I wasn't immediately sold on the professional merits of social networking sites. But as we all know, it often comes down to who you know, not what you know.
So back in October 2007, a colleague convinced me to join LinkedIn. I started connecting with people I knew at Intel, folks who had retired from the company, members of the local PMI chapter, and friends and acquaintances I'd met along the way—basically anyone I could find in the stack of business cards I'd collected over the years.
Throughout my career, I've worked for and with many people, so I humbly asked for recommendations for my profile and discovered many colleagues were more than happy to write a few nice words about me.
Today, I have more than 8,400 direct connections in my LinkedIn profile and over 300 recommendations—not bad for someone reluctant to join just a year and a half before. Obviously many project managers are plugged into other networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, but I steer clear of the ones that seem geared at socializing. I just don't find much business value there.
All in a Few Hours
Spending just a few hours per week on a professional social networking site like LinkedIn, I can tap into a wealth of knowledge. A simple search on LinkedIn reveals more than 700 groups focused on program management and 1,200 on project management. On Google's Orkut, you'll find more than 94 groups dedicated to project management.
I've joined four of the nearly 60 project management office (PMO) groups on LinkedIn, and although there hasn't been any real epiphany, I have gained increased awareness about what my peers are doing. And that helps me validate what I'm doing right—or wrong—and provides guidance and strategies for making improvements. For example, one discussion I followed on the features of a project versus a program management office prompted me to revise my PMO agenda to include a monthly program review. In another case, I channeled parts of a discussion about convincing senior-level executives on the value of PMOs into some presentation materials.
The information flows both ways, of course. Many project managers reached out to me for help in obtaining the Program Management Professional (PgMP)® credential. I was glad to assist, and it's one of the reasons I have so many recommendations on my LinkedIn profile.
In Demand
Given the current economic situation, many good project managers are in career transition. Here, too, social networks can help. Simply put, the more people you know, the better your odds are of finding a position. Several people have contacted me through LinkedIn and I, in turn, connected them with people I knew who might be able to help. Also, most social networking sites have a job search function, and a few people I know have found positions that way.
For me personally, an interesting phenomenon emerged when my LinkedIn connections stretched beyond 500. I started to get job offers—good ones, too—from recruiters and managers who scanned my profile and asked me to connect. I average two to three offers per month. (Prior to last October, it was five per month.) I'm very happy at Intel, so I only followed up on a few to see if I was lacking any skills. I've used that information not only for my own career development, but also to compile standard project and program manager requirements for people I'm mentoring or coaching.
Social Hour
Here are a few suggestions for project managers looking to tap into social networking sites:
Be willing to devote the time to keep your profile current. Joining social media websites is a great idea, but turning them into powerful networking tools takes a bit of thought and a strategy to maximize the benefits in the minimal amount of time.
Monitor your social networking sites daily. Millions of people log in and input information into these sites on a daily basis, and you don't want to miss out or be late to respond.
Build your network—before you need it. In today's economy, everyone should have a good network and a soft landing zone in case you suddenly find yourself in need of a job.
ARE YOU REALLY READY FOR A PMO?
Not every organization is necessarily prepared to launch a project management office (PMO). Here's what Pradeep Bhanot at CA Clarity had to say:
I have worked in organizations with very senior project teams. What they lacked was thinking beyond their product silos. As long as senior management cares about projects being better aligned to their corporate goals, they can use the PMO function as an enabler for such alignment. A PMO can start with an individual consultant with management backing, helping to create policies that can initially be enforced by individual project managers.
For more Voices on Project Management, check out the blog at PMI.org/voices.
Remember, project managers are expected to be proactive, be prepared and to mitigate risks—and being an active part of a social network can help you do all those things. PM
| Jeff Hodgkinson, PMP, PgMP, is a 29-year project and program management veteran of Intel Corp., Chandler, Arizona, USA. He currently works in the IT business transformation department as the project management office manager and the principal program manager for developing program manager talent. |
RAISE YOUR VOICE No one knows project management better than you, the practitioners “in the trenches.” So PM Network launched its Voices on Project Management column. Every month, project managers will share ideas, experiences and opinions on everything from sustainability to talent management, and all points in between. If you're interested in contributing, please send your idea to [email protected].