Barry WolborskyField Technology Services| CBRE ClarionChesterbrook, Pa, United States
I am a Technical Support Specialist with most of my career in IT Management. Due to the changing IT support job market, I have had to accept a lower-level,.lower-paying positions. Former colleagues of mine have suggested I make a move into Project Management, as a large chunk of my IT Management work was managing projects. I recently enrolled in one of PMI's online courses, which I am in the middle of. I have begun to look at PM job postings,and literally all of them require previous "official" project management experience, which I do not have. While I may have managed projects, I did not utilize any of the PM methodologies,which I am in the process of learning (and are a bit daunting and hard to remember).
My questions are: am I wasting my time? Will a hiring manger or HR rep looking at my resume just toss my resume to the garbage bin, due to my lack of recent management/PM experience? Or will a PM course or two and a carefully worded cover letter help me get an interview? As a former manager, I believe I have many of the skill sets required to be a PM, but again, I am at a disadvantage. Any advice on breaking into the PM world would be much appreciated. Saving Changes...
Barry:
What methodologies did you use? The reality is you do have to understand PMBOK in order to submit your application with detail on how you applied yourself in the nine knowledge areas.
Most IT methodologies in IT are ITIL, IEEE, PMBOK, Agile, Scrum, SDLC etc.
Remember resumes get you in the door; you still have to relate to the interviewer how your skillsets transfer to the jobs KSABs that they are hiring for specific roles.
Don't quit your class or your job yet but personally, I think you should do more introspection into what you want to do and what you are highly skilled at doing.
Let's see what others have to share... Saving Changes...
Barry WolborskyField Technology Services| CBRE ClarionChesterbrook, Pa, United States
Naomi,
Thank you for the reply and the advice. At the time I managed project in my previous roles as an IT Manager, I did not utilize any project management methodologies, as I had not been trained in any at the time. I have only begun my PM training with a PMI online course.
Thanks again,
Barry
...
3 replies by Deon Pugh and Naomi Caietti
Feb 12, 2017 8:02 AM
Deon Pugh
...
Barry as an IT Manager you have experience and skills in initiating, planning, monitoring and controlling , executing and closing project phases.
Did you talk to, discuss and negotiate with stakeholders? Boom Stakeholder Management!
Did you talk to, discuss and negotiate with vendors? Boom Procurement Management!
Did you hold meetings, produce and/or analyze status reports, make phone calls and send emails to stakeholders and project team? Boom Communications management!
Did you create or adjust schedules and timelines? Boom Time management!
Did you collect requirements? Boom Scope Management!
Did you deal with budgets? Boom Cost Management!
Did you help develop any plans? Boom Integration Management!!
You have tons of experience you just need to know how to translate it into PMI terms. Good luck!
Feb 12, 2017 12:40 PM
Naomi Caietti
...
Barry:
What processes, frameworks, techniques did you use?
Feb 12, 2017 12:45 PM
Naomi Caietti
...
You're welcome.
Saving Changes...
Satish SharmaCertified SAP S4Hana 1909 Financials Expert| FreelanceNew Delhi, India
Barry, first sign of a leader is that he takes an initiative, you have done that, so I thank you for choosing the profession of project management.
There are entry challenges offcourse, but nothing is undoable. A note of caution though from side is that A cover note might only help to go across first window, but to prove a PM, you must clearly show the skills of a PM.
To be an effective Project Management professional, you need to gather knowledge disseminated in PMBOK, which is a comprehensive guide on standard project management practices.
If you might have worked on IT projects, don't worry about methodology, you might surely came across working on either predictive or adaptive have cycle, and might have used waterfall or agile methodologies, never mind , just go across PMBOK and it will unfold answers to your queries.
Keep in mind one this, you can you can not follow a short cut, you have to go through all what is there in the basic knowledge sphere of the profession, then you can apply your practical knowledge and carve out your success..
Have a good luck! Saving Changes...
Sergio Luis ConteHelping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based OrganizationsBuenos Aires, Argentina
With all my respect, I do not agree with Naomi. PMBOK is not a methodlogy, Agile is not a methdology. The first thing you have to do is understanding this. PRINCE2 is a method to apply project management for example. Let me say: in your work you always use a method. And remember: project management did not ends in the PMI. You have PRINCE2 set, you have GPM set, etc. If you ask me, the first thing you can do is avoid the idea that you do not have experience in project management. According what I understood from your post you have. What you have to do is taking the PMBOK (for example) and thinking about how much of each knowledge area you do into your initiatives and when I said that think about process and tools you applied for each PMBOK`s KA. Second, depending on the market you are (I saw you are in USA) try to get the PMP certificate. It will help a lot in some markets.
...
1 reply by Naomi Caietti
Feb 12, 2017 12:36 PM
Naomi Caietti
...
Sergio:
Honestly, I meant to say framework, standards and practices and yes methodologies. Prince2 is not as widely used in the US as it is in the UK and i understand it is more lean, described as a standard more than a methodology so it has wider application. IT is the US is focused on a triple layer of process lifecycles: project, product and framework.
Saving Changes...
Drew CraigSr. Agile & Product Coach| VanguardPhiladelphia, Pa, United States
As my colleagues pointed out, you may not have followed a 'formal' methodology when managing your projects, but you could certainly map what you did to a formal method. Like mentioned its about how you tell you're story on your CV to have the opportunity to have a conversation with the hiring manager relating all your skills to the particular job and what you can do to help them.
I would suggest investing in a professional resume writer to create your new resume. You may also look into a functional resume to put more showcase on relatable skills, as opposed to a more traditional timeline layout.
Also, if you have not done so already, join the Delaware Valley Chapter. There is a dinner/network function later this month in KOP.
*Since we are neighbors, feel free to ping me if you want a recommendation of someone to assist. Saving Changes...
Deon PughSolutions Architect| Amazon Web ServicesWoodstock, Md, United States
Feb 10, 2017 9:25 PM
Replying to Barry Wolborsky
...
Naomi,
Thank you for the reply and the advice. At the time I managed project in my previous roles as an IT Manager, I did not utilize any project management methodologies, as I had not been trained in any at the time. I have only begun my PM training with a PMI online course.
Thanks again,
Barry
Barry as an IT Manager you have experience and skills in initiating, planning, monitoring and controlling , executing and closing project phases.
Did you talk to, discuss and negotiate with stakeholders? Boom Stakeholder Management!
Did you talk to, discuss and negotiate with vendors? Boom Procurement Management!
Did you hold meetings, produce and/or analyze status reports, make phone calls and send emails to stakeholders and project team? Boom Communications management!
Did you create or adjust schedules and timelines? Boom Time management!
Did you collect requirements? Boom Scope Management!
Did you deal with budgets? Boom Cost Management!
Did you help develop any plans? Boom Integration Management!!
You have tons of experience you just need to know how to translate it into PMI terms. Good luck!
...
1 reply by Barry Wolborsky
Feb 15, 2017 8:45 PM
Barry Wolborsky
...
Deon,
I have done all of these things, so this is really helpful to remember. I'm going to cut and paste your post into a Word document to help encourage me if I forget I have the experience it takes to be a Project Manager.
With all my respect, I do not agree with Naomi. PMBOK is not a methodlogy, Agile is not a methdology. The first thing you have to do is understanding this. PRINCE2 is a method to apply project management for example. Let me say: in your work you always use a method. And remember: project management did not ends in the PMI. You have PRINCE2 set, you have GPM set, etc. If you ask me, the first thing you can do is avoid the idea that you do not have experience in project management. According what I understood from your post you have. What you have to do is taking the PMBOK (for example) and thinking about how much of each knowledge area you do into your initiatives and when I said that think about process and tools you applied for each PMBOK`s KA. Second, depending on the market you are (I saw you are in USA) try to get the PMP certificate. It will help a lot in some markets.
Sergio:
Honestly, I meant to say framework, standards and practices and yes methodologies. Prince2 is not as widely used in the US as it is in the UK and i understand it is more lean, described as a standard more than a methodology so it has wider application. IT is the US is focused on a triple layer of process lifecycles: project, product and framework. Saving Changes...
Thank you for the reply and the advice. At the time I managed project in my previous roles as an IT Manager, I did not utilize any project management methodologies, as I had not been trained in any at the time. I have only begun my PM training with a PMI online course.
Thanks again,
Barry
Barry:
What processes, frameworks, techniques did you use? Saving Changes...
Thank you for the reply and the advice. At the time I managed project in my previous roles as an IT Manager, I did not utilize any project management methodologies, as I had not been trained in any at the time. I have only begun my PM training with a PMI online course.
Transition from technical support to the role of a Project Manager is a greater challenge than a Project Manager switching over to technical support function.This is especially so with regard to construction projects where hands on experience is vitally important to deal with project intricacies. Saving Changes...
