Where to Find Your Next Project Management Job

There will always be projects, and there will always be Project Managers.

Even before the title was invented, somebody was needed to oversee tasks. Something as simple as organising an Easter Egg Hunt requires a Project Manager: somebody to decide how many eggs of which colours and which variety to buy, to hide the eggs, to organise the hunt for the eggs and to make sure that no child goes home with pockets empty.

The big businesses and government departments of today's economic climate are in even greater need of capable and qualified Project Managers. With belts tightening across every industry, the need for projects to be completed within time and money constraints has never been more pressing.

Project Managers able to deliver results to time, to budget and to standard, and who are familiar with whichever project management methodology is required - in short to take over the reins of the project - are gold dust to recruitment agencies and employers.

According to the Arras People Project Management survey 2008, only 22% of project management employees have been with their current employer for more than five years. Over 30% are still in their first twelve months. This is the nature of project work. Each project has a set goal and a lifespan. When the project team reaches its goal, the Project Manager moves on - either to another project within the same organisation, or to a new set of employers

Variety is the allure of project work for many Project Managers. Building up a portfolio of projects is vital to developing a track record that will get you the projects you want to manage. But where do you look for the Project Management positions best for you?

Where should you look?

The Arras People Project Management Survey 2008 asked 1650 Project Managers the simple question: "Where do you look for new employment opportunities?"

Almost 50% of respondents answered:"The web."

This is not surprising. According to NORAS (the National Online Recruitment Agency Survey), there are 12 million online job seekers in the UK alone. E-mailing a CV is now the most popular way to apply for a job, closely followed by filling in an online application form. Even better, online job-hunting has very definite results: over half of those interviewed for a job found online secured the position.

Be selective

The sheer number of vacancies advertised online makes the task of trawling through to find the project best for you could take a lifetime. Target your search towards the industry, sector or level of employment most suitable for you. Are you passionate about marketing and design? Don't waste hours on JustConstruction.net - instead focus on sites like MarketingWeek.co.uk and ProfilesCreative.com.

Are you interested in highly-paid and highly-pressured projects? The Arras People survey confirmed what everybody knows: the private sector pays the best, with two-thirds of private sector employees earning less than ?0k, compared to almost 80% of their public sector equivalents.

Or perhaps control over your working hours, generous holidays and a pension are more your cup of tea. In that case you could be better off settling in the public sector. Big employers, include NHS and central and local government offices, offer stable employment and clearly structured career progression.

Finally, it isn't necessarily the most familiar or even the best paid projects that might be best for you. Look for something that will challenge, that will furnish you with new skills and new contacts, in order to open up the full spread of opportunities that are available to Project Managers.

For more information about Project Management training and career opportunities, have a look at our resources page.

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