Reply to: Want to move onto a PMO support role

[girlfriday]

I agree, PMO (as I am one) is not very rock and roll, but if you are an anal OCD organisational freak like me, who like boxes checked and I's dotted, it's pretty good. It definitely has its downsides though, but every role has that.

I would say though, I would recommend going for P3O certification rather than Prince2 if you're looking to go into PMO long term. You need to be familiar with Prince2 obviously (read the manual), but personally, if it was a case of picking one to spend my company's money on, it would be P3O. But that's just my opinion.

[Antman]

Maybe I'm missing something but what's so good about PMO? It seems the most boring role around especially if you're coming from BPM.

The quote about being the eunuch in the hareem comes to mind, everybody else is doing something you're checking whether the roles and responsibilities matrix has been completed.

To the OP. He who dares...

[fraymond]

Fair enough actually, I agree with your reasoning.

[northernladuk]

Plumber comes to fix the toilet, turns out he can do landscaping as well. And so some extra work is awarded for that. Works hard, good attitude, but has never previously cleaned the gutters. Decide to give that work as well based on attitude and quality to date...

IR35 on this forum has become the all pervasive, and yet invisible "boogy man" that parents use to scare kids into brushing their teeth and going to bed on time.

Indeed but it always hangs over us and must be understood before you make a decision. To give people advice completely ignoring it would be wholly wrong. Same with our accounting advice. The chances of getting investigated are so slim but we tell people what they can and cant claim and point out what is BIK. You could say the same for that type of advice but would it be right to just say 'Ah forget HMRC claim it anyway'? No it wouldn't. Give the OP the letter of the law and the known dangers and once he has that then he can go make his/her own decision. We have seen how badly some people run the accounts and contracts which reflects badly on us all so making people aware of what they need to be thinking about isn't a bad thing IMO.

The plumber advice isn't a good example. The difference between him doing the gutters or not does not make the difference between him being a contractor and a business and involve considerable financial risk if it goes wrong.

[fraymond]

Plumber comes to fix the toilet, turns out he can do landscaping as well. And so some extra work is awarded for that. Works hard, good attitude, but has never previously cleaned the gutters. Decide to give that work as well based on attitude and quality to date...

IR35 on this forum has become the all pervasive, and yet invisible "boogy man" that parents use to scare kids into brushing their teeth and going to bed on time.

[northernladuk]

NLUK gave me the same advice a couple of years ago when I asked the same question, I had recently passed the Prince2. I took that advice and got a contract that suited my experience and skills. Once there, I was able to demonstrate to Clientco that I could do PM work, as a result I got lots of PM experience in that contract.

In that case I would be very worried about D&C and not sticking to the deliverables of your contract. May not be a bad thing don't get me wrong but you have to be very careful. Picking skills up from different areas while you are doing something else is permie work not contractor and HMRC will view it the same. Your contract is delivery Y, doing a bit of X as well may not bode too well. Just make sure you are aware of IR35 and have your insurances up to date before doing too much of this.

Good for you if you managed to do it though, very difficult normally.

[Liamxtype]

From a contractor perspective you are being brought in as you possess skills the client does not. The idea is that we are specialists in our field and can hit the ground running as well as possibly bringing some extra value to the client.

What we cannot do is be trained on the job or get gigs based on the fact we are a good asset and can grow to be good for the company. That is pure permie mentality.

NLUK gave me the same advice a couple of years ago when I asked the same question, I had recently passed the Prince2. I took that advice and got a contract that suited my experience and skills. Once there, I was able to demonstrate to Clientco that I could do PM work, as a result I got lots of PM experience in that contract.

[fraymond]

You absolutely can make the switch, even in your position. As I have done so in the past. But it really comes down to your appetite to do so. All up, it took me 18 months and during that time several short consultancy gigs for small agencies and "lower end" clients to get the experience. (that was a shock compared to easy 6 month gigs at IBs that always rolled). Several sessions with a career coach and help rewriting the CV into terminology more suitable to the new roles was needed. I had already been doing alot of the new skills but 1. didn't know how to explain that, 2. still had my techy hat on. the BCS exams were good, short and something to focus on but not too much in case I didn't like my new direction. You'll need a bit of courage though.

Also, if you're friendly with a few agents ask if they can send you a few anonymised CVs or job specs for the PMO role so you can get an idea of how what to upskill in and how to rewrite your cv.

[practicalpmo]

I have read through the thread and there are a number of good points made:

1. Yes very difficult to get a PMO role as a contractor with no experience.

Think about your CV and can any of it be rewritten to reflect the qualities / skills of a PMO i.e. tasks that have been performed working as part of a project team. It is not uncommon to have variances of a CV that focus on different skills.

2. If a perm, look for opportunities to shift internally onto project work that needs PMO tasks.

This will offer a safe way to gain experience in an environment you know. Think if you can have this conversation as part of the review process or ad-hoc with your manager.

3. Research the topic to gain understanding.

Another good point. Actively trying to learn about the topic will give you a better chance as and when you secure interviews. It will give you a level of confidence. I have a blog that I update a couple of times a week where I have been sharing ideas and thoughts based on real world experience, that may help.

Simon

[aceboy]

All Prince 2 will show is that you understand the Prince 2 frame work, it will not make you a good PM; it will not show that you are a good PM either Sadly for that there is a catch 22 situation, where you need experience to back up the Prince 2 qualification

Try to just ship to a role that has some of the elements that you currently do, but also has some of the elements you want to do.... then over the next couple of years try to put your self on the radar of the popel who choose the PM's / PM Support. this will bolster your CV...

[projectmgmt]

All great advice

I would also say that there are different types of project support - but the one most suited to you at this stage would probably be supporting one PM on one project. To jump into PMO with minimal experience is just not going to happen - regardless of whether you have P2 or not.
The project support of one project is often very much a doing role rather than process or metrics - but to be successful in this type of role you really need to understand how projects are managed in order to implement improvements (a role carried out by a PMO or CoE)

[Torran]

There are never any permy PMO opportunities of note anywhere. Its one of the things that companies in general over look or dont care about which is why there are so many contract PMO roles out there.

Prince 2 may help.

One bit of advice is get yourself into a consultancy that has a reasonable client base. I'm not talking about PWC or Accenture but one of the smaller regional ones. Start at the bottom if needed (project support) prove your worth and move into PMO analyst roles as you evolve. Take a couple of years to skill up and go out alone if thats what you want to do.

Worked for me 13 years ago

[northernladuk]

Thanks guys for your advice. Very much appreciated!
Yes, I am a permie. There aren't any PMO opportunities in my current organisation. I think I will start contacting agents from now. But I was wondering if not having Prince2 certification would stop me from getting the support roles or ... do I need to get Prince2 first?

Do you not have an HR system at your work that can help you with career paths and advice on how to progress? Unless you are in some tiny outfit you should have someone to speak to to help you, either a mentor, people in the existing group, HR or anyone. Asking a bunch of contractors about work in permie land isn't the best move you can make for sure.

I guess you have yearly reviews, why not mention it in that. If you can be more valuable to company you are working for surely they will listen and advise?

[speling bee]

I wouldn't wait till you get the exam - you can say in the interview that you have a course/exam booked (but don't lie, you will be expected to pass).

+1. The problem is, you must have PRINCE2... but it won't get you a gig.

[cojak]

Thanks guys for your advice. Very much appreciated!
Yes, I am a permie. There aren't any PMO opportunities in my current organisation. I think I will start contacting agents from now. But I was wondering if not having Prince2 certification would stop me from getting the support roles or ... do I need to get Prince2 first?

I wouldn't wait till you get the exam - you can say in the interview that you have a course/exam booked (but don't lie, you will be expected to pass).