New to Project Management

My recommendation is practice. Then, if you do not find a project in your work place go to the most near PMI chapter and go to work in projects started in the chapter.

Marcus, I would recommend focusing on the job description rather than the title. I have seen many PM job listings that are really looking for more of an administrative role than what PMI would consider a PM. Titles like PM, Project Administrator, and Project Coordinator are all good search terms. Most of my job titles have been things other than Project Manager, particularly when they require a high degree of experience in some technical domain. I have also seen many PMs within various departments that do not require years of direct PM experience. Some PMOs have fairly regular and repeatable processes and standards and enough oversight and support where you have enough guardrails to prevent getting too badly off course. When I review resumes and interview candidates with less PM experience, the questions I often try to answer is whether they have other experience that would be useful to our team, and whether they show the capability to learn new things.

Mr. Conte,
I really appreciate you taking time out of your day to reply. I did not think to use my local PMI chapter as a resource so this is very helpful. Have a great day!

An important consideration in your search will be relevant industry experience. You don't have to have held the title, but if you can't translate your experience into something that aligns with the job description, you are less likely to get an interview. Networking and employee referrals become even more important without relevant industry experience, but aren't a guarantee.

The most common way to break into project management, from my experience, is to get a job at a company that employs project managers, doing something that you're qualified for, and work your way into the position. In your case, that might look like a business analyst at an insurance company or a product owner in claims/underwriting. You might also be able to find roles like Insurance Operations PM, Regulatory/Compliance PM, or Claims Transformation, depending on your experience. Staying in your industry can give you an advantage where the deep insurance knowledge is more important than project management knowledge.

Another important consideration is that your resume is not about you. It's about demonstrating that you understand the problems and opportunities the company faces and can help resolve them. Yes, this is a lot to ask of one to two pieces of paper, but it's likely the first impression they're going to have of you, and hopefully not the last. Best of luck!