"Dear Angela, how can I secure a PM role when transitioning careers?"
The way to do this is to demonstrate that you've been using project management in your daily life and previous jobs. Even though your title wasn't PM, you probably did things that PMs do. Pull out those similarities and present yourself in as transitionary.
When looking back at the post about the 5 essential skills of a PM, the skills aren't unique. Are you already doing these?
1. Communication - Billed as the #1 skill, don't you already communicate with others? Highlight in your resume specific tasks or events that required you to excel at communication.
2. Organization - Is your desk organized? How about your closet? And your daily life? Chances are you answered yes. If not, being a PM might be a struggle for you. Teams depend on your ability to keep things organized for them.
3. Empathy - Find similarity to your current role. Are you a teacher? You have to empathize with kids to understand behavior and actions. Are you a waitress? You need to consider when to approach customers for service. Can you anticipate when they need you?
4. Change Management - This one should be easy. You are already in the process of managing your change to a PM. Think through how you're doing that and find a way to work that into your resume.
5. Critical Thinking/ Problem Solving - I know that if you want to be a PM you must think you can do this one, hands down. People who get into project management are very often the best problem solvers. Take this challenge of transitioning to a PM, you're already working on solving it!
Free Project Management Software
PI#team, our free software with advanced functionality combines simple project management with team communication apps like Slack to help your team Work Better Together™.
PI#team improves your project management process, offering a path for powerful growth with flexible add-ons and integrations.
|
Sign Up For Your FREE Subscription Of Ask Angela PM
Angela PM will be answering your questions and giving advice about everything project management related twice a month. Add your question to the comments below to have them answered!
Questions or comments? Feel free to share them below!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Angela PM is the executive leader of Project Insight’s latest project management platform, PI#team. She is a natural born leader and of course, Project Management is her passion. Angela is a Project Management Consultant with over 15 years of experience managing complex website projects. She has worked her tail off to become the best professional in her industry. Many in her field respect, admire and even fear the amount of dedication and detail she puts into her work. Her expertise, coupled with her positive and straight-forward attitude make her the perfect person to get industry insight from.