I hope you all are doing ok with everything going on across our world. I do have a couple of question that I am looking for some advise on. I recently moved back to the Fl panhandle from Germany, thankfully it was a week before everything was locked down. I did a lot of research, applied for jobs, looked up Program Manager, busted out connection in LinkedIn, called an old friend who had a friend type of situation to look at my resume and put me in contact with people who had connections, the list goes on. You name it I did it, I know the job market is hard right now, and I told myself I wasn’t going to fail! In the last few weeks I have had the 2nd and 3rd round interviews for a couple of positions, which I have ultimately lead to the hiring managers going down another route. My goal is Program Management (I went out and got an MBA in it...I love this line of work) but I know I am not quiet there yet, so I have been looking for positions that will lead me to that end goal. I don’t want to jump from company to company, I don’t think that is fair to the company or it’s employees. I just want a home doing what I love.
However, when asked the dreaded question of: “Where do you see yourself in a year?” There seems not to be a right answer. In the last interview I had, I expressed my goals, I knew the career progression in the company, and it was held against me. When I got the call, I was literally told that because I said I wanted to be a PM in the future that is what sent me packin. WHAT???
Next question: I was recently accepted into the Onward to Opportunity Program. Again I don’t have the experience yet of the PM role to get the cert, so the PMP Cert if not an option, but my thinking was go down the Project Management (CAPM) route. Still in the same realm, and a project leads to a program right? Is this a smart decision or would you all suggest something different? Thanks in advance!
Answers
When looking for a job at 1) a company new to you, and 2) in a role you haven't had before, someone is asking the firm to take two leaps of faith:
1. How you are as an employee in general.
and
2. How you will be in that role.
Overcoming both at the same time can be hard, and may be related to the challenges you've been having.
Companies often hire from within to help with 1, and only gamble on 2. Likewise, a resume filled with appliable experiance helps overcome 2, asking a new company to only gamble on 1.
Is there a way to attack these in this case? The previous post mentions a federal role, which may help with #1. If you want to go into the privet sector, is there a way to get more training (as you mention), moonlight/do it part time, and/or find a role [often at a smaller company] where PM is part of the job responsiblites paired with other responisblites you have experiance in.
I've shifted to new industries a couple times in my carreer, and the most recent time (a few years ago), I did all three of these to help with the tranistion.
Best Wishes, Paul
Dear Anastashia,
Program management is not my area of expertise; however, a quick search on USAJOBS.COM, for Milton FL, showed the first job announcement as “Administration and Program Management Series”. (https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/517671300)
One of the things that I like about the job announcement is the pay grade of GS 5-15, which means that a person could start with very little experience, at the GS-5 pay grade, but eventually work their way up to the highest GS-15 level.
Based on your MBA, you might be able to start at the GS-09 level and work your way higher. In almost all cases, you will need one year at your current pay grade before you would be considered for the next higher pay grade (GS-11, in this case.)
Also, with your 10 years of service, you would start with four weeks of vacation, in addition to the 10 Federal holidays. And depending on your job and the local office policy, you may be allowed to work from home (“telework”), for part of the work week.
If you decide to apply for a Federal position, your resume will need to be in a very specific format. Feel free to contact me or the other Advisors if you need help with your Federal resume or KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities.) In the meantime, you can find examples of resumes and accomplishments (KSAs) at www.resume-place.com, under the Resources tab.
Good luck with your transition and thank you for your Service!
Sincerely,
Bob Jurasek
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