How do I advance my career as a project manager?

TRS Staffing Solutions (TRS) is a results-driven recruitment specialist with experts knowledgeable in project management career paths.

The field of project management is vast and impacts just about every sector one can imagine. As such, a project management career path does not necessarily follow one fixed template; there are many potential ways a project manager can advance their career.

As a project manager’s experience evolves, it’s important to progress to bigger and more challenging projects that reflect the skill set and expertise they’ve honed over years of hard work.

This blog will offer some strategies and insights for advancing a project management career.

Whether you are already a seasoned project manager or someone relatively new to the role, you’ll find helpful concepts that can be applied to disciplines such as engineering, construction, and many other related fields.

Let’s take a look at the landscape:

Project management career path

Assessing your current position

When getting to grips with the viability of certain project management career opportunities, conducting an accurate self-evaluation is a great place to start.

It may prove helpful to ask yourself questions about:

• How much experience you truly have.
• How competent you are in a variety of professional scenarios.
• Your innate strengths.
• Areas you feel you can most improve on.

From there, it is useful to understand what your career aspirations are. Is there a specific sector you’d like to move into? Perhaps there’s a specialty you’d like to hone in on or a location you would like to work in.

Enhancing skills and knowledge

Once you have gotten clear on your current position and where you’d like to take your career, the next reasonable step to make in advancing your project management career is to grow your expertise and qualifications.

Professional project managers with advanced certifications, strong technical skills, and desirable soft skills stand a better chance not just of getting hired, but of securing the highest-paying project management jobs, too.

Gaining diverse experience

The breadth of experience you have in your project management career will help open doors to other professional opportunities.

Actively seeking out challenging projects to participate in is a worthwhile pursuit if it helps you to strengthen your portfolio and gain experience in a specialised area that you’d like to work in the future.

Networking

Building a network is a surefire way of creating further opportunities for project management career advancement. Are there any project management conferences near you that you could attend? 

Consider reaching out to a mentor who’s experienced and knowledgeable in your field. 

Not only will a mentor be able to guide you with actionable advice on how to advance your project management career, but they will likely also be well-connected with other industry players—some of whom may be able to offer you the next career move you’re looking for.

Advance your project management career today

TRS Staffing is a global staffing agency committed to connecting skilled professionals with fulfilling, rewarding jobs. 

We are currently recruiting project managers in a variety of fields, with an emphasis on oil and gas, manufacturing, mining, and renewables.

Browse our database of open jobs today and discover what your next career move as a project manager could be.