Some people think of a project manager as the leader of a team, or perhaps a job title, but it's more than that. Project Management is a professional discipline with the same level of knowledge, skill, experience, and certification expected of other professions. The Project Management Institute (PMI) administers the standard (ANSI/PMI 99-001-2013) and is the certifying body for the Project Management Professional (PMP) and related certifications. Professional project management involves a project charter, stakeholder approvals, project management plan, cost and schedule baselines, earned value management, change control, risk management, and other processes and techniques. So the next time you want a well managed project, call a professional, a PMP certified project manager.

Attracting the right talent starts with an appealing job description. Many times, the job description is confused with the job specification.  Employers miss out on good candidates by not sufficiently highlighting the opportunity up front, skipping right to the required qualifications and experience. In the current low-unemployment environment, talent acquisition is highly competitive and requires some selling of the organization and the position. An engineer, for example, may be gainfully employed, satisfied with what they are doing, and not actively looking for a new job. But if they run across a job opportunity that sounds more interesting, challenging, and different from what they do today, they are more likely to act. I enjoy working with the hiring manager to create job postings that are as complete, accurate, and as enticing as possible.