So about me, I graduated with a Science degree and then realised, it wasn't for me.
I thought I had great people skills and wanted to get into Project Management. So I thought, let's study a Masters in PM. Now I have just graduated and can't seem to find a job due to lack of experience.
Does anyone have any advice on what kind of roles I should apply for and what I can do to improve my chances of getting a job.
Thanks in advance.
Silly me 😂
Yeah, I would think a PM role for a new grad would be difficult…. The role is massively people skills and stakeholder management most of which comes from experience.
Maybe try for a Business Analyst role and work your way up.
Thanks for that. That’s what I’m doing, but most of the feedback is coming back as over qualified for an entry level role.
PMs don't start as PMs … this is something you work up to over some years after working in project environments.
Yes I understand, i just thought having a degree would have made it easier, but experience counts for everything
Look, no one is going to give you a PM or APM role on the back of no exp and a masters. Try looking for a project coordinator role. Alternatively see if you can get into a large company like Brookfield and then get on the piss with the boys. They’ll have internal fit out, capital works projects on the go. Some of the big consultancies take anyone with a pulse because it’s a shite job where you’ll be manning an inbox with a backlog of 800 emails to reply to.
You can start off with a project assistant role potentially. A junior tasked with basic administrative roles. I have see interns do this sort of role.
As mentioned about PMs don't start as PMs.
Just because you studied Management at University does not mean you automatically start as a manager.
Almost all managers have worked their way up.
Most IT pProject Managers have worked their way up from annoying PMO roles to junir PM to PM.
Thanks, I guess I have to keep applying for those entry level roles and work my way up. Cheers
I mean, there are grad roles for PM out there. I got one.
But i did have both a PM degree and an engineering masters. So that helped.
Yeah. That’s another challenge, no engineering or construction background plays against me
As others have pointed out, please start with PMO roles as they're a good starting point. In my personal opinion, the Master's degree in PM is not going to help in getting you a PM job. Instead, you can get PMP or PRINCE2 or Scrum Master type of certifications after a few years of experience. The key is to get a few years of work experience and then work your way up.
It's unfortunate that universities are offering Masters course for people with non-PM experience. What type of roles did your classmates get into?
Yes, I should have done that instead. Get experience and then do a PMP or Prince2.
Do you think I should still look at doing them or is the degree enough?
With the classmates, most were international students so have gone back. The others were already working in the field of had backgrounds in Engineering/Construction/Architecture so have gone into entry level roles in there to start
While it's not mandatory, there are still many companies insisting on PMP or Prince2 certifications. The trend is changing towards Scrum master certification these days. You can probably take a call based on the market requirement after obtaining a few years of work experience. Best of luck.
Thanks mate
While generally good advice, a fresh grad isn't going to be eligible for PMP. You need to have completed thousands of hours of management to be able to undertake the course and exam. It would devalue the whole purpose if anyone could get qualified.
PRINCE2 has limited value in Australia vs UK. Starting off as grad-level PMO (mostly few years of number crunching Excel spreadsheets) is the current way to go.
What kind of projects do you want to manage? PM roles vary across a lot of disciplines. Maybe try get an entry level role in a field you want to manage.
I am not sure what kind of projects. Given the lack of experience it’s hard for me to pick.
A Project coordinator role can be a good start.. you get to work with an experienced project manager and get experience across the assorted PM activities.. a lot of project coordinators move into PM roles, or you might end up liking the life of a project coordinator!
Thanks. I am applying for those roles as well
Project coordinators are just team secretaries with very limited succession into Project Management. You want grad-level PMO roles which you won't find on recruitment websites. Apply to large international consultants/design team/architects etc directly. It won't be easy without any experience as there's a steep learning curve and many companies won't want to spend the time and effort when grads are a dime a dozen. Maybe consider Document Control route, good pay for menial repetitive data entry and work way up from there after 2-3 years.
What industry?
Not 100% sure about the industry, I am not fussed at this stage. It’s more about getting a job. But perhaps construction or science.
I hope this has been enlightening.