Preparing for your career in project management: changing careers and returning to work

Katie began in sports development, she is currently undergoing her apprenticeship in project management, due to take the Project Management Qualification.

What advice would you give to someone looking to change their career and enter project management?
Don't be afraid to try something new but be prepared to step out of your comfort zone. If you’re an organised person, project management may come naturally but there is a lot more understanding to get it right. Ask to shadow a project manager. Ask within your organisation or carry out some research. There are more project managers out there than you may realise.

Where were you doing before you entered the project profession?
I have always had a passion for sports development and engaging others in physical activity and so I studied Sports Development at Bournemouth University followed by a Sports Science Masters at the University of Winchester.

I completed my university placement year with my local authority within the sports and recreation team, which led me to a full-time role. This consisted of community and stakeholder engagement with local sports clubs and athletes, engaging them to improve their abilities as well as improving subsequent facilities within the local area. My passion lay in coordinating our health walks scheme where I worked with walk leaders to run our weekly outdoor walks offering physical, social and mental wellbeing.

When did you realise you wanted to be part of the project management community?
When I realised how many faults and failures I faced during my first project management role! I am the type of person who enjoys seeing work through to the end in a positive and successful manner, however my first role didn’t give me that fulfilment. Most people at this stage would run in the opposite direction but for some reason it drew me in closer.

What did you do to move into the project profession?
I joined my local college and am still completing my apprenticeship in project management. I’m currently studying and looking to take the APM PMQ in March 2023. I was also lucky to be offered a role within the same local authority last October to project manage the development and installation of suitable alternative natural greenspaces (SANGs) across Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. I’ve been in the role for several months and am thoroughly enjoying every aspect of it so far. Every day I learn something new!

Have you taken a break from working in the project profession? How did you manage that?
When I was completing a paddling pool refurbishment project I felt completely overwhelmed and unsupported. It felt like I was thrown in at the deep end; no one around me really knew any more than I did and I was treading water. Around the same time I was also going through personal difficulties and I couldn’t face any of it.

In fact, work kept me afloat for a while, but then I started to drown in the unknowns of the project. It took a lot to realise what was happening and to ask for help; I was signed off work for six weeks by my GP and sought professional help. When I returned, I didn’t throw myself back into the project but allowed myself time to reengage at ease, even though I was the one holding all the knowledge! My colleagues were extremely supportive, and I felt in a better place to see the project through.

George was an Army Officer and Town Planning Consultant before starting a career in project management.

Where were you doing before you entered the project profession?
I was a Town Planning Consultant full-time, and an Army Officer part-time. My town planning role centred on progressing planning applications through the planning system along a linear lifecycle. My colleagues often referred to what we did as project management, when in reality, we were subject-matter-experts delivering a technical piece of work. However, this role did build transferable skills such as communication and stakeholder engagement which I was able to transfer over to project management. Luckily, my role in the Army was also largely centred on project management and leadership. So I got a good taste of what it meant to be a project manager and decided to transition to project management off the back of this experience.

When did you realise you wanted to become part of the project profession?
It was when I was delivering a project in Romania with the Army. I was leading a team of 30 people delivering a construction project. I loved the comradery of sharing a common, well-defined purpose and goal with a team. However, this was only ever a part-time role, and I was a full-time Town Planning Consultant still learning the ropes of the industry. I qualified as a chartered Town Planner in late 2019 and probably would have continued if it hadn’t been for the COVID-19 pandemic which fundamentally changed my path.

I volunteered for full-time Army service and was posted to West Wales where I was tasked with supporting Local Authorities and the NHS for six months. This experience was challenging and rewarding, and luckily, largely project focussed. I leveraged my Army project and team management experience to provide support and advice in delivering COVID-19 related projects, and I loved every minute of it. Ultimately, this period was hugely formative, allowing me to step back from my career, assess what I was doing and pivot to something I knew I loved. I secured my first professional project management role shortly after completing the deployment.

How did your previous role help you prepare for project management?
My previous role in town planning did have some transferable skills relevant to project management, such as stakeholder management, communication skills (both written and verbal) and organisational skills. These are all crucial to project management and I credit this time in my career with building these from day one. In addition to my full-time career, I’ve also been an Army Reservist since university. I was able to use many of my general military skills such as teamworking and leadership to the benefit of project management, as well as the specific project management skills I picked up in my service as a Royal Engineer.

What did you do to move into the project profession?
Firstly, I leveraged my network. I am lucky to have a few mentors from my personal and professional life who worked in project management. I used these connections for advice on how to best enter the profession, and made a five year plan for entry into the profession based on their advice. Ultimately, my aim was to transition initially into a Project Manager role because I had managed projects within the Army. I decided to play to my strengths in real estate to maximise my chance of success, so applied for a real estate project manager role.

I started in the contracting world to build my bank of experience before going over to a consultancy where I could broaden my portfolio. As such, my first role was on a fixed 10-month contract inside of IR35 where I was employed to manage short project aiming to review and optimise a Local Government organisation’s property portfolio. This was a fantastic learning experience and acted as a springboard for my project management career. I went on to work for PwC, and now work at Mott Macdonald as a Defence Project Manager where I am lucky enough to combine my interest in Defence with my passion for project management.

Mark was teaching and running his own business and wanted a career that let him use the skills he developed – project management was a natural fit.

What were you doing before you stared project management?
Teaching, and running my own business on the side. This led me to choose between the two and, being entrepreneurial, I chose the business route. Having successfully launched a new product to market, I started to look to get back into a line of work that let me use the skills I’d developed as a teachers and new business owner. Project Management sort of naturally fitted, and here I am nine years later, still doing it!

When did you realise you wanted to become part of the project profession?
The realisation that at its heart, project management is about doing things properly and getting results. That’s a real motivator, and being a competitive individual, I really enjoy the challenge of an odds-laden situation. Being able to engage as a team, pulling on each other’s strengths really feels like a sport at times. You work like a team because you are one – created not by accident, but by design to achieve an objective for the greater good.

Another attractive aspect of project work is the ever-changing landscape you operate in, which can really help keep life interesting. In some industries, where status quo is the objective, I find repeating processes and procedures endlessly can become monotonous and ultimately disengaging.

How did your previous role help you prepare for project management?
I feel like teaching especially is a great grounding for a project professional. Being organised, taking responsibility for delegating and tracking progress, are all equally important across both professions. Having the ability to turn a bleak subject into something engaging and exciting, to be able to motivate your team, is a hugely important aspect of both jobs and as such, is a skill that transfers seamlessly.

Having a desire to help people progress is also a key element of project management. Having a team that wants to work for you and with you is key – again in both worlds, so I feel like having had that experience as a teacher really helps remind me that being a bossy boss just isn’t how life has to be outside of school!

What did you do to move into the project profession?
Simply put, accidental project management. My first job really wasn’t what it was billed as, and I ended up making it into my own role that allowed me to incorporate many of my existing skills and passions, while trying to learn and embed project management processes along the way.

This gave me an ideal audition for my current project management job, which I’ve found challenging, but ultimately satisfying having had many years’ experience juggling project responsibilities with other roles. As such, I feel like my additional skills give me an edge as project manager, something I’d encourage any budding project manager to consider when entering the profession. Those extra bits of value you can add to a company could be the real difference between a project succeeding or not, or you excelling in a role.

Natalie worked for a Housing Association before finding the ever changing world of projects, programmes and portfolios.

What were you doing before you started project management?
Before moving into project management, I worked for a Housing Association for eight years. I had a variety of roles over that period with my last role being Business Assurance and Compliance Manager; I had responsibility for areas including strategy, policy, performance, risk, governance, internal audit and executive support.

When did you realise you wanted to become part of the project profession?
I joined Essex County Council in September 2018 as a Senior Strategy Advisor in the Corporate Strategy Team. My role was to lead on the corporate business planning process which involved working with our Performance and Delivery Teams. It was during this work I stumbled across how project/programme/portfolio management is undertaken as a profession and knew that I wanted to be part of that team!

I love to see the changes that I implement come to life. I love working with people, implementing change and taking people along with me on that journey. Projects within Essex County Council also give me the variety that I love and keeps my work interesting.

How did your previous role help you prepare for project management?
In my previous role I was lucky enough to have such a variety of responsibilities within my team that I naturally fell into the project management space; working with the subject matter experts in my team and the wider organisation to implement our annual processes as well as one-off changes.

The most important skill that helped me transition into project management was knowing how to interact and engage with stakeholders at a variety of different levels.

What did you do to move into the project profession?
Once I knew that the delivery team at Essex County Council existed I knew I needed to work there! I first engaged with the Resourcing Manager to understand more about the team, the different roles, the entry routes into the team, etc.

I was then provided a ‘buddy’ who had recently transitioned from a non-project role into the team so they could share their experiences, hints and tips! They helped me get to grips with the team and organisational processes. My line manager was also always encouraging me to develop and progress within the team.

The transition was actually a backwards move, as the entry level role into the team was as the Assistant Project Manager. However, I knew this was something I was passionate about and wanted to pursue, so when the opportunity for a 12-month secondment became available I knew I had to go for it!

Did you complete any qualifications, find a mentor, was it through an apprenticeship, etc?
Within the first six months of my secondment, I gained two qualifications which were invaluable for me to progress into a Project Management role, the ITIL 4 Foundation Qualification and the APM Project Management Qualification.

I have since gone on to complete the Managing Successful Programmes Qualification. I also had numerous training and development opportunities available to me which were in place and through our specialist Delivery Assurance Team.