Advice needed - how to break into Project Management mainstream..

[chris79]

Need a bit of advice really from anyone on here who is a mainstream PM currently contracting.

My background:- I've just got my PRINCE2 practitioner, 30yr old, 12yrs IT (going from technical for the first 6, then information\performance analyst, then service analyst (ITIL) for the most recent 6yrs). I've ran a small PRINCE2 project, but only as one of the modules on a masters degree (we had to deliver a website\database\market research to a local client) which went fine, I had the role of the project leader in this.

Problem I've got right now is I see lots of PM jobs going all over the country, I'm prepared to travel to do a short-term 3-6 month one.. all the roles going between £250-500.. but without having any real 'solid' PM experience I'm not likely to get much of a chance I think. The question is how can I break into this area, what would be my first gig to aim for? All I need is 6-18 months on my CV of 'running' a PRINCE2 project but right now (esp. with the job market the way it is), I'm finding it very difficult to land a gig doing this.

Does anyone want assistance running a project perhaps? Rate is not a factor for me, it's getting my first gig/experience to move forward on this.

My initial thought here is that perhaps I might need to go to a permie role to get this, as really clients want to buy in an experienced PM, not a trainee?

Any useful suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

[TykeMerc]

1. Don't get hung up on the Prince2 thing, believe me when I say that many clients will claim that they follow Prince2 I've never found one that does. It's a methodology not a method and adverts for PM's list it as a requirement even though the Agent and the Client typically haven't the first clue what Prince2 actually is
2. The market is not desperate to hire PM's at the moment, I've got quite a few years of PM experience, Prince2 Practitioner and other qualifications and while I've had several good prospects recently I've been benched for the last 3 months while actively looking
3. Project Management is more about common sense, being able to juggle things, prioritise and above all manage stakeholders than it is about producing a Gantt chart and following a process
4. The market for anyone project related is a bit screwed up at the moment, lots of projects are being cancelled at the last minute so while there are plenty of requirements being advertised there are lots that come to nothing in the long run
5. It's very rare to see junior PM roles advertised as if a client wants a PM they want to have the confidence that the person they hire won't be out of their depth and blow their budget. That being said some of the rates on offer are laughable and they will only attract the inexperienced or desperate
6. If you try to sell yourself as inexperienced you're giving the wrong message to ever secure a position as a PM, lack of confidence is a killer

[badger7579]

Its sounds like from your post that you are looking for a contract to give you PM experience that you currently don't have. Not being harsh but no employer is going to accept PM experience on a module for a masters degree.

The way I see it you have 4 options.

1) Embelish the small experience you have on your CV
2) Keep plugging away trying to get a contract. The fact that you're not tied down to a location is a benefit.
3) Go for a permie position that will give you the experience (May be 1-2 years though)
4) Stick with what you've previously done.

In the current climate with no relevant experince and the market flooded with candidates it will be tough.

Good luck though.

[pmeswani]

Any useful suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

Best thing to do is to stay in what you have experience in and when a new project comes up in your current / next contract, offer to shadow an experienced PM wherever you can. As the other posters have said, things are a bit dry at the moment, and it would be next to impossible to offer a first time PM a contract role.

[PM-Junkie]

Need a bit of advice really from anyone on here who is a mainstream PM currently contracting.....

Any useful suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!

For what it's worth, I've interviewed quite a few PMs over recent years (as well as doing it myself for more years than I care to admit to), and there are many PM's who have qualifications coming out of their ears, but very few who can actually do it. This is one of the reasons PMs have a bad rep with various people.

So don't pay too much heed to the "there's too much competition at the moment" worries...yes there's lots out there, but if you are a good PM you'll survive, and the demand for good PM's is going to go up once we get through the next 12-18 months. If that's what you want to do, go for it.

Why are there lots of PM's out there who are, in my view, next to useless? Two reasons - a lack of business skills/understanding, so an inability to empathise with the customer (ie get inside their head)....and an inability to "enable the team".

How you deal with the first issue is really down to you, and depends on your experience (if indeed it needs dealing with in your case of course...no offence intended here). With me it required a complete change of mindset, and then I did an MBA purely so I could understand what the heck people were talking about - and more importantly why they were talking about it! (ie reading between the lines and all that other good stuff, so when you nail the requirements of what they actually want you can be sure the resulting spec should hit the target).

The second issue is all about understanding what a PM actually does, and why. Any fool can surround a project with Prince2 or PMBOK or SDLC or Agile processes, or whatever the latest buzzword is. The trick is to really understand what has to be delivered (and how important that word is!)and how best to enable the team to deliver it on time on budget and to the required spec whilst at the same time keeping the customer informed on progress and issues (in a way that they want, not in a way that you want)...and basically keeping all the carp that is inevitably involved in running a project away from the folks who are executing it.

There's a lot to it, which is why there are not many who can do it properly. A techie who has had a good PM will know what a difference it can make, as can a customer. If it looks easy, you have a good PM. If everything is going pear shaped, or people are getting hacked off on either side of the fence...you have a bad PM.

So my advice would be to:

brush up and continue

• brushing up on your business skills
• learn as much as you can about people management
• learn as much as you can about negotiation & influencing
• learn about the various PM methodologies (ie don't just focus on Prince2 for example);
• read books on how other people have managed projects (let me know if you want any recommendations),
• and if you have a good PM - make like a sponge!

Even if you haven't managed a project you can incorporate things like "workstream lead" in your CV. Once you get to an interview, if you are confident and know your stuff, you'll be in with a chance - though in the current market (ie for the next 12 months or so) your best bet as others have said may be to go permie.

I hope it helps - good luck!

[chris79]

Thanks for the replies everyone, been very useful reading.

I'm under no illusion that breaking into the PM market (esp. contracting) is probably very difficult on my current CV. I think I have the ability to be a PM, but it's working out where I go from here (I've been benched the past 6 weeks).

Maybe I should put an advert out offering £50 a day to tag along with someone in return for a CV entry.

[techno]

..........[*]read books on how other people have managed projects (let me know if you want any recommendations), [/LIST]
...........

Good post PM-Junkie

I would certainly appreciate it if you could list some recommended reading for managing projects and maybe people management as well.

Thanks

[chris79]

Good post PM-Junkie

I would certainly appreciate it if you could list some recommended reading for managing projects and maybe people management as well.

Thanks

Yeah that would be useful and appreciated!

[PM-Junkie]

Yeah that would be useful and appreciated!

These are some of my faves...

Alpha Project Managers by Andrew Crowe - a cracking book based on interviews with top PMs, and discusses tricks they have used and the circumstances that they have used them. My personal fave.

Extreme Project Management by Doug DeCarlo - another great read that takes you a step on from Prince2 etc and into the real world

The Business Savvy Project Manager by Gary Heerkens - not the easiest read, but very useful material. Gets you thinking about how IT projects are viewed by non-IT people, and is very revealing

Change Activist by Carmel McConnell - not strictly a PM book, and it's a bit out of the box, but a fascinating read.

[eyetie]

Thanks PM-Junkie for an toptoptop post.

As an ex-PM, I know how many bullsh*tters are out there having worked alongside them. Some are glorified account managers, some are overgrown developers, some are team leads who think they can pick up PMing along the way.

In my experience, the best thing you can do is get some serious reading done now because once you're in a project, you really won't have the time and every day counts.

I would learn agile XP as a complement to PRINCE2 or other methodologies. Agile is only the delivery mechanism for the SDLC and in no way manner or form a replacement for a proper understanding of the beginnings of a project (from business case and budget formulation) to the bitter end (reviews and deployment).

Also, you need to gauge a project to see if it's doable. If it sounds impossible in terms of time, money or your abilities/experience, you're on a hiding to nothing if you take it up. You'll work crazy hours, be lucky not to be fired midway if your stakeholders get the jitters and end up with the best case scenario being getting out with your reputation intact.

Good luck!