By 2027, employers will need 87.7 million individuals working in project management-oriented roles.
The best or most innovative technology is not likely to make it into anyone’s hands without a great Project Manager.
They bring order to project chaos, and are able to get all stakeholders — both tech and non-tech — to play nicely together in the sandbox.
It’s no small feat.
A good Project Manager understands each part of the project and how to work with vendors, engineers, business analysts or other stakeholders. And they typically have one of these backgrounds.
Project managers benefit from being subject matter experts
There’s a lot of skillset diversity within the Project Manager field.
Some companies in Hong Kong hire a Project Manager generalist to manage software projects or build a project management office, while other firms require specialists.
A healthcare firm may want a Project Manager who is HIPAA-trained, for example, or a company may need someone to manage Python development for new software.
While there isn’t a shortage of project managers, it’s hard to find one with subject matter expertise: The more specific the project and niche the industry, the harder it is to find a qualified candidate.
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How to be a Project Manager
Project managers must have demonstrated knowledge and experience with project management methodologies in order to work with intricate, multifaceted projects.
They also need superb communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with the business and development teams and make project presentations.
Typical Project Manager qualification requirements include:
- A bachelor’s degree in an IT- or business-related field
- A background in applications development, and five or more years of experience managing complex projects
- Project management certifications, such as those from PMI (Project Management Institute), also are highly recommended.
Use the Robert Half Salary Guide for the latest starting salary for a Project Manager in Hong Kong
Typical Project Manager duties include:
- Managing overall coordination of IT projects, from planning through implementation
- Setting project scope, priorities, deadlines and deliverable schedules
- Facilitating discussions and consensus among various project stakeholders, such as analysts, programmers and clients
- Managing and monitoring project budgets and expenditures
In today’s market, experience with Agile software development is very important, as is infrastructure experience with continuous integration and knowledge of open source scripting or automation language.
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Diplomacy skills are integral
Certain personality traits are essential for a Project Manager to excel.
They need to be diplomatic because there are many different stakeholders in a project and possess strong soft skills to make sure everyone gets along and agrees on a project’s direction.
Finally, you need the right Project Manager for the project. A business-oriented Project Manager may not be successful leading a software development project because they can’t effectively articulate the needs of the engineers or technical specs, and vice versa.
The importance of communication
As business transformation comes to the forefront for many business, cross-departmental projects often require skilful communications.
This is fundamentally why a key skill in demand for project managers today is effective and proven communications skills.
Effective communication with stakeholders is one of the key drivers for project success.
Getting buy-in from the right people can mean a well-oiled, smooth running and well-funded project.
For this reason, hiring managers in Hong Kong are eager to hire professionals with proven stakeholder communication skills.
