Take Control of your Career

Project managers who want to progress need to take control of their career development.

Being able to differentiate and rate yourself to ultimately answer the question: “How do you know you are a good project manager” has never been more critical than going through the recruitment process.

As the demand for project management professionals is outpacing the demand for other occupations around the globe, recruiters are keen to acquire the best talent for their clients. In the project management discipline, this talent is made up of a combination of three components.

What level of competence does the candidate possess in the Technical, Behavioural and Contextual areas? This mix is often referred to as the Eye of Competence or the Talent Triangle.

One key way to assess how you match against these criteria is to undertake the IPMA^®competency assessment. The IPMA^®Competence Baseline (ICB3.0) describes the essential knowledge and experience requirements of a person responsible for project management and is an integral component of the universally recognised IPMA^®4 level certification system.   

It addresses the technical and soft skills and the business environment that the project manager works in. No project management career professional can afford not to conduct such an assessment.

ICB3.0 documents all the key aspects required for project management in an unambiguous and detailed manner. Participating in the self-assessment allows one to appraise in a formal and structured way the knowledge and experience one has acquired in Project Management.

Assessing your competencies will undoubtedly positively impact your career and allow you to take the necessary steps towards self-development through training – and ultimately an effective and successful recruitment drive.

For  project managers  to be prepared with the skills and capabilities to deliver excellence today and into the future, technical competence, 

while essential, is no longer enough as it imposes  limitations on career progression.

Individuals will now have to focus more on developing the two other sides of the triangle – behavioural  and contextual/strategic management skills.

Many organisations are now conducting assessment-based skills audits to determine exactly who they have and who they are looking for to fill the areas where they fall short. They want to know:

• Do you have the skills that the executives in your organization are looking for?
• Do you know what those skills are?
• Can you connect what you do every day to your organization's business objectives?

Recruiters are moving to adopt assessment-led processes when it comes to short-listing the right people for organisations.

Recruiters will also have to understand better and appreciate the relative strengths and weaknesses of the certification credentials on offer, such as IPMA®, PMP® and PRINCE2®. This is a serious shortcoming at the moment.

The credential is an inherent part of the candidate’s profile when recruiting appropriately competent project personnel. A global survey by PWC – Current Programme and Project Management Practices concluded that 80% of projects classified as high-performing used a certified project manager.

In conjunction with the CV, credential and interview, the self-assessment help to form a holistic and integrated view of the potential candidate’s ability.

Project personnel need to appreciate that if they do an assessment, they may also need to continue with further training, development and also acquire a respected credential.

Take the first step and undertake the assessment. It allows one to internalise and better understand the depth of the competency elements, improves one’s self-confidence,  provides one with a platform to chart a future career development, and takes control of your career. Start by clicking here.