What Everybody Should Know About Project Management. I love it when this community connects. It makes me feel like there are real people out there behind my laptop screen. It’s amazing to see how you all fit in there. Technology is amazing. If you’ve been running your own business for more than a decade, how do you get into project management? How to get your foot in front – photo by Phos365 via Flickr C. D., a New York City resident, wrote to me recently to ask about this. I’m going jump in and out from first to third person. I’ve updated this to make it more robust than my original email to C. D. Here’s the Skinny C. D. She has run her own freelance business for many decades and it’s been great. But, it’s time to make a change. She has been involved in project management her whole life, but not in a formal manner. C. D. had read my post Run Away! C. D. had read my post Run Away! (And Other Helpful Advice for a Career in Project Management) to be sure she has all the qualities we discussed. “I have been managing projects for a while and believe I have a natural talent for it. However, I don’t have any formal training in the field and many of the industry terms that are used on SPOTO.com and elsewhere, are foreign to me. It’s been a joy to find so many information on the Internet, but it can be overwhelming to know where to start. C. D. in New York City Looks Like a Good Match To Me “It sounds like you have all the attributes of a great PM. I understand exactly where you are at. I was there 5 years ago. Although I had experience with managing many projects, I was primarily an operational manager and didn’t have any formal project management knowledge. Josh, I didn’t think she was trying to convince me that this type of work was right for her. Through our communication, I was able to see that she is a go getter, very intelligent, has the people skills, and the experience to move places very quickly once she gets her foot in a door. My Take: Get Your Foot in the RIGHT Door. This is something that many job-seekers forget, regardless of their role. Find an environment where you can thrive first. I have a lot of experience in looking for jobs (hey, it didn’t get fired OK). Having been laid off five times so far. I have never had to submit my resume to job boards. That was something I stopped doing a long time ago. When I started looking for companies (not jobs),? Things started to happen when I began networking to help others, not just when I was looking for a job. It is hard work but it produces results. There is no one-size fits all. 1)? 1.) Look for companies that are project-oriented. Are medium-sized to large companies geared towards completing customer projects best? There are many benefits to this:

September 2, 2022

This type of company will eventually reach a certain size. They will die otherwise.
This environment is likely to be mentor-rich.
In a company like this, you are more likely to receive formal PM training.
You can join in a capacity you are already very comfortable with as a member of the project team; be a sponge, volunteer as much as possible for things related to project management….generate new ideas where you can volunteer even!

One step back now, two steps forward soon 2)? You might be interested in jobs with titles such as “project analyst”, project coordinator, or business analyst. This can be a bit tricky because different companies may call these positions different titles. I was an “MIS analyst” in a job I held.