Projects are, in general, specific tasks that run on a finite schedule: the building of a new headquarters, for instance, or the development of a new accounting system. Once the project is over, you no longer need a project management consulting team, and by extension, you no longer need a project manager.
Project management consulting, therefore, is a job of frequent changes and travel. It is demanding on the project manager, and the company hiring a project management consulting team needs to ensure that they choose the right person the first time.
Choosing project management consulting
Your project manager is your primary hiring consideration. Your project manager should have experience in your industry, and he or she should be able to describe to you how they were successful with previous consulting jobs. Most crucially, they should be able to tell you how they put together a team.
Your project manager is going to be the head of his or her team and will be making the hiring and distribution decisions for the project management team.
They will be telling you which members of your team they’ll need for the project if any, and how much stress it will put on your organization to lose their skills for the amount of time they are crucial to the project.
Your project manager should also be able to tell you who they have in mind for other team members, and what their track record is.
By the time you hire a project manager, you should know not only who they are and what they’ve done, but what kind of project management consulting team they will be putting together and how they will work together and with your company to successfully complete your project.
Being chosen for project management consulting
If you’re trying to land a project management consulting job with little or no experience, it’s probably not going to happen.
To become a project manager or even a member of a project management consulting team, you’ll need to have a track record of working in an important capacity as a member of a consulting team.
This is not a catch-22. You don’t start at a company as the CEO, and likewise, you don’t’ start project management consulting as the lead project manager.
One of the best ways to enter the project management consulting world is as a team member in a company when your employer is working on a project.
Another way to find a job in project management consulting is by finding a position with a consulting company. You may need a previous track record in your specialty, or you may be able to enter a consulting company right after college; but it’s certain that if you want to become a project manager, you’ll need further education as well as plenty of experience.
When you begin working for a project management consulting firm, let your supervisor know what your goals are. They know the best way to get good project managers is to grow them in their own company.