Exaggerated my responsibilities to get a Project Manager job and now I'm completely out of my depth

[Deleted User]

alittlelife said:

JLDrew said:

I'd be honest and say it's a bit much to deal with on your own and you're gonna need help. I think they will appreciate your honesty and support you if it is a big major contract/project.
Most contract managers or project managers I've met in my time haven't got much of a clue about most things and rely on other people to do their job correctly. You can only handle what you know your capable of so asking for help is not a sign of defeat. You got this! Good luck.

This is the truest of all true things  

What a beautiful line.

girlagogo

moneysavinghero said:

girlagogo said:

JohnDorian said:

This is just me personally speaking as a previous contractor but I would stick with it as it is just at the moment a FTC. I have seen many contractors come in and be out of their depth and use the opportunity purely to upskill. That’s just how the interim market works. You probably got the job because you were the best candidate available on their terms.

Off purse if this is making you feel sick or impacting your health then by all means consider your options. Otherwise, get your head down, accept that you are out of your depth but also that they employed you for 6 months and get to doing the job as best as you can while upskilling yourself and moving towards becoming an actual project manager.

Sorry,  what do you mean by the best candidate "available on their terms"? 

Probably means no one else wanted to do a 6 month contract for the pay and benefits that was on offer.

On the contrary,  coming out of a pandemic and competition is fierce.  The pay and benefits are good but not so good is the probationary period which is as long as the contract.

JohnDorian

moneysavinghero said:

girlagogo said:

JohnDorian said:

This is just me personally speaking as a previous contractor but I would stick with it as it is just at the moment a FTC. I have seen many contractors come in and be out of their depth and use the opportunity purely to upskill. That’s just how the interim market works. You probably got the job because you were the best candidate available on their terms.

Off purse if this is making you feel sick or impacting your health then by all means consider your options. Otherwise, get your head down, accept that you are out of your depth but also that they employed you for 6 months and get to doing the job as best as you can while upskilling yourself and moving towards becoming an actual project manager.

Sorry,  what do you mean by the best candidate "available on their terms"? 

Probably means no one else wanted to do a 6 month contract for the pay and benefits that was on offer.

In a way yes. The simple fact is that ‘Project Managers’ in the past would have been in charge of their remit. That would have been a contract between client and contractor. But there are no contractors due to IR35 changes into the private sector.

So the current market is contractors take a huge pay cut or clients issue an inside of IR35 contract. For that to work clients would need to increase the day rate. They did not do so and contractors left. 

In the meantime, all that is left is FTCs. But no contractors willing to take them. The perm market is saturated with contractors accepting roles that they would not have due to being better off than inside IR35 contractors that get the worst of both worlds.  The interim market becomes saturated purely because people just need work and  contractors have left while unemployment in those sectors remains there.
Basically a FTC is a compromise between an employer that is too scared to offer a contract they need and an employee that is displaced in the current market. 

Therefore, given current market and also lack of skills, OP could see this as an opportunity in a market that lacks equilibrium or s/he just return back to small roles.

happyc84

I'd ask if the company has any guidelines to follow on Project/Programme/Portfolio Management.
For example depending on the scale  of the company. PM's follow guidelines - Its about People, money and time. Ask them about :- Concept; Scheme Papers; PID, PDD. Implementation and Handover/Closure. Lessons learned from past work. Stage gate review. Risk Management.
Good luck.
Some of my best work has been when there has been a light touch to governance; helps you be creative. 

girlagogo

It is quite light touch in terms of governance but it is a large project consisting of 3 large work streams. and a number of external and internal stakeholders.  I have been told that I won't be getting any project/ admin support. I am literally frozen at my desk constantly trying to comprehend the size of it all and scope of work which results in a mental block,  and literally losing sleep worrying about it and being exposed as the inexperienced person I am. 
Part of me really wants to try my best to make it work and give it a go ,as it is a rare opportunity as JohnDorian says...... plus I have c the pressure of needing to pay the bills. Then the rest of me just wants to leg it out of there fast and first before I am shown up and get sacked, and also to get a longer term job within my comfort zone. I know it's my own fault and  this situation as you can imagine,  is pretty stressful, and the project's not even properly kicked off yet!

yksi

Honestly? You have been given an excellent piece of advice on how to word your resignation. Do it without notice effective immediately; you are not providing them any value by staying on for another week and they will need to hire your replacement immediately - probably, they'll turn to whoever you beat at interview and they can be in your chair this week. You won't be using them as a reference so don't worry about how it looks because you will not be putting this job on your CV. It was just a learning experience.

Then apply for anything and everything, including 8h contracts at supermarkets. I can't tell you which one I work at but we have a national desperate shortage of suitable staff and by that I mean polite, helpful people who are flexible. Meaning any halfwit can fit the bill providing they can smile, turn up and be willing to work. You will not be working 8h, there is a ton of overtime available, but somehow they only get applications from uni students wanting to work 8h.

You can move into a role more suited to you later on.

girlagogo

happyc84 said:

I'd ask if the company has any guidelines to follow on Project/Programme/Portfolio Management.
For example depending on the scale  of the company. PM's follow guidelines - Its about People, money and time. Ask them about :- Concept; Scheme Papers; PID, PDD. Implementation and Handover/Closure. Lessons learned from past work. Stage gate review. Risk Management.
Good luck.
Some of my best work has been when there has been a light touch to governance; helps you be creative. 

Thanks,  but I'm not even sure that this a project,  more like a programme.   It involves 6 areas of the business delivering or being dependent on delivery forecast for over more than 12 months.  What  factors/ characteristics exactly define a programme rather than a project? I really don't understand  even why my manager put me on this as I certainly didn't make clear at interview that I had. I'd said I'd delivered part of one project and was an Assistant PM in another. 

Sea_Shell

What happens if you can't pull this off and you end up costing the company £££££ ?   Either through missed deadlines, or going over budget etc.

I think you need to come clean ASAP, as to your true level of experience.

happyc84

I much prefer working on Programmes, as it usually provides a longer term benefit to the company. Projects can be one off. For example, across Europe I was responsible for making sure we had all procedures and processes in place when we realised a new product to the market. This would be a programme. Other jobs - a refurbishment of pumping station  - That would be a project.

I agree that you should come clean quickly and say you need help just to give yourself the confidence for you to deliver. Remember most projects/programmes run late - over budget and fail to deliver what was asked.

Good luck, and do whats right for you.

happyc84

just a question to girlagogo - Did they pay the market rate for the job? Without giving a figure. Did you get an increase from your past role which was as an assistant PM. Some firms ask too much and don't want to pay for the right person.