Ready for your next big step? There are numerous ways you can get noticed. There are numerous ways to get your information out in the market. And obviously, some of these involve just visiting a job portal or website and posting your resume. Websites like LinkedIn and Monster still exist – and by all means, put yourself out there on the map.
However, in this day of real-time updates and rapid gratification, there are a few additional methods to demonstrate your skills and knowledge and, perhaps, stand out from the crowd. So, if you can find the time, upload those resumes where you can, and fill out those online job applications for listings you discover on corporate and job sites.
But if you really want to steal the show and have some credentials worth showcasing – here are the 3 best ways to set off in the right direction to your next career move as a project manager.
- Get PMP exam prep training and go get certified!
You’re a project manager, but are you a PMP? Getting certified as a PMP (Project Management Professional) isn’t required, but it’s a good idea. Certified PMPs make up to $20,000 more than their non-certified counterparts in the profession, and the correct PMP training institute can significantly impact your career path. Just make sure that the training provider has PMI-ATP instructors.
- Join online PM communities in forums (Facebook and LinkedIn groups).
This will get you recognized to some extent. Start sharing good content, participate in relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups, and respond to comments. If you, do it often enough, you’ll gain a following. If you repeat this process 5,000 times, your wife may call you boring, but someone in India will want to be your best friend through.
Also, don’t forget about eBooks. Create a PDF eBook on a topic of PM expertise or best practices that you’re interested in and know a lot about. People will want to download it – or offer it for free to a PM software vendor in exchange for links, etc. on your website. Online networking is the new thing – it does help.
- Put up a website with career and skill info.
Always grab your domain name and hold on to it. We’ve had ours since roughly 2003, but it once expired, and we had to wait a year or so to get it back because it was taken by someone else – who obviously, demanded a lot of money for it. Yeah…as if we wanted to pay more than $12 for it through GoDaddy or something similar.
Then, to quickly set up your website, pick a free or inexpensive host. You don’t have to pay a lot of money to have someone do it for you, however, we can do it for a fee or some pizza gift cards — I’ll always work for pizza.
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These 3 items we’ve posted may not be the norm for the vast majority of the general PM public, however, they will all assist you in becoming noticed and hopefully jumpstart that forward step on your career path.
