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Looking for help and guidance on how to get into project management as a graduate? Arras People has been running its highly acclaimed "Project Management Careers Clinic" through which we provide guidance and advice to people at all levels of their programme and project management careers. One of the most frequently asked questions we get asked by those people who are preparing to leave, or have graduated from college or university and looking to take their first step in to the field of project management is;
This is one of the most difficult to answer; the shortest answer we can give is – "It depends!" Here are some of our thoughts, opinions, guidance and advice we've given to people, including specific questions and answers directly from our careers clinics. To those at the beginning of their career, the first response we give to the question "how do I get into a project management role?" is to answer with another question – "Why do you want a role in project management?" It doesn't matter what degree or college course you've just completed, you need to understand the real reasons behind what's driving you to pursue a career in this line of work. Answers have ranged from "we've done a module on project management at university and enjoyed it" to "they earn a lot of money" to "I think I've got good organizational skills and I think I would be good at leading a team." Hmm, good enough reasons? If you are fortunate to know someone personally, who is a project manager, ask for advice – find out how they became a project manager. Unfortunately most people, including us at Arras People fell into project management by accident – it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time (Or wrong place depending on how you look at it !) which doesn't really help you much. What we are saying here is that few people leave school stating I am going to be a project manager. In our experience it is a “second career” for many professionals, something people and their organizations realised they have a flare for after being involved in projects during their previous career. Ask any project manager you know how they became one and you will unearth many stories! This situation is changing slightly now with more graduates studying project management and looking at it as a “first career” though the challenges remain the same. So back to the practical advice and some things you can be doing to increase your chances of finding a role with real potential to lead you to a project management opportunity. One of the first things we can recommend you do is research the project management roles out there in the market place. Strip away the project terminology and really look at the skills, experience, people skills, personality and qualities these roles demand. Next look at your own skills and experience to date – and even harder to do objectively is look at your own personal qualities. It's often easier to take a blank piece of paper – split the sheet in four – See the table below:
Why do we recommend you do this? You need to be clear about what you can offer today to a prospective employer and more importantly be realistic about where on the career ladder you are. From this base you can build experience and skills which complement formal accreditations to develop your project management credentials, you need to serve an apprenticeship and lean from those around you. To be direct - projects are about people and getting things done. If you enjoy working with people and can generally get other people to do things that are needed to be done you are probably good project management material. CV The next step is your CV –take a look at Arras People's advice on CV's - if you're looking to pursue that project management role, your CV is the most important document you have to show employers what you can do today, what you want to achieve in the future and how you're going to do that. There's plenty of guidance on CV writing on the internet and there's no definitive right answer to writing the perfect CV but there are definite pitfalls to avoid – and certainly big no-no's!
Research and apply, look at all the job seeking opportunities available to you, online job boards, newspapers (national and local), job centres and people you know. You need to understand more about two key things – what kind of organisation would be interested in me today and does that organisation have anything to do with project management. You are looking for an opening into an organisation today, into a role that will give you valuable practical skills which will be transferable when taking that step into project management. Do not be tempted to apply for every job going. This only annoys us as recruiters and makes us question whether you are serious about your next role. Rather identify the type of role and possibly the sector you wish to work in and keep to this strategy no matter how desperate you get. For many people the direct entry level into Project Management tends to be in a support role such as a Project Administrator or Project Co-ordinator role. Review the role of a Project Administrator / Project Co-ordinator available on the web – Arras People has an archive of all our previous roles
If you've just completed your degree or have gained some work experience to date and none of the avenues above appeal to you, there is also the possibility of gaining the MSc Project Management which would certainly be appealing to some prospective employers. A number of Universities are currently running the course:
Why is the MSc Project Management appealing to employers? I suppose for many it shows a number of things – they have a bright, educated employee who has shown dedication already in choosing this course to advance their career. You will also have gained a good foundation in project management which should allow any employer to build on quickly and soon have you practicing project management. The best degrees of course also have an element of practical works experience – so before making a commitment to returning to University make sure the Masters you choose includes some practical elements of project management – not just theory. In summary Your first employment role may not be directly in project management, however in most organisations there is change happening and companies are always looking for their staff to assist and lead in the implementation of change and new ideas that make a company more efficient and a better place to work. The focus here is your individual attitude, if you are willing to take on responsibility and make things happen you will be noticed for having seized the opportunity enabling you to demonstrate your capability and potential for project management. Project Management Careers Clinics – Specific Questions and Answers Here are a selection of questions and answers from previous project management careers clinics held by Arras People; Should I complete the PRINCE2 course if I don't have any project management experience? We get asked this question a lot, along with "If I have my PRINCE2 accreditation will it help me get a job even though I have no experience in project management?” The quickest way to answer these questions is – if you don't have any experience in project management, doing the PRINCE2 exams will not give any guarantees to gaining employment or indeed place you high up in the competitive ranks against someone with practical experience in project management and no accreditation. Simply put gaining the PRINCE2 accreditation and having no practical experience is not a great selling point and could be a costly decision that brings you little benefit. You need to ask yourself why you think the PRINCE2 accreditation would benefit you other than a tick in the box on your CV. If you want to gain further information and knowledge about project management it's much cheaper to buy some of the good books that are out there – Arras People Bookshop – before making any commitments to expensive training courses. If you still want to attend training courses in project management, look for the courses that cover the principles and capabilities of project management not just the method i.e., PRINCE2. Some recommended courses include:
Like the rest of the advice we have given, these are strictly our opinions so here goes. Project support roles like project co-ordinator, project administrator, project support officer etc are no easier to walk into than a project manager role. Many people make the mistake of thinking that the support roles in project management are less skilled or people will need a lesser understanding of project management to be able to perform the job – wrong! OK, the project co-ordinator doesn't direct the project or direct the team or act as decision maker but the project co-ordinator does need to know the project management techniques like project planning for example and the processes and procedures – like the risk management process. The Project Co-ordinator must also be a professional – someone the project manager and team can trust and delegate to. Once you've made the mistake of thinking this is an easy job to get into you will quickly realise that there are many project co-ordinators out there in the marketplace who are dedicated to project support and have no interest in moving on into the role of project manager – they have created a dedicated specialist role in project management and are no longer just seen as a stepping stone to the upper echelons of project management (see the PPSOSIG – The Programme and Project Support Office Specialist Interest Group). Some Project Support roles can also be just as financially rewarding as project manager positions. To answer the question - should I be looking at project support roles first and are these role easier to get into? Yes you could look at these roles first but be aware of the stiff competition you might face from other experienced co-ordinators and you could quickly find out that no, they're not easier roles to get into. I am thinking of a career in project management and would like some advice. You seem to have a wealth of experience in this area - what professional qualifications would you say were essential to a person starting out in this field. I am currently working in the public sector, working on a couple of very small projects for my boss without any formal training. Where do I start - what qualification should I aim for first? Thanks for the email, if you're working for the public sector at the moment they should be following PRINCE2 – my advice would be to talk to your line manager and HR team to discuss whether there are already training programmes in PRINCE2 being run within your organisation. PRINCE2 is only useful if you're also going to be able to gain practical experience in applying in when you've completed the course. For more generic project management qualifications – have a look at the Foundation / Introduction Certificate at APM. I want to become a project manager and I'm only 18 years old at my last year of college. I'm making my university options and I am in need of help from someone who is experienced within project management and could give me some advice. I have been looking at Project Management degrees, there are currently only two Universities that do just Project Management these are Leeds Metropolitan and Greenwich Universities. I was told that it wouldn't help me much to become a project manager because it's not focused on much other than management. I was told this was because the course wouldn't look good on my CV. Somebody told me on a forum (The Student Room Forum) that I would be better doing a degree which is a management and computer science degree because it would look better on my CV and I would be more successful in finding a job within project management fields after university and various training days and qualifications, Is this true? I'm also going to be taking a MSc in Project Management once i finish the course that will best lead me towards a career in Project Management. I would like your opinion on what would be better for me out of the Project Manager Degree at Greenwich or Leeds metropolitan, or a management and computing degree at a higher ranked university. If you could tell me which would help me more in finding a career in Project management and what would look better on the CV for somebody who was to take me on as an assistant Project management for example. Your Help is greatly appreciated Thanks for your email, here are my thoughts and opinions on the questions you've put to us, firstly project management is one of those roles where people can get into it through a number of routes – many of my peers and colleagues came through convoluted routes for example I studied Psychology at Manchester University, graduated and gained a role at Hewlett Packard and then did training in project management (both external courses and on the job), a colleague of mine left school with no qualifications, worked in the manufacturing sector and was given an opportunity to work on projects (he gained his experience through trial and error in the early days with training coming later). Just two examples but if you ask any project manager for their story you'll probably hear something similar. The underlying similarities in all the stories has been experience gained whilst on the job and some would argue this is much more valuable than a qualification. My own opinion would be to firstly understand what interests you – what projects you would like to be managing in the future? Business, IT, Construction? Choosing a degree based on the subject matter as opposed to project management at this stage in your education would be much more beneficial – especially as you are considering taking the MSc in Project Management later (you don't need to have prior project management training or education to take up this MSc). You mention a management or computer science degree as a possible option – my advice would be to look at the sandwich degree options i.e., the year out in industry and returning to University for the final year, taking the course length to 4 years. The reason I would opt for this is the importance of practical experience in industry when it comes to looking for a project management opportunity further down the line. Thinking back to my original comment – practical experience can often be seen to be more valuable than the qualification you end up with – choosing a course which allows practical, real world experience will definitely stand you in good stead when you graduate. My advice would be to choose a degree course that motivates and interests you – has a good blend of academia and practical application – gain a good class of degree and then think about taking the MSc Project Management course if project management still interests you 3 or 4 years down the line. Like I said before, there are many paths into project management and the degree route is only one. Another route could be complete the BSc degree, join a graduate programme in an organisation which has a good reputation for project management and then work your way up the ranks taking on board training courses and good mentorship opportunities from other project managers.
Check back for further questions and answers in the New to Project Management Graduate section as they are added. Got a question for us? Email your question using the link below:
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