What kind of help do I need?
August 25, 2010 4:47 AM Subscribe
I need objective advice from a professional or professionals. But I don't know where to look or who to go to.
I want to move into a new job. But I'm unsure of my next steps and have lots of questions - is the new job I want really a good fit for my talents? Should I just apply? Am I qualified? Should I seek education and certifications?
If it helps, I'm a software analyst who wants to get into project management.
I've tried discussing this with friends and colleagues, but I think I'm getting very rosy responses ("you can to anything if you work hard at it!"), and I don't have a real mentor who I can turn to repeatedly. So I want to seek out (a) professional(s) who can work with me over time. But I'm not sure who to go to - do I need a career counselor? A life coach? Both? Something else? My current company is small and doesn't offer anything in the way of career development.
I need help with the following. What would you call someone who will help me answer the following questions? Am I looking for just one person (life coach) or several (career counselor + life coach)?
1) Is project management really the right fit for me? Or should I focus on moving up to a senior analyst? Or something else?
2) I need to be more of a leader to move up, and would like to eventually be a manager. I need to speak up more, be more confident about interacting across departments, and generally be more confident with higher-ups. Can a career coach help me start down that path?
3) Am I qualified to do the kind of work I'm looking for? Can I start applying to other jobs, or should I seek credentials / education first?
So what kind of help am I looking for? To whom do I turn? Start with my college's alumni career office?
Thanks!
I want to move into a new job. But I'm unsure of my next steps and have lots of questions - is the new job I want really a good fit for my talents? Should I just apply? Am I qualified? Should I seek education and certifications?
If it helps, I'm a software analyst who wants to get into project management.
I've tried discussing this with friends and colleagues, but I think I'm getting very rosy responses ("you can to anything if you work hard at it!"), and I don't have a real mentor who I can turn to repeatedly. So I want to seek out (a) professional(s) who can work with me over time. But I'm not sure who to go to - do I need a career counselor? A life coach? Both? Something else? My current company is small and doesn't offer anything in the way of career development.
I need help with the following. What would you call someone who will help me answer the following questions? Am I looking for just one person (life coach) or several (career counselor + life coach)?
1) Is project management really the right fit for me? Or should I focus on moving up to a senior analyst? Or something else?
2) I need to be more of a leader to move up, and would like to eventually be a manager. I need to speak up more, be more confident about interacting across departments, and generally be more confident with higher-ups. Can a career coach help me start down that path?
3) Am I qualified to do the kind of work I'm looking for? Can I start applying to other jobs, or should I seek credentials / education first?
So what kind of help am I looking for? To whom do I turn? Start with my college's alumni career office?
Thanks!
I’m going to nth Xingcat’s suggestion; request an informational interview with people.
I’ve been in the same position as you, OP; I wanted to try out career A or B, and wanted to know if it would be a good fit and if so, what other skills would I need or how should I present myself, etc.?
I googled the desired job title plus my city (maybe you could try project manager + [your city]) and see what names/places come up. Write a brief, intro email and tell them that you would like to talk to the person for 30 minutes max/or phone or email (let the person decide what works best). Tell them you are thinking of changing careers, so you would like to find out more information. Send out 5 or 6 of these. The people who want to help will reply, those who do not will ignore it. If you can’t find people using google, you may want to join a group (is there a group for “national project managers association” or perhaps your alumni list will give you access to lists of former students, including job title and contact info (ask if this is available).
The reason I found this really helpful was that in addition to asking them questions that I could estimate as to whether it would be a good fit, if you pick people with the same background, they will tell you what they needed to get the job (or what colleagues who do the same thing needed to do to get the job). Many also looked over my CV and told me industry buzz words or information that should be added to it, etc. Some people sent me contact names and said “this guy is hiring, if you are interested” or were able to identify other ways that I could get a similar job (e.g. brief few month internship, etc.)
I think people who work in the field are the only ones who can tell you the exact skills that you need and describe the day-to-day life of that particular job. The great thing is that if you find project management is not what you want, then ….start the process over with the new job title and find another group of people to talk to and pose queries. You have the skills to assemble a team and ask these questions; you don't need to pay someone to decide if it is a match for a career that they know nothing about.
Also, I'm not sure as to the quality of the answer that you will get, but next week you could create an "ask metafilter" question and tell us your background along with "do you think that I woiuld like being a project manager and what skills would I need?" I asked a broad "what do I need to do for career X" a few years ago and a few answers were very appropriate to my industry -- apparently I only needed to take a test in office and no additional training was needed. You may also find contacts who can give you insights.
A comment on question 2 (gaining confidence, etc.). I really believe you acquire these skills as you do them at a work place. The same way that you do info interviews before you land a position, at a new work place, seek out people who have well developed specialized skills that you want (perhaps a senior project manager, or outreach person, whatever). Go to lunch with the person Tell the person that you would like to learn about skill X and can you go to him or her. Get feedback. Observe. Ask for more info. Start observing and looking for those people as soon as you start a new job.
posted by Wolfster at 6:34 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I’ve been in the same position as you, OP; I wanted to try out career A or B, and wanted to know if it would be a good fit and if so, what other skills would I need or how should I present myself, etc.?
I googled the desired job title plus my city (maybe you could try project manager + [your city]) and see what names/places come up. Write a brief, intro email and tell them that you would like to talk to the person for 30 minutes max/or phone or email (let the person decide what works best). Tell them you are thinking of changing careers, so you would like to find out more information. Send out 5 or 6 of these. The people who want to help will reply, those who do not will ignore it. If you can’t find people using google, you may want to join a group (is there a group for “national project managers association” or perhaps your alumni list will give you access to lists of former students, including job title and contact info (ask if this is available).
The reason I found this really helpful was that in addition to asking them questions that I could estimate as to whether it would be a good fit, if you pick people with the same background, they will tell you what they needed to get the job (or what colleagues who do the same thing needed to do to get the job). Many also looked over my CV and told me industry buzz words or information that should be added to it, etc. Some people sent me contact names and said “this guy is hiring, if you are interested” or were able to identify other ways that I could get a similar job (e.g. brief few month internship, etc.)
I think people who work in the field are the only ones who can tell you the exact skills that you need and describe the day-to-day life of that particular job. The great thing is that if you find project management is not what you want, then ….start the process over with the new job title and find another group of people to talk to and pose queries. You have the skills to assemble a team and ask these questions; you don't need to pay someone to decide if it is a match for a career that they know nothing about.
Also, I'm not sure as to the quality of the answer that you will get, but next week you could create an "ask metafilter" question and tell us your background along with "do you think that I woiuld like being a project manager and what skills would I need?" I asked a broad "what do I need to do for career X" a few years ago and a few answers were very appropriate to my industry -- apparently I only needed to take a test in office and no additional training was needed. You may also find contacts who can give you insights.
A comment on question 2 (gaining confidence, etc.). I really believe you acquire these skills as you do them at a work place. The same way that you do info interviews before you land a position, at a new work place, seek out people who have well developed specialized skills that you want (perhaps a senior project manager, or outreach person, whatever). Go to lunch with the person Tell the person that you would like to learn about skill X and can you go to him or her. Get feedback. Observe. Ask for more info. Start observing and looking for those people as soon as you start a new job.
posted by Wolfster at 6:34 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
I realize you say your company is small and doesn't offer anything in the way of career development, but are you talking about a formal career development path or an informal one? Hhave you talked to your immediate supervisor about this? They might also be able to 1) give you feedback about whether they think you're qualified, or 2) make some recommendations to people in the company who are already project managers, and would be qualified to talk with you over a cup of coffee to see if you have what it takes.
If your company is really that small, then I would say get on Linked In and look for people who are project managers at relevant companies in your area and ask for introductions and offer to buy someone dinner, a cup of coffee, etc. for a few minutes of their time to ask about pursuing a career in project management. Ask for no more than 30 minutes and HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS.
In terms of certifications/education, you could go for PMP certification but I think it's a bunch of hooey (and I've been doing this for 17 years). The reason for PMP is that there are too many bad project managers out there, but those bad project managers can also get themselves through PMP certification. However, it might be a way to give you some confidence & credibility. It isn't cheap, though.
Something that would help you with confidence & speaking up is Toastmasters. I know, it's hokey, but it's a good, solid, proven way to get more experience in speaking up and being confident.
What you don't say here is why you want to be a project manager. You ask if you're qualified, but you don't tell us what your qualifications are. Sure, a software analyst might have the chops to be a PM but also you might not. Why do you think you want to be a PM?
You can also memail me if it's more comfortable.
posted by micawber at 9:01 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
If your company is really that small, then I would say get on Linked In and look for people who are project managers at relevant companies in your area and ask for introductions and offer to buy someone dinner, a cup of coffee, etc. for a few minutes of their time to ask about pursuing a career in project management. Ask for no more than 30 minutes and HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS.
In terms of certifications/education, you could go for PMP certification but I think it's a bunch of hooey (and I've been doing this for 17 years). The reason for PMP is that there are too many bad project managers out there, but those bad project managers can also get themselves through PMP certification. However, it might be a way to give you some confidence & credibility. It isn't cheap, though.
Something that would help you with confidence & speaking up is Toastmasters. I know, it's hokey, but it's a good, solid, proven way to get more experience in speaking up and being confident.
What you don't say here is why you want to be a project manager. You ask if you're qualified, but you don't tell us what your qualifications are. Sure, a software analyst might have the chops to be a PM but also you might not. Why do you think you want to be a PM?
You can also memail me if it's more comfortable.
posted by micawber at 9:01 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Informational interviewing is a great idea and very helpful.
The professional you are seeking is a career counselor -it's what they do. Here are some ideas of where to start. Career counselors can be expensive, but good ones are definitely worth it. Go to a reputable firm - a lot of people set themselves up as counselors when they are really sort of New Agey people with not much credibility. Find someone who will describe the process of what you can expect beforehand, make sure you take a complete and professionally scored personality inventory, and will assign you homework and make meeting time available to you.
I've really benefitted from career counseling and know many others who have too.
posted by Miko at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
The professional you are seeking is a career counselor -it's what they do. Here are some ideas of where to start. Career counselors can be expensive, but good ones are definitely worth it. Go to a reputable firm - a lot of people set themselves up as counselors when they are really sort of New Agey people with not much credibility. Find someone who will describe the process of what you can expect beforehand, make sure you take a complete and professionally scored personality inventory, and will assign you homework and make meeting time available to you.
I've really benefitted from career counseling and know many others who have too.
posted by Miko at 9:13 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]
All of the above are good advice. I'd also be curious to know what makes you think that project management is an attractive career choice. Also, is there a real job that you are applying for, or is this more of a general job-search thing? Reason I ask is that different companies have project managers do many different things. Speaking to someone who functions as a PM in the company that you want to work for will be much more targeted than general views on project management from a random professional PM.
Feel free to memail me if you'd like. Looove talking shop.
posted by bluejayway at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2010
Feel free to memail me if you'd like. Looove talking shop.
posted by bluejayway at 1:46 PM on August 25, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by xingcat at 5:09 AM on August 25, 2010 [1 favorite]