relocation is not possible. There is no Cambodian PMI chapter.
Given the details provided below, what course of action would you suggest?
Work background: I have over 15 years experience in the education sector. My previous role was in operations management with informal project management work. During Covid-19, organizational survival required that the role expand and we engaged in change management, information management, risk management, as well as running larger more crucial projects. I have extensive experience with monitoring and reporting, staff training, facilitating communication between stakeholders, general problem solving, managing diverse international teams, etc.
Why a career pivot?: Managing during the pandemic taught me that I love analyzing complex systems and finding/resolving problems, inefficiency, low quality, and inadequate integration management. I find risk management, information management and change management fascinating. Thus, I realized that I needed to pivot into the field of project management. Once it was clear that my organization had moved from a position of survival to one of thriving in a post Covid-19 environment, I made the decision to step down from my management position so that I could focus on getting my CAPM. (Working 60 hours a week and caring for a toddler did not leave much room for study.)
I decided to leave the education sector for a few reasons. First, generally there are no PMs in the sector: only operations managers that have to run projects on the side of their regular duties. Almost all organizations in the sector are functional organizations, which entails that managers running projects have to engage in a lot of diplomacy with functional managers. A functional manager’s KPIs have nothing to do with projects. Ergo, every project is a threat to a functional manager’s career success. I have seen a lot of good projects die or never get off of the ground because of this issue. I want to work on a project team, nested within an organization where projects are essential to its success.
Job search targets: Originally, my plan was to pivot into the international NGO sector in Phnom Penh, which is vast. I then expanded to the local construction & real estate sector. Finally, I began looking for remote work with organizations (private sector & nonprofit) outside of Cambodia.
Job search efforts: -NGOs: Originally, I had set aside a 6 month financial contingency fund. I would try to either land an assistant PM position, internship, or volunteer which could then be leveraged into a paid position. Via networking, I was able to have coffee chats with a few country directors and PMs. A number of points were consistently expressed.
1. Volunteering and internships are intended for college students and recent graduates only. 2. My management experience and CAPM make me overqualified for an assistant PM position. (Interestingly, most of the people I spoke with had never heard of PMI, the CAPM or PMP. Not a single person had formal training or a certification, nor did they have certified staff.) 3. I was told that the non-profit sector is in the process of “decolonization”: new positions are to be given to locals. Cambodian PMs are only paid between $600 -$1,500 monthly and many smaller NGOs do not have the budget to hire foreign PMs. 4. That being said, because Cambodian PMs generally are not certified or formally trained, it was suggested that I could do consulting work for larger NGOs in the nexus of capacity building and project management. While they suggested the consulting route, none were able and/or interested in offering a consulting contract. Budgets have tightened since Covid-19. At this point, my contacts and leads have dried up.
-Construction and real estate: I was able to have a single sit-down with an operations manager in a Singaporean firm. (The Cambodian construction sector is experiencing heavy investment from Chinese and Singaporean firms.) The meeting was pleasant; however, it was made clear that only Cambodian PMs (due to salary) would be hired. Moreover, fluency/literacy in Chinese (which I lack) would be essential for working with Chinese firms or those collaborating with Chinese firms.
-Remote work: I have added my CV/resume to many recruiting and job search sites in order to find remote work. I have not had one direct offer. My job searches using these sites, as well as PMI's, have produced no actionable leads. Almost all of the listed jobs are for senior positions, as opposed to entry level. Additionally, the majority of the jobs require a background in architecture, engineering or coding. In 7 months, I have found less than a dozen “remote” entry level PM jobs that didn’t require technical backgrounds. However, these “remote” jobs required F2F meetings with stakeholders on a daily or weekly basis. It seems “remote” merely means “you don’t have a desk in our main office.”
Conclusion: I find it disheartening that after 7 months I have zero results: not a single job to apply to and not a single job offer. I currently have a part time job that pays the critical bills (no option of career advancement and no project related work). Even if I wanted to return to my former position, I cannot since it was filled upon my exit. My contingency fund has been exhausted and I will need to begin tapping retirement investments soon. If I were a bachelor I would not be concerned; however, my 2nd child will be born in March, so I am eager to make some headway.
Follow up questions: 1. Should I alter my job search methods? 2. Should I alter or expand my career objectives? 3. Is a career pivot unrealistic? 4. Have I overlooked something? 5. What specific actions should I take that I am not already taking?
I look forward to any feedback. Thank you for your time and attention. Cheers
As relocation is not an option, I can't provide specific regional feedback as I don't know the Cambodian market.
However, if working in the education industry there is not an option, have you looked into large companies which have learning & development departments as those might be better suited to have PM roles, either leading a standalone L&D project or a large L&D workstream within a program?
Change management is also something to focus on as large organizations are more open to hiring change managers given the size, scale & budget of their initiatives.
Have you explored the virtual PM job space to see if there are remote opportunities in the education field globally where you could add value?
Kiron
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1 reply by James Giannotti
Dec 02, 2022 2:52 AM
James Giannotti
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Kiron,
Thanks for the response.
I had not considered L&D in the private sector. When I first moved to Cambodia over a decade ago, NGOs and education dominated the expat workspace. Over the past few years multinationals have been moving into Cambodia. I think I will explore this. Could you suggest some resources?
As for change management, I assumed that without a certification or formal training I would not be eligible for a position.
You asked if I explored the virtual PM job space. I had assumed that remote PM was the same as virtual PM. If they are different, then that is certainly an area that I need to explore.
Kiron made valid points. However, please be advised that
1- You should have secured a job and then ...
2- Changing a career path after 15 years is challenging
...
2 replies by Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani and James Giannotti
Dec 02, 2022 3:06 AM
James Giannotti
...
I have made some blunders. I will unpack the faulty chain of reasoning. Perhaps a reader could learn from my errors.
Having been in Cambodia for over a decade, I knew the non-profit sector was one of the largest employers for expats and that project manager was a common expat NGO role.
My first error was that I did not check to see if conditions had changed or were changing. I could/should have used my network to get data on the current NGO landscape.
I had actually considered doing this, but chose not to for a very specific reason. This leads to the second error. I didn't want to burn through my network without actually having obtained a certification. Someone once told me "Don't tell me what you are going to do, tell me what you have done." With that in mind, I thought I would be wasting the time of each contact by asking for a coffee meeting about my plans. I had assumed that I would get more out of the meeting if I could first demonstrate my seriousness by having acquired the CAPM.
Cheers
Dec 02, 2022 8:26 AM
Abolfazl Yousefi Darestani
...
Noted.
Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Given your family responsibilities, you will have to do what must be done, rather than what you want to do. It seems to me as though you're self-filtering yourself: take on any position on a project or non-project. You've got to get your foot in the door first.
As relocation is not an option, I can't provide specific regional feedback as I don't know the Cambodian market.
However, if working in the education industry there is not an option, have you looked into large companies which have learning & development departments as those might be better suited to have PM roles, either leading a standalone L&D project or a large L&D workstream within a program?
Change management is also something to focus on as large organizations are more open to hiring change managers given the size, scale & budget of their initiatives.
Have you explored the virtual PM job space to see if there are remote opportunities in the education field globally where you could add value?
Kiron
Kiron,
Thanks for the response.
I had not considered L&D in the private sector. When I first moved to Cambodia over a decade ago, NGOs and education dominated the expat workspace. Over the past few years multinationals have been moving into Cambodia. I think I will explore this. Could you suggest some resources?
As for change management, I assumed that without a certification or formal training I would not be eligible for a position.
You asked if I explored the virtual PM job space. I had assumed that remote PM was the same as virtual PM. If they are different, then that is certainly an area that I need to explore.
Cheers
...
1 reply by Kiron Bondale
Dec 02, 2022 7:41 AM
Kiron Bondale
...
James -
Unfortunately I have no knowledge of that country's businesses or economy, but I'd assume there are large financial or healthcare companies and usually both would have decent sized L&D budgets and would be having multiple large projects each year with change management and learning workstreams.
On the CM front, a certification can help, but experience is still what employers are looking for unlike the PM realm where in specific industries and locations the PMP becomes more of a requirement.
I was using the virtual term to refer to remote PM work - if you have already exhausted that avenue, move on.
Kiron made valid points. However, please be advised that
1- You should have secured a job and then ...
2- Changing a career path after 15 years is challenging
I have made some blunders. I will unpack the faulty chain of reasoning. Perhaps a reader could learn from my errors.
Having been in Cambodia for over a decade, I knew the non-profit sector was one of the largest employers for expats and that project manager was a common expat NGO role.
My first error was that I did not check to see if conditions had changed or were changing. I could/should have used my network to get data on the current NGO landscape.
I had actually considered doing this, but chose not to for a very specific reason. This leads to the second error. I didn't want to burn through my network without actually having obtained a certification. Someone once told me "Don't tell me what you are going to do, tell me what you have done." With that in mind, I thought I would be wasting the time of each contact by asking for a coffee meeting about my plans. I had assumed that I would get more out of the meeting if I could first demonstrate my seriousness by having acquired the CAPM.
Given your family responsibilities, you will have to do what must be done, rather than what you want to do. It seems to me as though you're self-filtering yourself: take on any position on a project or non-project. You've got to get your foot in the door first.
"You've got to get your foot in the door first."
Suggestions?
...
1 reply by Stéphane Parent
Dec 02, 2022 5:51 AM
Stéphane Parent
...
You apply on everything and anything. Two years ago, I decided I wanted to get back into public service. I managed to land a call centre job. Five months later, I got a correspondence writer/reviser position. Next week, I start as a team lead. I have higher level brands in the fire that could move me ahead.
Saving Changes...
Stéphane ParentSelf Employed / Semi-retired| Leader MakerPrince Edward Island, Canada
Dec 02, 2022 3:08 AM
Replying to James Giannotti
...
"You've got to get your foot in the door first."
Suggestions?
You apply on everything and anything. Two years ago, I decided I wanted to get back into public service. I managed to land a call centre job. Five months later, I got a correspondence writer/reviser position. Next week, I start as a team lead. I have higher level brands in the fire that could move me ahead. Saving Changes...
I had not considered L&D in the private sector. When I first moved to Cambodia over a decade ago, NGOs and education dominated the expat workspace. Over the past few years multinationals have been moving into Cambodia. I think I will explore this. Could you suggest some resources?
As for change management, I assumed that without a certification or formal training I would not be eligible for a position.
You asked if I explored the virtual PM job space. I had assumed that remote PM was the same as virtual PM. If they are different, then that is certainly an area that I need to explore.
Cheers
James -
Unfortunately I have no knowledge of that country's businesses or economy, but I'd assume there are large financial or healthcare companies and usually both would have decent sized L&D budgets and would be having multiple large projects each year with change management and learning workstreams.
On the CM front, a certification can help, but experience is still what employers are looking for unlike the PM realm where in specific industries and locations the PMP becomes more of a requirement.
I was using the virtual term to refer to remote PM work - if you have already exhausted that avenue, move on.
Kiron made valid points. However, please be advised that
1- You should have secured a job and then ...
2- Changing a career path after 15 years is challenging
