Who are project managers?

Project management is a dynamic field, that can sometimes feel opaque as responsibilities appear to be difficult to nail down to specific concrete tasks. In a nut shell, project managers: 

1. Are assigned (or identify) a given project based on an identified need.

2. Define the scope of the project by working with internal and potentially external stakeholders to identify goals and objectives. 

3. Develop a project plan by fleshing the goals and objectives out into defined and detailed timelines, budgets, required resources, and deliverables. 

4. Assign tasks to internal team members and then monitor progress to ensure the project remains on track and within budget (hopefully!). 

5. Manage resources during the project to ensure that necessary resources (personnel, equipment, and material) are available at the correct times and for the correct durations. 

6. Monitor and make adjustments regarding needs, timelines, and budgets based on priorities.

7. Manage risks to ensure the project is achieved at the correct level of efficacy and according to the original goals and objectives agreed on by the stakeholder team (within reason). 

8. Communicate with internal and external stakeholders about the status of the project and any potential changes to the scope, plan, objectives, and/or deliverables. 

9. Close out the project when all agreed upon deliverables are recieved by the proper parties. 

 

The most interesting thing about Project Management is that despite the career field, it remains relatively unchanged, following the same rough outline (give or take some nuance) as listed above. In some cases, Project Manager may need to product or service experts while in others they won’t need to be but regardless, Project Managers must be

1. Effective Communicators

2. Strong Leaders

3. Master of Time Management

A dive into job descriptions

EdTech

Using this job search, I pulled 8 Project Management positions from the EdTech space. 

Some examples include:

  • “Responsible for gathering reporting specifications across multiple clients”
  • “Train end users to access and understand online and paper reporting tools”
  • “Develop and manage schedules and key milestones for multiple reporting projects”
  • “Meet cultivation and revenue goals”
  • “Manage and coach the team to ensure high-quality district and school support and stakeholder relationship management is provided to partners across the ecosystem”
  • “Develop an aligned comprehensive and multi-year workplan”
  • “Act as thread running from AEs to Academic Success Coaches to Customers to Instruction and Curriculum Team”
  • “Develop and refine project plans that specify goals, strategy, staffing, scheduling, identification of risks, contingency plans, and allocation of available resources”

Mixed Careers

To compare EdTech against Professional Development and Training in other fields, I used this job search. I pulled 6 positions from a wide variety of fields. 

Some examples include:

  • “Ability to handle multiple projects or one account with diligence and commitment”
  • “Manage people on the team and their expectations and review and approve time cards of the team in a timely manner”
  • “Responsible for identifying possible cost saving opportunities &/or risk items that will occur on various projects”
  • “Maintains customer satisfaction by investigating concerns, implementing corrective action, & communicating w/ customers & assigned staff”
  • “You are responsible for ensuring initiatives are measured and results are communicated in a clear and timely manner across the business”
  • “Cross-program coordination with other program managers to identify and address gaps and concerns within the project teams and development teams”
  • “Bring program performance and insights to life through data analysis and visualization”
  • “Lead day-to-day project progression while considering scope, risk, and timelines; leverage project plans regularly and effectively communicate project expectations and timelines to team members and stakeholders in a timely and clear fashion”

What are the major differences?

Not much.

Visual Learner?

Compare the two images. The word clouds are the responsibilities list that I fed into a word cloud generator. The truth is that even when accounting for some of the slanting of language toward certain buzz words in EdTech, these two word clouds look pretty interchangeable to me – notice even the “education” specific words like district and college are minimal when compared with the other words and probably wouldn’t have appeared at all had I chosen a lower word filter count.

EdTech Word Cloud

Mixed Careers Word Cloud

Do they need a portfolio?

Let's ask ourselves some important qualifying questions.

Does this job have content creation as a focus? 

Generally no – but you may have to make your own documentation depending on what processes are already in place.

While most companies will have processes, procedures, and documentation sequences in place for you to use, smaller companies or those who are just starting to build out their project management department/role may not. 

This can be a strong place for you to demonstrate your skills in documentation management and creation when it comes to organization. 

There are plenty of fantastic PM templates available but make sure that you’re making them into your own and framing them around projects that you’ve actually run or around projects that you would have theoretically run if given the opportunity.

Should someone applying to this job highlight a process they’ve created? 

Absolutely. 

Process management is at the heart of project management. 

The more that you can highlight your field readiness in this arena, the easier it is for reviewing experts or hiring managers to gauge your ability to jump right into their projects. 

Is this a job for which you should highlight any work (i.e. publications, blogs, podcasts, creative materials, etc.) that they’ve already created? 

Potentially. 

If you’ve been able to get published in any kind of magazine, journal, or paper or mentioned in an article because of project that you led – absolutely! That should be on your portfolio, LinkedIn profile, and in your resume/cv. 

If your vlog or podcast would double as some kind of project management skills highlight or master class, I would include those, too. 

Now that we've established that they probably DO need a portfolio, what's next?

While this isn’t every single step that you’ll need to take, here are the major things to put on to your checklist:

1. Review your content

What do you already have created that can be used as-is or can be recycled to meet some of the job description’s highlights that are common for project management professionals? 

2. Identify any gaps

What content is missing from your portfolio that you will need to create so that a hiring manager or reviewing content expert can see the full scope of your skill and flexibility?

3. Select your display platform

How will you display your portfolio so it’s clean, concise, and inviting? 

4. Create your brand

What brand identity will you establish and maintain so that potential employers and hiring managers have a clear picture of who you are and what value you can bring to them as an employee and asset to their team?

5. Publish, network, and share

How will your networking and sharing strategy change or evolve to include your portfolio? Who will you share this new resource with? Where should this resource appear in your resume and social media profiles? When should you make this available to prospective employers?

Think you might need some support creating or working on your portfolio?

Have awesome content but web design isn’t your forte? 

We can help with that. Web services, including custom sites and extended website management services are coming soon. Sign up for our services newsletter to be notified when we’re ready to start taking on portfolio design work. 

Just have questions? I got you.

Want to talk with someone about your portfolio face to face? 

Need some quick feedback on your portfolio but don’t have time for a 1:1?