Hello, I’m Jamie! I’m the Project Management Placement in the Project Delivery team at ProspectSoft. I am writing this blog to help share with you a day in the life so you can get more of an understanding of what your placement year would entail if you took on my role!

The job responsibilities vary day-to-day, so you’ll never have the same two days! From communicating and collaborating with consultants, colleagues, and customers to supporting with the recruitment process for next year’s placement to helping with technical consultancy work and internal projects. I’m also supported by the Consultant Manager to help guide my personal and professional development goals throughout the year in my Employee Success Plan (ESP) meetings. 

Daily Team Check-in:  

8:30 AM - To get the day off to a productive start, we have our daily team check-in! In the morning meetings, the Project Delivery team - comprising of the consultant manager and consultants, discuss their plans for the day and have group discussions about specific ongoing projects that are in the current sprint. Additionally, this is where I can raise any questions I have or bring up any customer emails. 

This is a brilliant way to start the day, as the team is on the same page and can support each other regarding certain projects which may require further team discussions. Leading on from this call, I may get tasked with following up on other departments or customers, updating customers on the progress of the project and setting up customer meetings to scope and document requirements for projects. 

Sprint Planning: 

9:30 AM - Every 2 weeks, we have a sprint planning meeting, where I raise any new projects that are in the backlog in addition to reviewing the previous sprint. This is where the Projects Delivery team plans their sprint for the next 2 weeks. At the end of the meeting, I can then take time to go through and update the status of these projects on our internal Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software. This means that everyone on the team and other teams can quickly check the status of any projects in the sprint. This has helped me to work on soft skills such as time management so that I can actively work towards our team's goals within a restricted time period so that we meet deadlines and keep all our customers happy. 

Shadowing:

11:00 AM – As a Project Management Assistant you are able to shadow the consultants on a variety of different projects, for example, Power BI Dashboards, building, and creating new business-to-business (B2B) eCommerce trade portals, and Zapier work. Most recently, I shadow one of the consultants building Power BI Dashboards for one of our customers. This was an amazing experience to learn more technical skills. Organising the huge amount of data in Excel to feed information to interactive dashboards with useful information for our customers. 

Lunchtime!!! 

12:00 PM - During the lunch hour I take the time to relax and with my colleagues and placements. This is the time to socialise and network, and it helps to ensure that I feel re-energised for the second half of the day so I can remain productive. 

Estimates: 

1:00 PM - After lunch, we have our estimates meeting where all ProspectSoft’s Customer Success, Onboarding, and Support teams come together to discuss the costs related to our ongoing projects and to ask how much it will cost to complete specific projects. The key role that I take during these meetings is a transcript where I write down the important points discussed and action plans from the Project Delivery and other teams, so we have a clear vision for a successful project. This task is important, so I ensure that I am engaged and responsive in the meeting to guarantee I don’t miss anything. This task has helped me develop my communication skills both written and spoken.  

Customer Meeting:

2:30 PM - Scoping and documenting project requirements is an important aspect of my role as a Project Management Placement to ensure we deliver essential software solutions to our customers. This involves documenting discussions and writing down project requirements and action plans for internal teams and the customer to complete. This is important in ensuring the customer’s project requirements are understood and expectations are set in terms of the final result and the project timeline. Hence, both internal and external communications are an important aspect as a Project Management Placement, ensuring that all stakeholders have clear knowledge of the project. This is one of my favourite parts of my job, interacting with customers and building the professional, trustful relationships to ensure they are satisfied with the project outcome. 

Respond to Emails and Creating Projects: 

3:30 PM - Throughout the day I frequently check my email inbox and respond to any customer feedback, then relay this to the consultant(s) completing the work. Additionally, I’ll chase any customers for feedback on a project, ensuring the work the consultant has completed matches the customer’s expectations. This may involve co-ordinating resources between the consultant and customer as well as finding suitable times for meetings. Furthermore, as a Project Management Placement, you will be responsible for organising and maintaining all project documentation and statuses making sure it is all up-to-date and accurate. 

During the day, I also regularly check for new projects. Including the Customer Success Managers & Support team assigning new projects for me to add to the projects’ backlog and scheduled into our upcoming sprints. I am responsible for checking that each project meets the project requirements, that the customers have enough points and which sprint is likely to be scheduled for as well as updating and documenting the status of these projects on the CRM system.

Telephone Interviews: 

4:00 PM - An additional role that I have taken on for my placement year is the recruitment for next year's Project Management Placement. Currently, this involves reading CVs and cover letters that have been sent through and conducting telephone interviews for those who have appropriate and successful applications. This has been a really valuable experience so far and has opened my eyes to the recruitment world which will help me when it comes to applying for graduate roles as I will know what companies are looking for during the application stages. 

End of the Day: 

4:45 PM - This is a chance to prepare for tomorrow by reviewing the task list and preparing for any meetings the next day. I will then be able to form a list of projects and questions to raise for the consultants in the Project Delivery team during the morning meeting. 

Home Time: 

5:00 PM - Time to call it a day and prepare for another rewarding day at work tomorrow. The life of a Project Management Placement is very dynamic and varied. You’ll never have the same two days of work. There is a great balance of co-ordinating projects individually and communicating between internal consultants and colleagues to external customers. My role requires excellent organisation and strategic planning to ensure that there is a clear path to the project's success!