Any Project Managers about.....

[MPwannadecentincome]

No books, certification or advise from anyone is going to help when you are asked 'Describe how you handled such and such a situation'.

If its a step up - what are you saying to the client, have you been honest or are you claiming to have experience you do not have?

[Drewster]

No books, certification or advise from anyone is going to help when you are asked 'Describe how you handled such and such a situation'.

If its a step up - what are you saying to the client, have you been honest or are you claiming to have experience you do not have?

<cough> <splutter> Sorry - I thought for a moment you were suggesting being a PM might be a step up.....

[Grinder]

Just to take a moment to defend PMs here, how would you like to field calls from customers all day long asking how its going?

I did organise the delivery of a number of projects at my last place, and I ensured the systems once up, stayed up (and when down, knowing who to assign to sort it out) - those are the achievement I recognise.

But as far as the developers were concerned, I managed to shield them from the customers and users as much as possible (almost continuously) and defended their approach when things were getting a bit tight. The meetings I organised, I went to, no point dragging techies into a meeting with the customers.

In my view if the PM doesn't understand enough to explain to the business how its going, then he/she needs to either get more involved or go more granular and track at a lower level.

[MPwannadecentincome]

Just to take a moment to defend PMs here, how would you like to field calls from customers all day long asking how its going?

I did organise the delivery of a number of projects at my last place, and I ensured the systems once up, stayed up (and when down, knowing who to assign to sort it out) - those are the achievement I recognise.

But as far as the developers were concerned, I managed to shield them from the customers and users as much as possible (almost continuously) and defended their approach when things were getting a bit tight. The meetings I organised, I went to, no point dragging techies into a meeting with the customers.

In my view if the PM doesn't understand enough to explain to the business how its going, then he/she needs to either get more involved or go more granular and track at a lower level.

WHS - though there are times when it is useful to have a techie in a meeting to help them understand what the customer's point of view is as well as contributing to analysing or solving issues.

Also its not just customers calling asking hows it going, Its the emails from other stakeholders and steering committee presentations etc that need fielding too.

[Alf W]

This is a difficult one as you have to gauge what the interviewer views as important in a Project Manager. Some are impressed by the "I just get the job done and delivered" type of PM and others (usually those with reams of certifications to their name) are less interested in that and more impressed by the "governance obsessive" type of PM.

[thelurker]

I am required to do a presentation on the following....

"The minimum set of processes I would implement to ensure robust project control, whilst maintaining the flexibility required to manage a number of projects successfully within a collaborative environment "

[Alf W]

Governance Obsessive it is then!

[thelurker]

Does this fall under Prince2?

[Drewster]

I am required to do a presentation on the following....

"The minimum set of processes I would implement to ensure robust project control, whilst maintaining the flexibility required to manage a number of projects successfully within a collaborative environment "

Errr.....

Just learn to waffle on by saying what could actually be said in a few words in a few hundred words..............

Chuck a few buzzwords from this book in your conversation. Jobs a good-un

drone on about the importance of communication and making your stakeholders

Quite

[thelurker]

I should mention it is a role within the NHS....