Refocusing career after maternity leave

[Beagle]

I am wondering if any of you ladies can advise.

I intend to return to work post baby 2, although since I went on leave in May the company has restructured twice and there have been lots of redundancies in my division, I work in print publishing. Regardless of whether I return to current job or have to find a new one I recognise, due to the squeeze from recession and downturn in publishing generally, that I need to reboot and refocus my skills in order to stand out.

I can see that the most valuable skill required now in my sector is not creativity but cost delivery, understanding how to deliver change and value for money. I am seeing the concept of "change management" crop up as a skill requirement more and more often.

I have two kids and am time and cash poor. I can't afford to start an MBA financially or time wise (unless I can circumvent the need to sleep entirely! ) however I do want to do a course that will help me understand finance and might cover the methodologies of change or project management. One that is possible to fit in around kids/ working /attempting to run a home. I have seen the 5 day knowledge tree type project management courses etc, do these offer practical value?

My searches are not turning up much so would appreciate if anyone has done any similar course or has any advice. In 15 years I have witnessed the 40 something, mothers, manager level being made redundant with each restructure. That's what I am now so recognise my vulnerability and want to reposition myself sooner rather than later.

Any pointers gratefully received.

[Susan]

Beagle I am in the same position and have been looking at project management training such as Prince II but not sure how valuable these are without actual on the job experience. Have you considered this?

Sorry for hijacking and thanks for starting the thread

Susan

[Blueskies]

I have worked on large infrastructure projects. The main courses on project management that I've come across are the prince 2 qualification and also courses run by the association of project management- I've done the APM ones so can only really comment on those. There are three different levels for the APM qualifications. First is an introductory course which is done over 1-2 days an a short multiple choice exam. Then the APMP course which is a five day intensive tuition course plus written three hr exam at the end, you would need a bit of projects experience for the latter course I think but not sure is compulsory - doesn't have to be work, could be e.g. Managing house refurb relevant too. Finally a apm practitioners exam which you definitely need a good lot of projects experience to take. Good luck!

[katgod]

I looked into this awhile back and it seemed from my research that prince 2 is relatively old now, but heavily used in the public sector. My private sector employer is all about 'lean six sigma' which is about changing processes. Not sure if there are externally run courses on it but lean and continuous improvement are the buzz words in my work world.

[Beagle]

Susan, hijack away, we can form a support group!

Katgod, my impression was that Prince 2 had become a bit old hat. I asked a recruiter today about how worthwhile it was and he said not to bother.I will keep investigating and see what I turn up. Agree lean is the word of the moment.

[EmilyPie]

Also worth thinking about the difference between change management and project management and how you might demonstrate both those skills. From my experience while project management is all about delivering on time and on budget and meeting milestones etc, and for which experience of software/courses can be a useful way of demonstrating skills, change management is a bit more nebulous. I've found that it most often means implementing redundancies or restructures across a team or organisation while maintaining/improving morale/performance. This tends to involve a combination of steely ruthlessness to decide where/who to cut; empathy and an understanding of people to motivate and get the best out of those who remain and a strong grasp of future trends and strategy to identify any gaps in skills or refocusing of current employees. Not the kind of thing you can easily do a course on but there are books about it (not sure how good they are), and it is definitely something that can be referenced in a cv and expanded upon in interview. Especially as, by the sound of it, you've already been through a few restructures!

[SR]

Hi There,

I am a Project Manager, in the ECommerce/Software development sphere. PRINCE 2 is old fashioned as it is a "Waterfall" methodology while the trend in my field is towards more "Agile" type methodologies - googling these terms will give you more info than I can and save me time. I think there is still a place for PRINCe 2 even if you don't follow it to the letter - it's document and process heavy, it frames projects and gives you a checklist of what to consider. Also gives you PM speak.

I would try to get some experience as spending money on a course and trying to get an interview off the back of that, would be a struggle I'd imagine - I wouldn't be rushing to interview you.. Try to get involved in projects where you work, is that possible? I don't know about the print industry but any move to make your content online is worth volunteering for? Implementing a new system? Look for Junior PM roles, they will not be looking for you to be qualified, will probably expect to pay for some training. You would be taking a salary hit but I think after a few years you could easily progress quickly. I'm sure a lot of experience you have gained is transferable to a PM role.

If you have any questions I can help with let me know.

[sb]

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