The Top Skills Every PMP-certified Professional Should Have

Over the years, project management has gained popularity as a lucrative career as digital markets and e-commerce grew, allowing most companies to explore new avenues and open up new projects. However, to be a successful project manager, individuals must possess various hard and soft skills. Project managers can hone their soft skills through situational or work experience. Hard skills, on the other hand, are skills that candidates need to spend time learning and mastering.

PMP Certification

The PMP certification is one of the world’s most sought-after project management certifications.  Not only is the certificate globally recognised, but having such a certificate can greatly boost your career and your resume. Completing or acquiring a PMP certificate shows that candidates excel in all the skills required to lead a team or a project, have a strategic and calculated approach to managing projects and can strategise their methods to align with the company’s goals and vision.

Top Skills Every PMP-certified Professional Should Have

1. Leadership: This is undoubtedly the first attribute that separates the best project managers from the bad. Great leaders in a team take responsibility for how the team goes and what they do. PMP-certified professionals need to be adept in facilitating meetings and interviews, should hold team members accountable and responsible for their actions and enforce the standards necessary to create the best quality work.

2. Budget Management: Budget constraints are always a factor that project managers need to consider. Since budget is one of the deciding factors that determine whether a project pulls through, project managers should be capable of coming up with a realistic budget that can satisfy the stakeholders as well as ensure that the team can make do without cutting costs.

3. Risk Management: As a project manager, there will always be grey areas regarding estimates that may not be overly positive or negative. Managers might need to decide for the team if the forecasts are not painting the best picture. This is where having skills in risk management come into play. Project managers must take calculated risks instead of charging in when deciding.

4. Time Management: Time is another one of those constraints that will ultimately decide the fate of any project. As a PMP-certified professional, there will always be moments when project managers need to juggle between two or more responsibilities or meet deadlines. Hence, project managers need to be professionals who favour order and consistency.

5. Adaptability: Project managers need to be quick thinking and capable of understanding the situation and making changes accordingly.

6. Critical Thinking: Critical thinking goes hand-in-hand with risk management, and professionals will need to be able to think about the possible implications of a project if they want to make quick decisions.

7. Patience: It’s easy to break apart when there are conflicting interests, disarray within the team or when facing pressing deadlines. Hence, project managers must be patient enough to wade through the conflicts without getting frustrated.

8. Communication Skills: Being a liaison or point-of-contact for cross-functional teams, PMP-certified professionals need to have excellent communication skills.

9. Strong Grasp Of The English Language: Project managers need to be able to read and write technical documents seamlessly. They should also be able to communicate such matters in a simple way for their team members.

10. Effective Planning Skills: Project managers need to take into account different scenarios and predict which will be the best outcome for the team as well as the company.

Conclusion

Some people possess these skills naturally, while others need to cultivate them. Whatever the case, these skills are fundamental in their growth and career as project managers and should not be overlooked. If you want to learn more about how to learn these skills for free or about the PMP Certification, you can check out our website, Education Nest, for learning resources and course materials.