7 Priceless Things I Learned in My 9 Months in Project Management

They say it’s always darker before the dawn.

Those nine months I spent doing project management in translations have been my sunrise. And now, four months after leaving that job, I can say that my (little, yet meaningful) experience in project management has changed my perspective on everything.

I came into project management broken into pieces, with approximately 1% of the self-confidence I had just a couple of months before, not sure if I would ever come back to my digital marketing mothership, or if I should just move on.

That first month was dark, confusing, and filled with a constant feeling that I would never see this through. Thankfully, though, I did — and I owe this to a team of people who were kind, supportive, and endlessly patient with my mishaps. My team buddies, my team leader, and overall, the entire team have all helped me find myself again.

Somewhere between project deadlines, budgets, and quality reports, I found my voice again — and I learned seven precious things I will carry with me for a long time.

Ask Questions

Given that I was a Junior, people expected me to ask questions. I don’t think my team leader expected the crazy-wide range of questions and mini-macro panic attacks coming from me on a weekly basis via desperate Slack messages, though.

She handled them (and me) like a real pro — but more than anything, she handled them so humanely and so caringly that the entire experience felt almost surreal.

As for my teammates, well, they handled my questions like real brothers and sisters too. I never once felt belittled, despite being a complete and utter disaster of a woman.

Communication Beyond Marcomm

Having worked in Marcomm for seven years, I had my idea of what communication is.

And then I moved to a place where my emails had to be as short as possible, as concise as possible, and as humane as possible too. No-fuss, no bling, no fancy turns of phrase. Just getting the message across in the most coherent and understandable way there is.

Even more, I moved to a place where I was sitting on the other side of the business. I wasn’t in with the guys who bring in the customers, but in with the guys who make sure the customers stay because they receive quality services.

Needless to say, a change in perspective allowed me to re-build myself as a Marcomm professional, once again.

Read Everything. Thrice.

Seriously. Do it.

Yes, you’re pressed, and yes, we all have 24 hours to juggle within a day, and yes, you sometimes have to rush through everything at godless speeds.

But read the requirements, memorize the details like they’re your second Our Father, and constantly remind them to yourself throughout the course of a project.

It makes the difference between a tiny panic attack shared with your team leader on Slack at the end of the week and a massive one.

Your Work Self vs. Your Self Self

I always thought of myself as a creative. I have been writing ever since I can remember, and for the most part of my life, my career goals have leaned towards the creative forces of the Universe.

But then, as a project manager, I found out I can be creative after my 9 to 5. It gave my juices a well-deserved break after having flowed non-stop for 12 hours a day, every day, for seven years.

My work self dwelt in numbers and deadlines.

My home self allowed herself to let the creativity build itself up again.

My work self experienced some of the most hysterical bursts of laughter in the midst of stress and anxiety — again, thanks to a team of complete and utterly lovely weirdos I couldn’t have fit in any better.

My home self allowed herself to internalize the experience of the past two years and recover.

As odd as it may sound, project management didn’t make me feel more stressed out. It might have done this to any sane person, but on me, it had the completely opposite effect. It allowed me to take control of professional self again.

Yes, You Can.

I don’t think I need to explain just how panicked I was on my first day there. I thought my world had crumbled before my feet and that I had to dance on these shaky grounds forever.

It took approximately two weeks before I started to settle into the role, absorb the information, and actually start doing the work. Again, this is not my merit, but the merit of an entire team that handled me like you would with a scared baby — which is pretty much what I was.

When life gives you lemons, toss them away and go make yourself a tall cup of coffee with honey and milk. Life’s too short to spend it in bitter-sourness over things you can’t change.

Make the most of what you don’t have — like planning skills, for example.

No Project Is too Little

As a Junior, I mostly handled teeny tiny projects.

While it might not seem like a massive deal to handle projects of little under 500 words, the truth is that it doesn’t matter how small or large a project may be. You still have to:

• Deliver quality
• Deliver on time
• Deliver on budget

50 words or 5,000,000 — it doesn’t matter. The standard’s the same for everyone, and that is precisely what brings customers back to your yard.

Trust Thy Pros

I was fortunate enough to work with freelancers who proved nothing but amazing professionalism — even when I least deserved it because, again, I am this disaster of a woman.

At times, these people reminded me of Marcomm lessons I had shoved so deep into the back of my head I thought they would never come back.

Like, for example, cultural sensitivity to some topics and approaches. Something that had completely missed me in a project that involved the translation of a marketing campaign was instantly signaled by my translators. It’s not their job to remind me, or clients, that cultural sensitivity is an issue in some situations — and yet, they did.

When I left my project management job, I was heartbroken again. This time around though, I wasn’t leaving behind my self-confidence or my belief in the kindness of people — those had plenty of time to build back up, stronger than ever before.

I was heartbroken because the darkest times in my career life were turned upside down by a small group of people who made me smile through panic attacks and mistakes every day for nine months. And I was leaving that.

It would’ve been enough to have a baby.

Instead, I chose to have a short-lived, yet ultra-meaningful stint in project management. Which, oddly enough, gave birth to a whole new me.

And I cannot be anything but grateful for this opportunity life threw my way and for the people I met along the way.

And for a tiny inside joke, I’ll leave this:

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