5 Project Manager Skills You Must See in Your Next Candidate
Posted October 3rd, 2017
Finding the right project manager for your needs is essential to the success of your business. But separating those with the right capabilities from the pack isn’t always easy. A strong project manager must be able to keep teams on target, and that involves more than technical expertise. So, when it comes time to hire your next project management professional, here are five skills to seek out when looking for top talent.
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Leadership
Ultimately, a project manager must be able to stand in the position of a leader. They are responsible for overseeing tasks and coordinating the efforts of a diverse team while making smart business decisions along the way. Without this capability, the project might not be successful, and the responsibility to see it to fruition lies squarely on the shoulders of the person in this role. This makes leadership skills essential to the position and should be considered must-haves when screening applicants.
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The Ability to Motivate
At times, a project manager will need to help their team rally when times are tough. Most projects experience challenges throughout, and motivating everyone to keep pushing isn’t something that just anyone can do. A skilled project manager will be able to prop up their team during the most difficult of situations, allowing the quality of the work to remain satisfactory while helping all involved parties maintain the right mindset.
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Communication
A project manager must interact with a wide variety of professionals and stakeholders, each with different knowledge about the technical aspects of the project. Being able to communicate complex ideas in a way that anyone can understand is a vital skill, as well as the ability to maintain relationships between important parties.
Additionally, project managers are often the primary source of information for all of the team members. They need to be able to pass information efficiently and effectively throughout the project, ensuring everyone gets the details they need at the proper times. Without this ability, critical points can be missed, harming the final results.
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Organization
Since project managers must juggle numerous duties, it is essential that they be able to organize and properly compartmentalize information to keep things straight. Experience documenting processes and critical details is also paramount as this allowed everything to be available for future reference.
Project managers are also responsible for maintaining and adjusting the schedule, a task that isn’t easy if you aren’t organized.
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Adaptability
Few projects go completely smoothly from beginning to end, especially in fast-paced industries like IT. A competent project manager will be able to adjust to changes with ease, creating necessary workarounds and constructing a new course of action whenever the need arises.
By focusing on the skills above, as well as their technical competencies, you can identify candidates that are likely best suited for the role of project manager. If you are hiring someone for a project management role, the team at Bayside Solutions can connect you with top talent who possess the ideal combination of skills and experiences to be successful. Contact us today to see how our services can help you find the right candidate the first time.
