Recent Graduate/Student Project Management Visit

Posted on | November 17, 2009 | Author: | jont | 1 Comment

Last week, Arras People presented to the students at the University of East London. Most of the students are studying MSc Project Management and Arras People were invited along to talk to the group about project management careers and give practical help and advice for the students when thinking about their new careers post University.

Topics covered included;

• Project Management Today
• Personal Stocktaking
• Experience, experience, experience
• Sales Materials (aka your CV)
• The Project Management Market

Project Management Today

Over the last 20 years the field of Programme and Project Management has gone through significant change and the profile of the “job” or role has risen significantly to the point where it is recognised in the public domain. Popular television programmes such as the Apprentice have brought the Project Manager in to people’s living rooms and removed the perception that a Project Manager must either work in IT or Construction. The widening use of the term “project” has also raised the profile of the profession with many perceived (and actual) high profile failures in the public and private sectors. Recent examples being the operational go live at Terminal 5 Heathrow and the National Programme for IT (NPFiT) within the NHS.

There is also a push for the role to be formalised as a “profession” and the APM (Association for Project Management) is currently undertaking an initiative to secure Chartered Status for the profession through the Privy Council. (see www.apm.org.uk)

If their submission is approved they will become an awarding body that creates a new professional standard in project management. Subsequently they will open for membership and manage the professional applications, standards and accountability.

Recognising the growth in the interest and the number of practitioners at all levels and standards an ever increasing number of Higher Education providers have created formal education curriculum focussed on Project Management. Whereas it may have been a module within another course of study it is now established as a subject in its own right.

This change has also influenced many individuals in the way they view Project Management in that it is now seen as a career of first choice. This is very different to the more historical view where people “became” project managers. Historically most people fell into it – Wrong place at the wrong time or Right place at the right time! They were probably doing another job and then discovered they had a flare for the task. Ask around – you will hear some great stories!

The last 20 years have also seen a massive growth in the number of tools available to help the Project Manager. As the world of IT has grown, with increased access to affordable PC’s, Laptops and the internet the market has created many products aimed at supporting the delivery of programmes and projects. Critical Path Analysis and PERT charts may still be required today as part of the solution but it is unlikely that they are created today outside of a PC?

In the same way the number of methods has also exploded, some being focussed on a particular sector or domain whilst others are positioned as a generic. The project manager has never had so much choice (or pressure) to ensure that they are working to a “method” and talking in the prescribed “language” to ensure that all the stakeholders are aligned to the process.

The art of Programme and Project management has also been dissected into areas of special interest where much thought has been applied through SIG’s (Special Interest Groups). Areas such as Risk, Earned Value have been developed and standards set by individuals and sectors.

Project Management has also become a “big business” in its own right, creating hundreds of thousands of pounds of revenue each year for parties that have a product to sell.

As it is also an unregulated market (no recognised professional standard) there are also many agenda’s which lead to some confusion and also the creation of de-facto standards. A prime example being Prince2 which won the marketing war, and as such for may people today, rightly or wrongly equals project management

Personal Stocktaking

Final year students and graduates need to be thinking about their career now! It is crucial to know yourself and set a direction.

Are you a PM grad with no experience or PM grad with a little experience or PM graduate with a lot of project delivery experience who has gone back to university as a mature student. Whatever your situation, a personal stock take should be carried out so you can answer the questions, “Who am I? What do I want to achieve? And Why should someone employ me?”

Thinking about why you want to be a PM, helps you to think through exactly what you’re trying to achieve when you finish uni, it will also be an interview question at some point in your life, so give it thought and rehearse it!

Do you know what makes a great project manager? Understanding this helps you think about what employers are actually looking for in a new employee PM and what you need to do to come across as having the right stuff. Reading and researching the project management field helps to understand exactly what makes a great PM (there are also links on the Arras People website to help).

Now is the time to start thinking about the sectors and domains that interest you, it’s not about narrowing it down to say IT or corporate business but more about getting an understanding how diverse the project management marketplace actually is. You don’t know what you don’t know etc. This is also about understanding that PMs don’t have to be pigeonholed in a certain sector so early in their careers but equally it’s about planning their careers rather than just waiting for opportunities to fall on their lap.

PM roles in the marketplace, straight from graduation it’s likely that you will be going to go straight in at PM level. Understand what other roles exist in programme and project management and think about which will be a good first step in the stepping stone to a career as a PM.

Keeping up to date with the PM profession –do you get involved with your professional group? PMI / APM?  They have events for students (Aspire at APM) and the opportunity to meet other PM students. Learning from your competitors (i.e., other graduates graduating at the same time as you with the same degree) and finding out what other graduates are doing will help in forming your own plan of action.

Ask yourself the question –so what do I bring to the table? Be ready because this is what a potential employer is thinking!

Experience, experience, experience

Start thinking about how to gain experience NOW – don’t wait until you graduate

Experience is the top thing employers are looking for in their graduate PM’s

Qualifications and degrees are a great tick in the box but experience is what you need to get a foot in the door

Some ideas to start gaining the experience NOW whilst in the final year

Look at your own circle of friends and family –any interest group opportunities to get involved in, community groups, planning a friend/family event, building a website for a hobby group etc. Ask family members if there is anything you can get involved with that gives you an opportunity to plan and deliver a piece of work/project.

Opportunities exist for voluntary PM’s–look at the voluntary opportunities that are available, unpaid or expenses paid, gaining real world PM experience

Any opportunities at the university? –often departments within the university will have part-time roles available for current students, how can these opportunities be maximised

Part-time jobs whilst at university –gaining employment, any employment, will help develop on-the-job skills and more importantly the softer skills like interpersonal, communication, teamwork etc. Employers expect graduates to have some works experience of some kind

We will have more details about how to go about doing the above on the website

Start making plans for when you graduate. Don’t put it off and keep putting off because your competitors (i.e., other graduates) won’t be sitting back and waiting

Research and understand what exactly is happening in the world of projects. Which organisation’s are launching or delivering projects at the moment, what type of PMsare in demand (check out the job boards), understand the market rates for graduate / junior posts, subscribe to newsletters, blogs, forums etc all focused on PM

Don’t wait until graduation to update your CV, start thinking about how you can present a project management focused CV on the experience, skills, capability, education, and training you already have (we have a CV template on the webpage for them to use)

Your project portfolio in this context is about having all your project management related stories ready for an interview or introduction. For example, are you ready with a answer that shows your capabilities to plan a project from scratch –which tools / methods did you use? How did you work with your team?. One good way to think about your portfolio is to research project management interview questions (we have some of those on the website too). You will be asked some of these questions in an interview (regardless of how experienced you perceive yourself to be) therefore thinking about this now allows yourself to practice well in advance of any interviews. This building up of a portfolio also allows you to better understand who you are, what you’re capable of and what you’re bringing to the table.

Be Realistic

You have the degree, it’s now time to move on and compliment it with real life hands on experience and additional skills gained through being on the job.

Gaining a PM role is extremely difficult with limited experience. Many employers believe that a good PM must have been there and done it numerous times, so expectation setting with graduates is crucial. We don’t want to be negative, but it has to be stressed that it’s highly unlikely that you will gain a PM role straight from university with limited experience

But what you can do is look for positions within the project management field, for example, project planner, project controller, programme office etc. In fact, any role which allows you to work directly with a project team. The project management marketplace is vast, it covers all industries and all business functions (i.e., Marketing, HR, Finance etc) and terminology of job roles/titles does differ, so it’s crucial that you research to avoid missing out on opportunities
Many people who are project managers today, accidently fell into this profession, through starting out as something else earlier in their careers. What the graduates need to do is try to engineer this accidently falling into project management. Being in the right place at the right time, i.e., working within a project team, using the PM as a mentor or coach, keeping their eyes and ears open for the right opportunity to take them up to the next stage on their career ladder. It’s not easy to do and requires proactivityand often patience.

Which leads to the final point, many employers are still used to looking for skilled and experienced hands on PM who have gained training and education later in their careers i.e., they’ve taken accreditations like PRINCE2, MSP etc. What we’re seeing now that there are MSc in Project Management degrees available, and talk of project management as a profession (or emerging profession), is the opposite way around, training and education first and then skills/experience second. This is a big change –and one which hasn’t necessarily affected employing organisations views when recruiting PMs….yet!

Sales Material (aka your CV)

CV writing is an art not a science, there is no definitive right way, but there are many wrong ones!
Your CV is your sales material, the opportunity to grab the attention of the reader so they want to speak or meet with you! Don’t make the assumption that the reader is interested in you!
In the same way as when you meet somebody for the first time, the first impression will generally stick! If you are face to face, you may get the opportunity to change that first impression, with a CV you don’t!

You may be 1 of 100 or more and the readers’ first task is to exclude as many as possible so that the task becomes more manageable. The first half page is crucial to getting through that first sift; you need to make a positive impression. Not only that it needs to be tight, 3 pages maximum; if it’s longer again the reader will probably reject.

Your CV must be about you! Sounds simple but so many CV’s waste time energy and space talking about the company you work for, the team you were working with and the objectives of the team. That’s great but am I looking to employ you or the team? FOCUS ON YOU, WHAT YOU HAVE DONE and WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE.

REMEMBER! In todays world a recruiter can find out all about you! Facebook? Linked In, published work, credit checking software, companies house records it’s all out there and people use it. So those little inaccuracies can be exposed. Honesty pays and candidates get caught out on a regular basis.

Show some respect to the recruiter! It is noticeable when a candidate takes time to read the advertised role and check that their CV / cover letter is appropriate. This may mean tailoring your CV to ensure that the relevant key skills come to the fore. Check details, don’t apply for the same job more than once and keep a record of the roles you have applied for. All simple, but so many people fall into these traps so you can differentiate yourself!

CV writing is an art not a science, there is no definitive right way, but there are many wrong ones!

The following template has been put together by the team at Arras People based on our combined experiences. Feedback suggests that IT WORKS!!

A Project Management CV template can be found on the Arras People Graduate Website . This outlines each of the sections and suggest the level of detail to apply. There is also a downloadable pdf document to support the Project Management CV creation

The Project Management Marketplace (Nov 2009)

• Fewer Opportunities generally Competitive
• Public Sector still holding up
• BSF / Olympics / Infrastructure still spending
• Research domain / industry for winners of new contracts
• Could be “price” attractive versus more experienced practitioner

To download the whole presentation with images and notes, please visit the Arras People Project Management Graduate website for more information.

Image © willhale and used with permission.

Comments

One Response to “Recent Graduate/Student Project Management Visit”

1. My-Project-Management-Expert.com
   November 18th, 2009 @ 6:05 pm

   A great summary and an event which certainly sounds like it will have been really helpful to these students.

   I would definitely agree that getting a degree qualification in project management and then the experience is not the normal way the profession operates. In fact it is one of the few industries in which experience / reputation counts for more than probably anything else.

   So by all means get the project management basics and the principles of project management but getting any kind of real world experience (even organising a big party event) will help you get your foot in the door.

   And failing that, as mentioned, try the lateral route and move into project management. I know of a PA who recently after 2 years as a receptionist moved into a project manager position at a top TV corporation!

   Regards

   Susan de Sousa
   Site Editor http://www.my-project-management-expert.com

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