So you have decided to become a project manager

Hurray! So you have decided to become a project manager and looking for a job to get your foot in?

You have tried calling up recruiters, sending resumes and browsing through the job sites 4 hours a day and yet nothing? No calls, no emails for job interview and just when you are feeling all down and want to hide yourself in the gloom of the television screen- I have some news for you.

Yes and its good. The traditional job finding days are gone. Today, knowing the right person is all you need. Social media has made it pretty easy for all of us and thats great news.

So, stop goofing around the job sites and start meeting people. Online and offline .

Here’s what you can do-

· Plan – You should know what you want. List out your goals and stick it up right in your mind, soul and your board/wall in front of your desk. Seeing it often will help you remind yourself of your goal. Don’t trash your dreams in some over stuffed “new year resolutions” kit. Remember your plan this time is here to stay.

· Find you- Google search yourself; see what it comes up with. Now you know what people will see when they do it; you will be much better prepared to face the questions/interviews and better make sure the right content shows up.

· Where are you- Are you in the right place? Are you on the social networks? If you would like to be a project manager, are you following the ones in the profession in Twitter, PPMNG, Linkedin or their blogs/sites? Following allows you to understand the profession better, get real situation knowledge that can only help you grow.

· Brand building- Why should someone hire you? What do you bring to the table that no one else has?

Once you have answered these, you know your value. It’s not enough knowing them; it is equally important to let people know about it. Once you have chalked it out try doing something about it. Define yourself through your e-book, blog, social media profiles, and status messages and don’t sound mechanical while doing it. Be genuine, be nice, help others learn. Meet Dan Schawbel and learn from his self branding methods

· Blog- Haven’t we talked about this before? If you’re still thinking about starting a blog, please do so. When I started it; little did I know how much I will learn through this experience and meet so many wonderful people? Just commit to the cause of blogging and hold on to it. Write at least once a week and read other blogs on the same topic. You will not only learn faster, you get to know so much more from people in the industry that you can’t find in books.

If you have noticed, you can see I started reviewing project management software recently. Someone with 5 years of experience can do it better than me but I’m learning through it. Downloading free versions doesn’t cost me anything, but I can learn by trying them out, may be one new software a month. See what Alec (Satin) is doing with his blog.

· Be Bold- Doing videos (coming soon) was a bold decision. Don't hold back on some ideas that you have been eyeing for a long time. I’ve not done videos before and yes, I’m nervous of how things will turn out. I still wanted to do it because 1) I want to and 2) it will help me evolve better in trying to communicate to people. Remember, project management is about working with people and getting your ideas/scope transmitted.

My podcasts will help me be more focused on the clarity since they will be 5-7 mints videos. It will also help me critic myself and see what interviewers will see me as and get feedback from my readers, mentors and well wishers and improve. See what Jamie did to get interviewed by CNN

· Have fun – Enjoy what you do. We all have our problems and think no one has ever faced a situation like me. Wrong!

Grab this moment and start something new, something positive that you will enjoy and learn at the same time. New challenges are good for you, it speeds up your learning process, increases your focus and gets you a job or better contacts.

If you would like to know how social media can get you a job, read some of my favorite post here:

You can also let me know how you got your current job- was it through someone you knew or was it through job portals? Leave comments or better message me at twitter

Times are changing so should you; get your social media account today!

Rational Plan- project management software reviewed


RationalPlan is one of those software’s that you will- like coffee love instantly.

Simply starting out with the software will give you a fair idea about how you will create the entire plan for the project. Like MS project it guides you through the steps. If you are used to planning software’s- this one has a very short learning curve.

Incase you haven’t used one before, please don’t step back. This might be a great opportunity for you dear newbie to learn what planning software’s look like and learn using them for FREE. Download the free version and you get the opportunity to play around with the software and know what Project Managers deal with everyday.

The left navigation bar can be used to navigate among the pages for detailed planning. It includes:

  • Project (Info, notes and links, calendar, assumptions and constraints, Risks)
  • Planning (create Work Break Structure, schedule task, define resources, assign resources, levelresources, define additional)
  • Controlling (update task completion)

One of the best feature is that after assigning resources and allocating them work, you can actually email them about it from right there. I loved it!

You can also navigate within multiple projects the same time by using the drop down projects list feature.

After the final creation of the project and inserting the data, you can click on any of the formats to view the Work Break Structure, Resource View, Task Sheet, Resource Sheet, Client Table etc available on the upper right hand corner.

Having used MS Project and Basecamp, I loved the easiness and the flow of the software and will use it for my future project planning venture. I’ve also heard about Workbench and will try my hands at it as well along with 5pmweb because it looks really fun! So, wait up for those as well

So, here you go Tiberiu (from RationalPlan) and thank you for inviting me to review it.

Picture Courtesy: RationalPlan screenshots

(Disclosure: the opinions regarding the software are entirely mine)

Videos on stepping into project management

I'm celebrating my bday today and am thankful for the way my life has shaped up.

This blog has been a wonderful way to learn more and connect with people who have become a part of my life. So, I wanted to do something very special today, something that I haven't done before.

I finally decided that I'll start with videos. Now, the reason I started this blog was to pen down my journey on trying to become a project manager- as days go by I realise that perhaps I've in a way stopped focussing on the initial days or how you can decide to become a project manager. The video/s will be more focussed on the jitters, the decision making and what you should do about it. Of course I'll still be writing regularly and the videos get posted once in a while. 

Hoping to connect with you all friends and thank you for reading my blog- it makes my day!

Cheers.

Treasure Bag for March

Mar 31, 2009 | | 0 comments |
Here's some of my favorite articles for the month:

Five things I want to do before I am 35

Mar 29, 2009 | , | 2 comments |

Two drafts later, I realise I'm more of a spontaneous writer than the well planned and thought out one, so here's my plan for the future:

  • Be a project manager
  • Write a book (on how to step into project management and overcome your obstacles on the way)
  • Start my organization
  • Maintain being 5, ok 8 pounds lighter (against current weight)
  • Buy my house
(Picture: google images)

Ada Lovelace Day

Mar 24, 2009 | , | 8 comments |

Today’s Ada Lovelace day and what a feeling to be part of it.

As a woman who works in technology herself; I have had lots of influences, some of whom are men and some women.

Talking of my favorite woman whom I admire in Technology there are a few, however my Mom has to top the list. Anjana Bhattacharya, PhD in Chemistry (synthesis and structural identification of mixed chelate nickel complexes) and currently the Deputy Director and divisional head of a government (federal) research institute, she has handled herself most elegantly.

Her job among a room full of men hasn’t always been very easy - publications, research and conservation of energy (long before it was a fad) has always remained her true passion. Born in West Bengal, India in a family with exceptional vision and endurance she was taught early by my grand parents that nothing was impossible. She has always been an exceptional student, a scholar and has seen the tough times and fought against it.

Numerous papers and years spent on mentoring and helping others, I have seen her ethics as a child, most of it unknowingly seeping within me. Her dedication to her job, her compassion and love of science has always struck me.

One of most memorable influences that I have had is in an executive meeting, while visiting her. I happened to be in vicinity and saw most it unfolding before my eyes. The only woman in the meeting, she shocked me- with her knowledge, her expertise and the fact that she was talking about chemical components and alternatives as fluently as chopping veggies. Mind blowing I thought - it changed me completely, the way I perceived her.

Now, we often discuss about work together, the problems that we come across and how we are solving them everyday as “women”. We have three women in our family now- me, mom and my sister- all in Technology and enjoying every bit of it.

So, I ask her for the interview for today for the special occasion.

Has it been hard for you being in an era in Technology when there were more men than women?

No, not really. I think much of it depends on your mentality. Being in a research oriented job women can actually contribute same or more in most cases as men. Unfortunately, sometimes there has been one or two situations where being women came as a disadvantage and I along with other women in the profession and situation raised our voice against it till actions were taken. We didn’t want to sit and watch.

I also think mental structure is very important. You should be able to respect your peers and subordinates. It doesn’t matter whether they are male or female.

How does it feel managing projects? What do you like about it?

It’s great to work with people who want to work and enjoy doing it but difficult to work with a team who are more politically inclined or doesn’t really care much about their work.

What has been the most positive factor in your professional career?

The fact that my boss years ago gave me the freedom and the support to research and work on subjects that really interested me. That brought in a lot of recognition with international paper publications and invitations which came naturally because I enjoyed what I did.

What would you advise for today’s generation of women in technology?

Work for your dreams and try to achieve them. There will be times when perhaps you feel you haven’t been able to achieve it but the secret is to not give up. Women will always face situations where your work-life balance has to be maintained. It will be a lot of hard work, sometimes really hard but if you can put in the extra effort and get through it, rest should be ok.

Thank you.

If you would like to read more on Ada Lovelace day, click here

(Picture: Mom during her PHD days)

My Twitter Mosiac

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Here's my mosiac of people following me and I follow back some of course. Thanks everyone.