Project management is a field where professional and interpersonal skills hold equal relevance, so if you want to take your career to the next level, there are many different paths you can follow to distinguish yourself in the job market.
After making an honest assessment of your current skills and achievements, you can establish a good strategy for the future. Here are my recommendations for the steps most likely to take you closer to your ideal role in project management.
Get Professional Certification
If you’ve stumbled into project management by chance but feel limited by your current options, perhaps it’s time to demonstrate your skills with an official certification. Obtaining a professional project management certification is an intense and challenging process, which is why employers put great value on it.
Some roles specifically demand PMP qualifications. To make yourself a viable candidate for a wider range of positions, inform yourself about pmp requirements and determine whether you have what it takes to earn the certification. Adding it to your resume will make it easier to prove that you have all the skills and knowledge required to advance to a better role.
Have an Online Presence
The Internet has changed how employees and companies connect. If they wanted to make themselves more attractive to potential employers, people had to take the active role and send resumes, hoping to spark a recruiter’s interest. Nowadays, however, the roles are not as clearly defined. Recruiters can find you through a networking website like LinkedIn without you actively seeking them out.
Besides growing into a popular hiring tool, LinkedIn is a place where professionals can make a profile that goes beyond listing skills and achievements. You can write articles and case studies and connect with colleagues, employers or companies. By keeping an updated profile and having online activity in a place with a wide audience, you can happen upon new career opportunities.
Refine Your Soft Skills
A project manager must possess strong soft skills and be able to display and utilize them accordingly first at interviews and networking events, then daily in the workplace. Being able to forge meaningful and productive relationships with people is essential in project management. If you are not confident in your interpersonal skills or you haven’t reached your full potential yet, make a list of the areas you need to focus on.
If you don’t know where to start, look at key areas such as leadership, coaching, communication, problem-solving, organization, conflict management and teamwork. You can attend online and offline courses, participate in workshops and training, volunteer in projects or you can develop your personal learning strategy to work on these skills. In fact, every situation that takes you out of your comfort zone will hone your soft skills.
If you’re a committed and motivated person, you will find plenty of opportunities for career progression in project management. By applying the strategies presented above, you will get closer to your career goals and move into a rewarding role where you can make success happen for people and businesses.
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