by Tiffany DeBolt, PMP Six Sigma Greenbelt, DeBoltBusinessSolutions.com

If you are a project manager, it might be easier than you think to land a new job in a different industry. Unemployment rates are at their highest levels in several decades and, in a slowing global economy, are poised to go higher still. Many of the victims of layoffs have been working in the manufacturing, IT, automotive, financial and construction industries.

Project managers from any of these industries, and many others, can add a great deal of value to companies struggling through a recession. The benefits of project management are realized in reduced costs, reduced project delays, improved project quality and improved customer satisfaction – all of which have a positive impact on the bottom line.

Fast Learners

The skills necessary to be a good project manager are easily transferrable from industry to industry. An IT project manager, while having a background in technical projects, has the skill set that is needed to drive operational or process-based projects. An opera- tions project manager from the telecom industry can make the leap to real estate development. Project managers are naturals at asking questions, digging deep during the planning process and quickly gaining an understand- ing of new content. In other words, project managers are loaded with attributes that organizations need right now!

Project managers have unique qualities that make them very marketable in this economy. By their very nature, they are catalysts for change. Most businesses are currently struggling through change management as they try to restructure, streamline, realign and become more competitive in this difficult economy.

Project managers are inherently focused on scope achievement, expense reduction and improved ROI, because all projects are reviewed for the constraints of scope, time and cost. They are always asking themselves how to do it better, faster, cheaper – and if a project does not align with the strategic direction of the company, project managers will seek to kill it. Project managers affect change quickly with minimal expense by managProject managers are naturals at asking questions, digging deep during the planning process and quickly gaining an understanding of new content. In other words, project managers are loaded with attributes that organizations need right now!