Advice please Project Management......

[toobin]

I'm at a bit of a lose end with work and really could do with a bit of advice from the PH gurus. I am a deputy headteacher at the moment with 4-5 years solid management experience behind me (including 6 months in IT recruitment) and I've hit a brick wall with education. I really need to work in a more competitive and faster paced environment and was hoping that some of my skills would be transferable. I start a part time MSc in software engineering in September and am looking for some work that would be more related to that field and include some management too.

Could anyone offer any advice how I could market myself or make myself more appealing to the business community, agencies seem dismissive and most of the blue chips seem to want experience from their hires. Has anyone on here been through similar or can anyone offer me advice on finding myself a suitable role?

The skills I currently use are indicative of project management from creating policies, stakeholder management, budgeting, recruiting a team, etc etc but how can I make this more apparent.

Any suggestions welcome....

[PetrolTed]

Perhaps try to get a foot in the door by using 'training' (i.e. drawing on your previous experiences) as a key skill?

[J_S_G]

As much as it pains me to say it... possibly get certification in a couple of PM methodologies. The PRINCE-2 certification is easy-peasy (but don't get me started on how much I hate it!)

Agree that an option as a "trainer" might help, too.

[GreenV8S]

If your experience has covered finance or law, then those skills in combination with management skills are extremely valuable.

[Toobin]

PetrolTed said:

Perhaps try to get a foot in the door by using 'training' (i.e. drawing on your previous experiences) as a key skill?

Thanks Ted, I will have a look into this to see how viable an option it is but it seems like a sensible start to me.

J_S_G said:

As much as it pains me to say it... possibly get certification in a couple of PM methodologies. The PRINCE-2 certification is easy-peasy (but don't get me started on how much I hate it!)

Agree that an option as a "trainer" might help, too.

I have looked into this but got worried when I started reading things like "Please find enclosed details on our fully accredited Foundation course, currently running at 100% pass rate" if it's so dam easy is it worth bothering?

GreenV8S said:

If your experience has covered finance or law, then those skills in combination with management skills are extremely valuable.

Hi Peter, I have only a little financial experience but within my time in recruitment (rather short lived) but otherwise nothing more substantial than setting school budgets and as for law nothing more than an A'level so I guess I can rule those out

[davidd]

J_S_G said:

As much as it pains me to say it... possibly get certification in a couple of PM methodologies. The PRINCE-2 certification is easy-peasy (but don't get me started on how much I hate it!)

.

I'd agree with that (on both counts). Painful, probably a waste of time but employers want it.

D (no prince here)

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

I would also recomend a good grounding in MS Project and try wokring your way up from a Project Office support / Junior PM or Project Co-Ordinator position. With your organisational skills and strong MSP you could get circa 250-300 a day on contract or 30-35k perm depending on where in the country you are, the type of business and your overall ability to get the job done.

Edited by Obiwonkeyblokey on Friday 7th July 09:55

[toobin]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

I would also recomend a good grounding in MS Project and try wokring your way up from a Project Office support / Junior PM or Project Co-Ordinator position. With your organisational skills and strong MSP you could get circa 250-300 a day on contract or 30-35k perm depending on where in the country you are, the type of business and your overall ability to get the job done.

Edited by Obiwonkeyblokey on Friday 7th July 09:55

This sounds like very much the type of role I would be suited to, the only question is where do I start looking for such a contract. Most agencies I know will snub my application because of my lack of expereince and my background in Education (CV generally). I must admit contracting would suit my lifestyle better and fit in around some other things I have to do but again its the whole agency thing. I am totally flexible on location and would really love to get some good experieinces under my belt, any ideas welcome.

[Obiwonkeyblokey]

I would structure your CV around focusing on that type of role, get MSP and get familiar with it. register your CV on Jobsite, Monster and Jobserve ensuring that the "buzzwords" Project Management, Junior Project Manager, Project Co-Ordinator, Project Office, MS Project, MS Office etc are prominent, then sit back and let the phone ring.

You could also send it to me - I run an agency and I will pass it to one of my guys, however most of our stuff is Bristol based.

Definately get it registered on some sites though. A junior role is what you need, once thats under your belt you will have a lot more gravitas to the CV and it will be easier to get more. Chicken and egg / catch22 I know, but its the nature of the beast.

[petclub]

Argh PRINCE 2! Agreed it is a useful thing. There are several courses, up to 'practioner' level. It's owned by the Office for Government Commerce and is a standard methodology around the Govt Departments. It's OK as a methodology, the problem usually comes from how it's applied

You could look at the British Computer Soceity site, it doesn't just cater for techies, but also for people working in the Project environments. Also ISEB qualifications? Cheers, Dave

[Ultraviolet]

Certainly in software, you can only really do a PM role if you understand the technologies.... sometimes just to give your prospective employer a comfort level, sometimes because you actually need them. Certainly, you are in a much weaker position if you don't understand the inevitable problems and can't suggest a way around them....
So from that perspective, I would start looking at gaining experience in the technology first, then moving up to PM. My area is data warehousing, there's lots of work here at the moment and it's not industry specific.

UV

[Leftie]

I am told that there is work advising on the building of new schools under the refurbishment programme. Mix of the new with the old: design for behaviour management, anti-bullying layouts etc.

[Red V8]

In my experience of mass disorganisation at local schools etc... I'd have thought education was crying out for good PM's

[toobin]

Obiwonkeyblokey said:

You could also send it to me - I run an agency and I will pass it to one of my guys, however most of our stuff is Bristol based.

Thanks Owen I'll get one together and send it through your profile, any advice would be great. To be honest Bristol is not out of the question for me and is in the direction I would like move.

[toobin]

Red V8 said:

In my experience of mass disorganisation at local schools etc... I'd have thought education was crying out for good PM's

Very true and I have been offered a PM type role in education for september, however I just find the pace of education too slow and frustrating and would really like to work in a more commercial environment

[bga]

toobin said:

Red V8 said:

In my experience of mass disorganisation at local schools etc... I'd have thought education was crying out for good PM's

Very true and I have been offered a PM type role in education for september, however I just find the pace of education too slow and frustrating and would really like to work in a more commercial environment

It could be useful for beefing up the CV - get a couple of projects under your belt in a "safe" environments & then look for work in a different industry when you are comfortable with the mechanics of PM work

[Psychobert]

Toobin said:

J_S_G said:

As much as it pains me to say it... possibly get certification in a couple of PM methodologies. The PRINCE-2 certification is easy-peasy (but don't get me started on how much I hate it!)

Agree that an option as a "trainer" might help, too.

I have looked into this but got worried when I started reading things like "Please find enclosed details on our fully accredited Foundation course, currently running at 100% pass rate" if it's so dam easy is it worth bothering?

Its 'industry standard' for a number of firms and therefore pretty much a hoop that you need to jump through to demonstrate competence. My old firm had a mix of P2 qualified and unqualified, (but experienced) PMs and we started to find we needed to put the unqualified people through just to get through the PQQ/EOi stage of tendering with their CVs. PITA..

The qualification comes in 2 parts, a 2 day course followed by a multiple guess exam, (closed book, you just need to know the stuff), followed by about 3 days and another exam, (essay based, open book so really no excuses for failing if you've marked up the book well..) The places that I've seen advertising a 100% pass rate do so on the basis of offering a retake exam to anyone passing the 1st, but failing the 2nd. In practice all those who resit pass it, (but not all resit so technically its not quite a 100% pass rate..)

Its expensive, and might be worth considering if you really want to go down that route..

[Frik]

Any advice for a recent Engineering graduate considering getting into PM?

Not sure where to start.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

[robbie_toys]

Frik said:

Any advice for a recent Engineering graduate considering getting into PM?

Not sure where to start.

Sorry for the thread hijack.

What engineering have you done? What field are you looking to work in?

I'm a project manager for a very major engineering/construction contractor working in oil & gas. If this field interests I can probably give you some guides.

[Frik]

Mechanical. Have been looking at Automotive Engineering (specifically design/development) but have realised that maybe this isn't where my skills lie.

Trying to explore the options at present, I'm pretty open minded. Any advice gratefully received.