Seeking Professional Project Management Advice ! ! !
Anonymous
To all the project managers of the world, I have a genuine problem and only you can help.
I am a 29 year old BA Bus/Marketing/Law Grad currently working for a large global telecom, I have been in my present job role for the past three years. Recently I felt the time was right to further progress and enhance my career. I hope to realise my career objective, which is to develop my career as a software development project manager and fulfil my true potential which I feel at present is not being fully utilised at my current work place.
To develop and further my PM career, I decided to involve myself in departmental projects as a way to find out more about the company and at the same time enhance my PM skills. I realised that I immensely enjoyed the role and I found that as a career Project Management was where my future was.
At present my experience includes working on two major IT projects, the second being a IT software Implementation Upgrade project, the first being a technical software development project. I have further enhanced my project management skills by utilising MS project 98 to manage both projects from a project management perspective. I have further enhanced my project management skills by undertaking various project management training.
I have also produced the Technical Project Definition Report underlining and focusing on issues including key objectives, the project scope, benefits and accomplishments. I have also utilised my skills as a IT Systems Technical Author having successfully written and documented several IT Applications Business Systems Training Manuals.
To further my knowledge of Project Management, I have also written a Project Management document - called Project Management - An Enigma of Choices - the primary objective behind this was to further increase my project management awareness and knowledge. After raising the issue of training with management, I have been informed that I will be attending a project management course designed for project mangers. (About Time)
Hopefully by reading my story in a nutshell, you may have realised the inevitable - what is this guy talking about. Well in a nutshell, I asking if I have the right skills and experience to pursue my goal or in a nutshell am I wasting my time and should I selling £1.99 CD's at the local stall market - Hey I make a pretty good sales man - back to the point - I have tried recruitment agencies and in the last three years attended many interviews - if there is light at the end or the tunnel, someone please give me directions, I seem to have taken a wrong turn. The experience I have accumulated and the project work that I am currently doing is that of a Junior Project Manager.
However if after reading my problem, there are those who would be so kind as to whisper some friendly advice - or better still, ask for my CV, do you have a job openings (Let there be a God) I live in London UK, and am willing to relocate either within the UK or abroad, you would be saving me from the biggest disappointment of my career - selling £1.99 CD's at the local stall market, worse still - I could end up washing dishes.
A copy of my CV can be obtained upon request by emailing me @ [email protected]
Rupinder Kohli
Mobile 07939-130-791 UK 0208-570-6620 Leave a message - your name and tel no. I will call back.Email me at the above address.
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Mike Cooper PMPPrincipal Project Manager (retired, sort of)| New England Project ServicesWestford, Ma, United States
My short answer as to whether you should pursue a career in project management, or sales, is only you can decide. Both are worthy careers, both can provide satisfaction at numerous levels, including financial. If you are unsure about what you want to do, I can suggest you read "The Power of Purpose" by Richard Leider. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Firstly I would like to thank Mike Cooper for responding to my predicament.
Secondly I think Mike was confused as whether I was interested in both Project Management and Sales. I appreciate that both career avenues can provide satisfaction, however for those who may have read my message with a little more interest would have realised that Sales is not a career that I wish to follow.
I have +3 years of experience in project management, currently working in a capacity that of a Junior Project Manager, and I wish to develop and further enhance my PM career.
I am finding great difficulty finding a project management position, I am seeking some guidance, some advice, point me in the right direction.
I have been a Junior Project Manager and now a Project Manager for the past 3 years, managing increasingly large projects. Can I suggest that you consider holding your position in your company for the time being, as markets are exceptionally thin on PM positions at the moment. You probably understand this by now anyway. Continue to attend courses on PM and to get more and more involved in every project you can. When the market picks up, you will be in a prime position. Saving Changes...
Anonymous
Firstly thanks to Nick Thatcher for responding.
How are things going for you, when do you think the market will pick up, considering the economic climate of the world both recently (Sept 11) and the coming future, (possible war against Iraq).
You need to be realistic. If PM is really the way you want to go, you have two options: 1. stick out sales until the market picks up. 2. move to PM in a junior role with a salary cut.
There are jobs out there, but given the scale of recent redundancies, there are likely to be a lot of PMs with experience out of work and ready to also take a pay cut to find work.
As to when the market will pick up - well, if I knew that I'd be on £1m bonuses as a fund manager !! Seriously though, the general feeling as it has not stabilised yet, so anywhere between 6 months and 2 years is the current market sentiment. The best indicator, I feel, is when you read about more hiring than firing in the IT sector. Saving Changes...
