Calendar of Events

Title: Branding your PM Career: Take charge of your future in changing times!

Abstract: The ever-changing career landscape can feel overwhelming, even as an experienced professional.  But this can be an opportunity to TAKE CHARGE and RETHINK your career!  Learn what you need to know to survive and even thrive from Marie Spark, a project management thought leader and mentor to adult learners and professionals in transition.

Speaker: Marie Spark, MBA, PMP, the director of the project management graduate program at Golden Gate University in San Francisco and is an active leader for the local chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI San Francisco). She came to academics following a career in project and quality management in banking, technology and nonprofits. Her passion is to empower adult learners to their careers.

Detailed description: Even before the pandemic, project management has been expanding and changing at an ever-rapid pace. Changes in technology and business, the explosion of Agile techniques and the increase in virtual collaboration, all provide both increasing opportunities but also challenging for both  experienced professionals and the many newcomers  to stay on top of these trends.

In the midst of change, to be successful, we need to RETHINK our careers and TAKE CHARGE of branding ourselves for the future.  Do yourself a favor, and come join us for this interactive session to get started! You will come away with tools, resources and most importantly a MINDSET to handle what’s coming your way.

Learn what you need to know to survive and thrive in the ever changing-world of project management from Marie Spark, a project management thought leader and mentor to adult learners and professionals in transition.

Among the topics covered:

• Trends in project management careers: increased focus on “power skills,” industries with growing opportunities (life sciences, government, etc.) as well as non-traditional fields (creative, law), influx of career-changers, gig-economy/changes in recruitment
• Branding, How to pivot to your next level – whether you are a current PM or new to the profession, how to you leverage your strengths while keeping up
• Continuing learning mode – resources and approaches to keeping up your game
• Agile trends—movement to the enterprise, virtual teams and certifications
• PMBOK & PMP standards change – incorporation of Agile, new principles focus
• Virtual team leadership and effectiveness
• Professional responsibility – increased focus on ethics, diversity and sustainability