(Newswire.net — March 29, 2016) — If you’ve been reading job ads lately, you may have noticed a skill in high demand: project management. But what does this broad sounding title entail? In some ways, a project manager is the contemporary jack-of-all-trades, interfacing between staff and clients, assigning projects, and keeping everyone organized from start to finish. Of course there’s more to it than that, but that’s a fair start.
Considering becoming a project manager? Here are 3 skills you’ll be expected to display in this high demand role.
1. Organizers Extraordinaire
Being highly organized isn’t really a field specific skill, but it’s absolutely vital for a project manager. In this role, you’ll be expected to make sure all the right people are on board, that information is sent along, deadlines are set, and questions are answered. As a project manager, there is rarely such a thing as an average day, and you never know when you might have to troubleshoot a problem. You’ll need to be a strong multi-tasker for this job.
2. Not Quite Tech Experts
The level of tech expertise required of you as a project manager will vary depending on where you work, the specifics of the project, and who else you can call on. If you’re handling a small team that’s executing a highly detailed programming project, it’s more likely that you’ll be expected to share in the necessary skills than on a larger project with many parts. And in the least technical fields, you may not be expected to have many tech skills at all.
No matter what your arena, though, almost every project manager today has the assistance of project management software to guide them, facilitate communication, and keep everything organized. If you’re lucky, you’ll get to help choose a project management program that’s compatible with your style – though sifting through features can take a little work. In many cases, however, you’ll arrive and have to master the system everyone is already using.
3. Communicative Community Builder
As a project manager, you’ll be the glue that holds your team together. That means you need to be good at two key things – communicating needs and timelines consistently and clearly, and bonding a potential disparate group. In some cases, the members of your team may never see each other, even though they share a project. But a great project manager appreciates their work, gets to know them, and does so in a way that lets them know each other, too.
As for communication, a project manager must be able to express goals and assignments clearly, follow up when they think someone may have missed a message, and generally make sure everyone is on the same page. You’ll likely also need to interface with other supervising parts of your company or with clients in some situations. Great professional communication skills, then, are a must.
The Center Of The Tech World
With Forbes deeming project manager the most in demand IT job of 2016, you can expect to see this role pop up in every job search. And though some industry specific skills will vary from listing to listing, the role is generally well-compensated, especially when IT specific. Of course, there are also non-IT project managers and pay varies significantly by industry, even if many of the skills are similar.
Now is the time to format your resume to demonstrate your project management skills. Presenting yourself as a super organized people person with a tech savvy edge may just be the way to snag this top job.