APM Mentor series
This Q&A is part of our APM Mentor series, where experienced professionals share their insights to help students and early-career project managers succeed.
In this edition, Kathryn Boyer, Project Professional, Adult Social Care and Health sector of Local Government offers practical advice and encouragement for those just starting out.
What’s one piece of advice you wish you’d received when you were starting out in your career?
I wish I would have been encouraged to network more at an early stage in my career. To connect with more experienced people, listen to their stories to use as a guide around what might be good for me to do and what might not. I wish I'd have found a way to go to more events to gain some wider insight from outside of my organisation. I wish I have had access to/been encouraged to seek a Mentor or a coach to support me - I think the latter so powerful particularly if the organisation you work for doesn't provide much in the way of support and/or development.
Find a trusted individual to learn from and turn to for guidance, support and just talking through situations. In our hybrid world it is easy to be left with situations to resolve alone; water cooler moments getting less and less possible with home working. Create those connections for yourself because they are so valuable for all of us.
How can students make the most of networking opportunities while still studying?
Look for local events as a first port of call, to connect with people in your area if possible. Attend conferences that are of interest to you and as your time and budget allows. You can guarantee that you will meet people who share your interests particularly if you are pro-active whilst you are there ensuring that you will be able to connect with them for future learnings, conversations and seeing them at future events. Join APM Network Interest Groups and locality groups to connect with people who share your interests or are in the same geographical area as you to keep the cost down. In those you can be as active as you would like to be/have time to be to fit around your studying.
Join online events which are often small and you can find connection in (LinkedIn Live for example). Connect with as many people as possible and engage in whatever conversations you have time to do: LinkedIn, APM Community, for example. Lots that can be done to pro-actively network whilst studying!
What’s a common mistake you see early-career professionals make, and how can students avoid it?
Don't rush into project management qualifications. Get some experience under your belt and in the process assess what qualifications are out there and might be most appropriate to you. I remember being asked to undertake Prince 2 early in my career. At the time of the course it meant very little to me as I had so little real life project experience to hang the information on.
Studying at degree and post-graduate levels might put you off development for a while; just don't let that while become too long a period! Take your time and once you feel ready to study, learn, develop keep doing that in whatever ways you have time and energy for: reading, engaging with others, listening to podcasts, taking formal exams.
Continued professional development is a vital part of being a project professional - keep it going!
What skills or qualities do you think will be most valuable in the workplace over the next few years?
Whilst I think that an understanding of and competence in the use of newer technologies such as AI will be essential, I still feel that being a strong, empathic leader/project professional who is emotionally and culturally aware/intelligent, will be of immense value and will in fact be a standout quality. Teams can fail without good, solid, appropriate care, support, in-time coaching and guidance. The ability to offer this, combined with having strong technical project management skills, based on the APMs competencies, and grounded in real life experience, will be absolutely key.
How can students build confidence in their abilities, especially when they’re just starting out?
Working with and learning from more experienced professionals, will help to support confidence in the right way to do things. Undertaking small discrete elements of a project to know that you can confidently undertake certain tasks, understand required documentation, be confident in how to support and how to challenge appropriately. Observe others and note who does things well and how they do it. Discuss with you manager opportunities to practice these things in real life settings and get feedback on what you've done well and what you could have done differently. Don't be afraid to ask for the latter because, uncomfortable as it can be at times, such feedback feeds continuous improvement for us all and is one of the best ways to learn, develop and to gain your confidence.
