Rosemary Hossenlopp, MBA PMP © 2007 All Rights Reserved
What did you talk about during your holiday parties? If you didn’t talk about your job, why not? Maybe you were avoiding the subject because your project work just isn’t s exciting as it has been in the past. Or it could be because you were stunned into silence listening to your project team lead describing the BWM they got with their bonus.
Why should I talk about this? 
The dull nag New Years resolution season is fast approaching. So consider this is a great time to take charge of your career planning and next year you will be bragging about your project successes.
Accidental Project Manager
Many of you fell into a project management job. And this choice of fate turned out to be a good one. But you don’t want others to continue defining your career for you. So what’s stopping you from planning your next position?
There may be some myths stopping you from moving towards the job that you will be talking about at next year’s parties.Myth 1. You are happy where you are. You don’t need to be looking for a job change to use career planning. You may like your project, the people and the project processes. But change happens. Preempt a scramble to get ready for a new one by being prepared with a development plan.
Myth 2. You don’t have time. You are right. There is no such thing as free career planning. It has a cost; your time invested in smart goal setting to help you get what you want.
Myth 3. Someone else will do career planning for you. No, It is your responsibility and not your bosses. No one else can identify your path to success as they don’t know your dreams, motivations and passions.
Am I being a Grinch that stole Christmas? No. This is a frank look at goal setting and career planning for project managers. There is a method of smart goal setting and personal goal planning. No one is more interested in having a different conversation at next years holiday parties than you.
Give yourself a Christmas present by coming back to this blog over the next several days as we walk through developing a project management career plan.
Grab your pencil to create a plan over the next five days to get your project management career plan in shape for the new years.
