Tips for project-management techies

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October 5, 2011

Tips for project-management techies

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Q: I just moved from Beijing to Seattle with my husband. I am currently seeking project-management or vendor-management positions in the Internet/travel industries. Any suggestions for networking opportunities or job-seeking strategies?
— T.V., Seattle

Kristen says: Seattle is one of the country’s Internet hubs. Amazon, Microsoft, Expedia, Facebook and Google all have offices in the area, and the tech market is thriving. Expedia, which has been hiring briskly for the past year or so, hits both your target markets of Internet and travel.

Amazon, Microsoft and Expedia will probably yield better results for vendor-management positions because their global headquarters are here. Facebook’s and Google’s local operations are satellite offices.

For project-management opportunities, tech companies usually have a higher number of openings for technical roles. These require a computer-science degree and experience in software-development lifecycle, generally with either a software engineering or testing background.

PMP (Project Management Professional) certification has been on the rise as a preferred qualification, including non-technical project-management jobs. You can check with WorkSource for training options and certifications if you don’t have it.

Depending on your level of experience and the types of projects you have managed in terms of budget, resources and milestones, you might want to concentrate on Microsoft, which has a number of operations program-management jobs. Project-coordinator positions might also be worth exploring.

Your best bet for networking is to find positions on the companies’ websites that you are qualified for, apply and then use LinkedIn to find recruiters or hiring managers there. When you reach out to them to introduce yourself, identify the job number you are interested in to help orient recruiters and managers quickly.

Other local companies that you might consider include Alaska Airlines and Holland America. The downtown Seattle and Bellevue business corridors are home to many hotels; Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau would be a great research resource. Contacting hotel general managers for informational interviews might prove more effective than using online resources; the hospitality industry is still more face-to-face oriented for creating business relationships.

Make sure that your CV meets U.S. résumé formatting practices, including deleting personal information such as date of birth/age, marital status and photos. Have two distinct versions of your résumés, one for vendor management and the other for project management. There is a lot of competition in both industries, and you want to stand out.