5 Reasons your Company wants a PMP Certified Manager
If you scan online job boards, you would see that most of them list PMP certification as ‘strongly preferred’ or ‘required’ qualifications for project manager positions. Regardless of whether you are a hiring manager with project management positions to fill, or a project manager desirous of a new job, the significance of a Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification is indeed undeniable.
Here we take a quick look at why organizations are vying for employees with the PMP certification.
I. PMP certifications are becoming necessary for vendors and companies
The current business scenario is certainly not dependent on the intrinsic worth of a PMP certification, but then, the economic reality is that major entities and many companies are demanding the same while giving out projects. For instance, the U.S. marketplace has placed PMP and other allied project management certifications in high demand; certified project managers are required for being a part of bid proposals for government agencies; and highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, defense, financial services, and aerospace are refusing to give their posts to aspirants lacking PMP certification. All in all, more and more organizations, globally, are seeking a greater percentage of PMP-certified managers on board.
2. Employers want their staff to speak a unified language
Communication—both verbal and written—is an inevitable part of a project manager’s job. Even though the levels of communication between all team members may vary with regards to different projects, organizations are gaining by having a common business language for all, interactions. PMP certified professionals speak a common jargon and know how to conduct themselves while discussing projects. For instance, they are completely aware of the differences between a Procurement Performance Review and a Procurement Audit. Or they are on the same page as far as total floats, qualitative/ quantitative risk analysis, and other performance metrics are concerned. This common understanding of accepted project management frameworks allows smooth communication channels between clients and vendors, while presenting them with a level playing field. In return, the number of projects that tend to go the wrong way because of communications failures are drastically reduced.
3. Companies are Seeking Goal Oriented and Motivated In-house Teams
Those with a PMP Certification in hand showcase their ambitious streaks in more ways than one. Recruiters and HRs believe that such people are highly motivated and ready to go an extra mile to attain their goals. In the competitive scene that companies are finding themselves in today, they are obviously looking for goal oriented, hard working employees who are ready to fuel their professional development even further. Earning of this certificate requires substantial inputs of energy, time, and focus. So, directly or indirectly, it may serve as one of the best ways of conveying this message to perspective (and current) employers looking to add further worth to their human resources.
4. PMP shows that aspirants can manage diverse projects in more structured ways
Project managers usually work in ever-changing environment filled with unknowns. Additionally, they need to apply standardized, repeatable processes recommended by project management experts from across the world. This collaboration in economy can be attained via the use of common processes and structured techniques only. This the reason why employers seek experts equipped with tools, documents and risk identification skills endorsed by PMI. The act ensures that the newly hired (or existing) PMP professionals, partner organizations, and team members are always on the same page with respect to all approaches.
5. PMP certification imparts strong skills and well-researched knowledge base
Last but certainly not the least; certified project managers are known to have all requisite skills needed for excelling at their work. More productive in nature and serving as valued contributors to their employers, such professionals are definitely more sought for than their counterparts. More so, PMP trained project managers bring a vast repository of project management knowledge to their organization. This strong foundation is useful for all future and ongoing and projects alike.
Business Environment and Job Market
As per a survey conducted by Anderson Economic Group, a minimum of 1.2 million project manager positions will be available for grabs by 2016. In many cases, applicants that do boast of a PMP certification will not be considered at all. Under the circumstances, it becomes essential for senior project managers as well as new applicants to keep upgrading themselves with more PDUs, mentoring of other PMP aspirants, reading material on PMP, attending seminars, and so forth.
All the best.