PM Decoding #8 from sales and finances to Project Management: switcher’s story
Switcher’s story is about Project Managers and the specifics of their work. We are happy to reveal the following story of transitions to project management from finance and sales. Danylo Kuzemskyi is the hero of our story, and we will talk to him about his career path at SoftServe, why he decided to focus on project management, the peculiarities of the profession, and recommendations for beginners.
Tell us about how and why you started your career at SoftServe.
I joined SoftServe in August 2018. At that time, I had five years of successful experience as a sales manager in a Ukrainian company that supplied tools and equipment for electronics repair. The specificity and niche nature of the work gave me a great experience of cooperation with various clients, from retail customers to large state-owned enterprises. At some point, I set a goal to get into a large IT company with modern processes and approaches to work. SoftServe was just that, based on feedback from friends and external sources. And it turned out to be so in practice.
Large IT companies are about a developer's career, and many corporate departments are standard for any company with thousands of employees. In these departments, I started looking for entry points that matched my skills and found an entry-level position in the financial vertical. From a tactical point of view, it was a step backward in terms of level and salary, but strategically, it was an investment on my part in my career in the IT industry. After weighing the pros and cons, I decided to take the risk, and I was right.
I quickly developed in my department, coped with the tasks, and realized I was ready for more. So, a year later, I presented to my management the idea of reorganizing our department. A new position was created for me, which united six parallel teams from different cities. As the head of the newly formed team, I set the goal of standardizing and improving operational processes and maximizing their digitalization.
Accordingly, already in this position, I began to actively develop my skills in leadership, management, team facilitation, and project management in particular. Changes in the corporate environment are always about projects, and projects are about the team. I found the right people with the desire and skill set and formed mini-teams for a specific project.
Why did you decide to move into project management?
Over the next year and a half in a management position, I gained relevant experience that needed to be scaled up. And for this, I needed to move to a new level.
Project management beckoned me with direct participation in IT projects and interaction with foreign clients. Therefore, having prepared a worthy replacement for myself, I decided to move on and applied to change my job profile to Project Manager.
For those who want stability, project management might not be easy.
In one of the first videos I saw with our CEO Chris Baker, he said that to develop, you need to constantly put yourself in the most uncomfortable position (get out of your comfort zone). This resonated with me, and by moving to project management, I did not fully allow my comfort zone to form.
Did I understand what Project Managers do in IT at the time? Relatively speaking, yes. However, project management has a very dynamic environment, with new tasks and challenges all the time. A lot of time is spent on self-education and development. Those who want stability will probably need help in project management.
All projects are unique, all situations are different, and no matter how well you prepare at the planning stage, all of the projects go exactly as planned.
How did the transition take place?
Everything is relatively simple. SoftServe has a well-established process for people who meet specific stated criteria: successful experience in a managerial position, a certain level of English, good communication skills, an understanding of the IT kitchen from the inside, etc. After certain formalities, you are assigned your first project, a mentor is appointed, and your journey in a new position begins.
This approach allows you to join an actual project as an assistant Project Manager, whom you immediately start helping, focusing on your existing experience, performing specific project duties, and learning new ones. This transitional period allows you to develop the necessary skills to lead the project yourself soon.
What were your first projects?
My first position was in a team with a client from the UK, with whom SoftServe has been working for many years. At that time, one project was coming to an end, another was about to start, and the third was running in parallel with the previous ones. On this project, I had the opportunity to learn a lot from the current Project Manager, whom I came to help as an assistant. It was also precious that it was not a single project. This allowed me to see projects at different stages of their life cycle (from initiation to closure) and gain relevant experience.
A few months later, having gained the necessary experience, I moved to another unit (an organizational unit in a company that brings together several clients and/or a portfolio of projects), where I joined a sizeable fixed-price project, also as a second Project Manager, assisting the Senior Project Manager. It was complex, as all such projects are, with many challenges in client communication and team management.
Since I was involved almost from the beginning to the end, I had the opportunity to build all the processes from scratch with their subsequent implementation, monitoring, and refinement, as well as create project documentation, etc. This essential experience allowed me to consolidate all my previous knowledge and skills and bring them to a qualitatively new level.
The MVP phase of the project lasted seven months; the result was successfully delivered to the client. After that, the Senior Project Manager I assisted moved to another unit. The rest of the team and I continued working with the client on this product under a new contract. Thus, I finally became a full-fledged Project Manager. We are still working on it to this day. Subsequently, when the project was on the rails, I had the capacity for additional assignments and received another project involving several people, which I am also working on now.
What skills help you become/be a good Project Manager?
We are all unique. Each of us has a different experience. Just as no two projects are the same, no two Project Managers are the same. Each of us has a specific set of skills that can be useful. However, some universal skills will still help you become a successful Project Manager:
- Communication skills. Project management involves communication (both verbal and written) with everyone at all times. High-quality, clear, concise, and, most importantly, on time. Developing communication skills will help you with the next point.
- Ability to manage expectations. This skill is the most important for the success of your project.
- Leadership. It is vital to be a leader and develop team leaders.
- Emotional intelligence. Understanding your own emotions and those of others makes it easier to work effectively with people.
- Critical thinking. You should always question the existing picture and make decisions based on reliable facts.
- Flexibility and adaptability. The IT industry is about constant change. Changes should be easy, and each should consider the possible risks and opportunities it creates.
The list is endless. 😊
Self-education. Tell us about the courses, events, and books that helped you acquire the skills you need to be a Project Manager.
Here I mention the vast number of opportunities that SoftServe provides in terms of training. While in the finance department, I completed the Future Finance Leaders Program, which gave me an incredible boost and allowed me to develop networking.
I had a chance to meet many people from SoftServe as well as external speakers and guests who joined the program. This program also included an event that changed the course of my career. I had the opportunity to request a mentor and chose Anna Kompanets, a former Competence Manager in our Project Management Office.
We went through a course on the basics of project management, which gave me the core knowledge and created a solid foundation on which I layered my other experience. Various articles, video courses, communities, etc., followed this.
After moving to project management, I completed two extensive internal Project Management Leadership Programs at the Coordinator and Project Manager levels. Each lasts 5–6 months; each consists of a dozen modules with theoretical and practical parts and a final test.
What advice can you give to those considering a career as a Project Manager in IT?
- Believe in yourself, and don’t stop at the first difficulty.
- You need a plan. This will allow you to move as quickly and efficiently as possible. Take a snapshot of what you know and can do and compare it with the requirements for an entry-level candidate. As a result, you will find gaps in your knowledge that need to be filled.
- Start with the basics and the macro level: what is a project (how does it differ from a process), what are the project stages, and what are the process groups and knowledge areas? Then dive into each of them and familiarize yourself with the basic concepts.
- Investigate info about Agile methodologies, read the Scrum Guide, and return to it again and again, each time rethinking it based on your experience.
- Develop your emotional intelligence, communication, and presentation skills.
- You can also start your home project. A perfect example is a small home renovation. This way, you will have the opportunity to test your theoretical knowledge in practice.
- Most importantly, whatever you do, try to keep track of your progress, and don’t stop there.
In conclusion, I want to add two crucial criteria for a successful Project Manager. These are love for people and systemic thinking. After all, project management involves communication and interaction with people within the ecosystem in that you work together.
The world of project management is beautiful and waiting for you. See you soon! 😉
P.S. The first story about the path from QC Engineer to PM was told by Anna Voitovych here.
