Advice please Finding it difficult getting employment

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oosoom

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Hi ,

I would really appreciate some opinions and advise on my present situation. I have been looking for employment since the end of March particularly in Project Admin/ Junior Project Management but am having no suucess. Qualifications wise I have a BA in Business Studies, Diploma in Project Management and other specific PM qualifications such as Six Sigma Black Belt and Prince 2. I also have completed one year of a two year MBA Course. I have registered and have met with roughly ten agencies and have secured only one interview for a position with a salary of 23,000 euro. The company that interviewed me were lovely and offered great advise that I have took on board and they concluded that I would be really bored and frustrated with the job and it would not lead to the promised land as advised by the agency. I have been to 3 interviews when I went directly through the employeer and on each occassion the position went to a more experienced candiate. On each interview the level of knowledge and research I did was acknowledged. At this stage My confidence is low and have no idea how to move on from my situation. Any advise would be grately appreciated as I am now becoming quite desperate.
 
Re: Advise please Finding it difficult getting employment

I have a years experience in general administration and a years experience in accounts. I have over 2 yrs experience as a Customer Relationship Manager for a National Complaints Service. I have 1 yr experience of working as a Junior PM in a financial services company. I have also worked just over six months in a facilities position.
 
Re: Advise please Finding it difficult getting employment

My only advice is to keep trying. Project management is about experience more than anything else. The qualifications are good, but from what you said you are still unproven as a project manager so you will need to work your way up. I would concentrate on getting a foot in the door and them building up your experience. Can you back up your six sigma black belt qualification with the results of one or more real projects?
 
Re: Advise please Finding it difficult getting employment

I have worked as a Customer Relationship Manager in an Industry where Customer satisfaction would traditionally not have been held in the highest regard. During my time in this position I have promoted good customer service policies to be essential in order to both sustain and grow there business. While in this position I became aware and interested in the six sigma black belt
 
Re: Advise please Finding it difficult getting employment

oosoom said:
I have worked as a Customer Relationship Manager in an Industry where Customer satisfaction would traditionally not have been held in the highest regard. During my time in this position I have promoted good customer service policies to be essential in order to both sustain and grow there business. While in this position I became aware and interested in the six sigma black belt
Click to expand...

I hope my previous reply did not come across as unhelpful. But there is incredible variation in the experience and skills of six sigma experts. In my line of work as six sigma black belt would have 20 years experience of process optimisation and a stack of projects under their belt. You are not at that level yet. The qualifications and knowledge are great, and they will be very useful to you as a practising project manager. You just need to pitch yourself at the right level because what matters is experience and tangible results, and this is what you need to build up.

The best places for project managers starting out are large companies which have a project management department. They tend to have defined processes and there is a lot of scope for using formal PM qualifications (they also tend to understand what the qualifications are for :) ). In such as situation, starting low is not a problem, as there is scope to move upwards. The trouble is, recruitment is at a low level at the moment, which is probably why you are having difficulties - if it's any consolation, it's not just you... You put a lot of effort into training so you clearly have drive and motivation. If you can, get a professional careers person to look over your CV.

Also, don't limit yourself to PM - you have Customer relationship management experience, why not capitalise on that? If you get into a large company, there is always a sideways move opportunity too.
 
Thank You your advise is very helpful and very much appreciated and I appreciate that many are experiencing these difficulties in the present economic climate. On the PM side of things I have been very careful in the type of position I have applied for. I had applied through an agency recently for the following but they informed me I was unsuitable and that my CV would be passed to a colleague who may have something more suitable for me "contract opportunities open for Junior Project Managers and Project Administrators who wish to further their skills with a view to becoming experienced Project Managers"
Skills & Experience:
- 1-2 years project administration experience
- Microsoft Office Project is a must
- Good client interaction skills
- Excellent verbal and written communicative ability


I am really sorry to be bothering you but could I ask if you would think that my present experiences and skills would have been enough for puting my application forward to this employeer for this position?
 
I'd prioritise offers from employers over agencies, and limit to 1 or 2 good agencies. If they have your CV on file they can claim payment from the employer once you secure a job, this could put you at a disadvantage to a candidate who applied directly.
 
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