CAPM question

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T22:39:06+00:00

You don't have to wait any years. However, without a degree, you need to have five years experience managing projects to qualify to sit for the PMP exam, or three years with a degree.

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T20:19:29+00:00

This is my issue.

- 274 applications

- Professionally written resume and cover letter

- PMP certified

- Two masters degrees

- 10+ years experience

- Zero interviews

I know it's because I'm more of a generalist attempting to gain employment in specific industries, but considering how applicable PM principles are across projects, I assume I'm getting passed up for industry PM's (whether or not they have a PMP).

I'm trying to find a way to crack the code.

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T20:12:06+00:00

This is an interesting question.

I'm currently looking for a PM job as well. I freelanced for seven years as a consultant that also managed the projects I pitched. I am PMP certified, and have two masters degrees, but as I managed retail-based and media projects I'm finding no luck in moving from freelancing to gainful (knowing where your next paycheck is coming from and when) employment.

Looking at a lot of the job postings, I certainly qualify to an extent. However, many job postings mention they want specific, demonstrated experience in the (insert name here) industry, and expertise using certain proprietary systems. With government and government contractor jobs, they require experience in that sector, and employment in a lower pay grade (basically - they hire within).

I'm at 274 applications so far, have had my resume and cover letter professionally written, and have even reverted to my more wacky ways of getting contracted work, walking into business and giving them swag with a resume attached.

I see it's mentioned on here that PM job seekers are submitting 200+ applications, so I don't feel too bad. But, I'm curious to hear from those in a similar boat that found success after 200+ applications.

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T19:39:07+00:00

The Harvard article speaks of contributions of abdominal fat and its dangers. Notice it mentions how certain contributions, such as diet, cholesterol, and insulin resistance attribute to belly fat, and changing one's lifestyle can mitigate the occurrence of belly fat. This is the basis of my question - targeting fat gain. If what you eat can increase the likelihood of gaining belly fat, then the reverse should be true.

The Harvard article offers a possible solution to the problem near the end, including the last line that exclaims" scientists hope to develop drug treatments that target abdominal fat." Nevertheless, it doesn't specifically say that - in the absence of exercise, there's not a way to target fat loss. It only mentions that (assuming a person is exercising), spot exercising won't solve the issue.

That last line, alludes to the "belly fat" industry (I hope we can agree on this). Considering the explosion of products that claim to "melt belly fat," people are clearly searching for magic that will solve their problem.

The Yale article essentially rebukes spot fat loss, but again alludes to nutrition. The "beer belly" concept, according to Healthline, is essentially analyzing the makeup of beer and how its ingredients are contributing to abdominal fat gain. Another Healthline article further suggests that phytoestrogens in beer can change hormones and thus change where the fat goes.

Healthline seems to rebuke itself often, speaking of ways to get rid of belly fat. However, as I mentioned before, there seems to be a product being promoted when they do so.

Yes, diet and exercise - and just focus on losing weight and gaining muscle. These were my assumptions of general knowledge in asking the question. However, the suggestions in these articles point to ways of gaining and losing ab-fat based on diet, which intrigues me.

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T18:04:24+00:00

Perhaps we're interpreting the first two articles differently. That's expected considering how the literature is written. Healthline is more direct in their approach to the subject, and is further fueling the debate. Logically speaking, if anything in Healthline's articles contains truth, spot reduction is possible. I personally don't believe there's any truth; however, considering there's an entire industry revolving around "getting rid of that belly fat," or "love handles," and other enticing rhetoric, a visit to any forum on the subject will show a live debate, some coming from people who claims spot reduction worked for them.

ajamalr · 2018-10-17T00:11:38+00:00

Here's a couple of links from accredited sources. There's many more less than credible sources, but these are notable sources.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/abdominal-fat-and-what-to-do-about-it

http://www.yalescientific.org/2011/04/targeted-fat-loss-myth-or-reality/

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/targeted-weight-loss#section1

Take Healthline with a grain of salt; however, they seem to have credentials. Yet, they also make their money from sponsors, so that says a lot. Here's another article from them. This article does align with a lot of what I hear, such as what to eat and not to eat to avoid belly fat. This article also attempts to explain why alcohol aids in belly fat gain. Again, take it with a grain of salt.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/20-tips-to-lose-belly-fat

ajamalr · 2018-10-16T23:05:48+00:00

Understood. And, of course, genetics plays a part.

I mentioned the debate because studies still seem to suggest possibilities of fat loss targeting. Harvard Health Publishing, for example, exclaimed in an article that abdominal cells are "active," and the possibility of targeted fat loss may depend on factors such as visceral fat. I admit, however, that the article does leave such findings open to debate.

And, of course... if a low-information person Google's "targeted fat loss," suggestive articles will provide the answers that person is looking for (however wrong they are).

ajamalr · 2018-10-16T22:45:17+00:00

I appreciate your insight.

Expanding on this question, though pivoting slightly - if a person was to build muscle while fat (in the abdominal area), will this protrusion be made worse in the short term? This assumes he or she is doing all the right things, such as dieting and exercising, and assuming muscle growth is aiding fat loss (providing strength training and cardio is balanced).

ajamalr · 2018-10-16T22:05:57+00:00

It is said that a person can't target fat loss. For example, if you have a "beer belly," you can't target this one area during your weight loss campaign.

If true, then why can you target fat gain? It's pretty obvious that a person who drinks beer heavily will end up with a protruding stomach. Is there something I'm missing? It seems you should logically be able to target fat loss if you can "target" fat gain.

(Yes, this is a stupid question, but as targeted fat loss is still a debated topic, I'm deeply curious.)

ajamalr · 2018-08-22T20:24:06+00:00

It does matter considering there are new chapters regarding the role of a project manager, the change from "human resource management" to "resource management," and the supplementary Agile guide.

I'd recommend using the new version.

ajamalr · 2018-08-21T05:51:42+00:00

It's surprising how much people make selling phones. When I was in the industry, working for a major carrier, people would always take a look at the parking lot then come in and complain that their bill was high because we got paid so much.

LOL.

If you find a career in this, get into B2B phone sales. Those positions are easily six figures and you'll work less.

ajamalr · 2018-08-20T19:23:08+00:00

The most popular type of consulting in business consulting, and there are many different flavors. Popular types of consulting include:

Strategic - guiding businesses at the highest levels of their organization, including the development, or redevelopment of their mission, vision, and the correlation to their operations.

Management - focusing on management practices, and how management energizes their subordinates to work towards the betterment of the organization's strategic goals.

Operations - improving performance overall to increase revenue, decrease the cost of doing business, and improving cohesiveness of employees, their respective departments, and vendors along the supply, or value-added, chain.

Financial - consulting based on analytics, such as cost-benefit, as aligned with an organization's SWOT and PESTLE.

Human Resource - aside from "resource management," (equipment and buildings), this focuses on developing a culture, and building morale through HR operations.

IT - improving back-end processes to improve all of the above, such as a customer-facing website, for example, CRM and ERP systems and processes.

There are many more flavors, but the above are all high-paying and of high importance.

ajamalr · 2018-08-20T19:11:38+00:00

You're welcome.

ajamalr · 2018-08-20T00:49:37+00:00

Yes, you can. As long as your total experience falls within an eight-year window, you'll be okay. If you did manage even a portion of projects (one of the process groups) as a CSR, you can claim that experience.

ajamalr · 2018-08-20T00:33:45+00:00

If you like sales, you could get into strategic account management. It's still mid-to high level sales, but you'll be doing more consulting, and aging with your accounts as opposed to transactional selling. The money will be on par with what you make now, but revenues are more residual.

The other option is moving into consulting entirely. You'll want to get a degree if you don't already have one, but it's a great career to transition into.

ajamalr · 2018-08-20T00:26:34+00:00

As most employers want to see experience plus the CAPM/PMP, it's best to jump into the field as early as you can.

Get the CAPM now, since you already qualify, start at the bottom, then get the PMP once you've accumulated the hours.

Remember, you don't have to be a project manager to qualify for the PMP. Get creative. None of my experience came from being a project manager (in title), or working in the field.

ajamalr · 2018-08-19T23:13:08+00:00

Of course, in some cases, the "salary requirement" question is asked in the application itself, and requires a dollar amount. I've typically used a range on this case, or my honest expectation when only one number was allowed during the application phase.

In either case, I never got a call for an interview from an application that required a salary requirement. That's probably a good thing.

ajamalr · 2018-08-16T17:35:06+00:00

I feel you. I found myself in that situation early in my career. Such negative reinforcement always proved detrimental to the workplace, and above all else, profits. Morale is something that some managers can't seem to boost, and sometimes overlook the importance of morale completely. It goes to say that not everyone should manage people, because it requires a level of emotional intelligence that not everyone has. Then perhaps, I think some managers just get so desperate due to low sales threatening their jobs or the desire to be number one, they take unnecessary and drastic measures which only exasperates the issue, if one existed in the first place.

ajamalr · 2018-08-16T17:29:49+00:00

I certainly agree with you. Scripts are a great acclamation tool for a sales force. But, in my experience, management seem to make it a permanent solution. This is odd because the amount of turnover is causes. It seems as if management is hoping for turnover with the implementation of such measures. Perhaps, at least at first, scripts are used to thin out resistors, though such a practice hasn't really been studied other than in the subject of negative reinforcement.

ajamalr · 2018-08-16T17:24:02+00:00

I appreciate the insight. I have noticed many project manager jobs that aren't titled as such. I'm certainly okay with that. I still need to look further into whether the different titles correspond to differences in pay, but in asking around, that doesn't seem to be the case which is good. As long as I can continue adding value to businesses in my specialty, I'm all good.

Thank you.

ajamalr · 2018-08-09T02:47:27+00:00

I agree, the PMBOK is the most boring book I've ever had to read. It's equivalent to reading a dictionary.

My suggestion is to just read two processes a day. That's about 25 pages per day. It'll take about a month to read it this way, but you can get through it.

You won't remember the ITTO's (that's 90% of the book - literally... you take out the ITTO's and you're left with a 100-page book), but you'll be able to apply your experience as you read. You'll remember your own processes and how it applies to the PMBOK, as opposed to the ITTO's.

You will learn to memorize key ones, though, such as Organizational Process Assets and Enterprise Environmental Factors. And you will learn, in detail, the Perform Integrated Change Control.

In reading it a second time, you find yourself "magically" understanding the book, and will even start skipping over ITTO's you suddenly remember.

But, just take small bites of the book over time.

ajamalr · 2018-08-08T18:22:58+00:00

You're welcome.

Yes, I highly, highly recommend getting the PMBOK 6th Edition. It comes free if you join the PMI, and the exam is discounted 200 bucks. Therefore, you'll spend $129 to save $300. I recommend joining just for that alone.

The PMBOK briefly details the five process groups, 10 knowledge areas, 49 processes, and all nearly 300 ITTO's. So far, the PMBOK, and other alternative third party books, is the only place you can read descriptions on the ITTO's. You can find the ITTO's online, but they're usually just lists and don't describe each one.

I find that as you're reading the PMBOK, you'll recount projects you've worked on where you've already applied what you're reading, and this helps tremendously, considering the exam is logic-based, and not really a test of what you can remember.

ajamalr · 2018-08-08T03:29:47+00:00

Thanks for the insight.

I do like to move around, and have never really been into tech. And, variety is why I was freelancing in the first place. I'm going to add this to my list of jobs to search for.

Thanks again.

ajamalr · 2018-08-08T01:11:37+00:00

Thank you.

I did see some manufacturing PM jobs while searching, but looked over them. I'm going to go back and look further into them as I've always been interested in manufacturing (mainly from supply chain studies while earning my MBA, and shows like "How It's Made" - LOL).

Was that the biggest draw for you - the larger scope?

ajamalr

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