Build skills, gain experience, and land your first job in project management
Breaking into Project Management
So, you’re looking to break into the world of project management? Get ready for a steady, fulfilling career of leading teams that work to solve problems—from global issues like climate change to local issues like increasing the outpatient experience at a trauma center. Not only that, but you’re also exploring a profession that is increasingly in demand as time goes by. According to a 10-year employment trends report from PMI (Project Management Institute), “The global economy needs 25 million new project professionals by 2030. To close the talent gap, 2.3 million people will need to enter PMOE [project management-oriented employment] every year just to keep up with demand.” In Arizona alone, over 52,000 job openings specifically sought candidates with project management skills in 2024, highlighting the immense opportunity for those searching for entry-level project management roles in Arizona and beyond.
For those just starting out in the field of project management, there are some steps to take in order to be considered for an entry-level project manager position. Once you’ve obtained an undergraduate degree, completed your training programs, and ultimately passed your Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification exam, you’ll be ready to find an entry-level project manager role—helping you gain the necessary skills to manage teams and lead projects to success.
In this article, we’ll discuss how to land your first entry-level project manager role—from building the necessary skills and gaining experience to tailoring your resume and discussing helpful tips for common interview questions.
What Are Entry-Level Project Management Roles?
There are many entry-level project management roles that require little experience if you’re starting out in your project management career. Although these are considered more junior project management roles, they typically pay pretty well for a beginner’s salary—reporting directly to project managers. It’s in these roles that you’ll develop project management skills like leadership, team management, and risk assessment, so you can go on to success in project manager roles, senior project manager roles, and beyond.
Associate Project Manager
Perhaps the most similar to a project manager role, the associate project manager assists lead project managers in managing project scope and facilitating communication with team members and stakeholders.
- Average annual salary in the U.S.: $70,000/year
- Tucson: $74,000
- Phoenix: $77,000
- Flagstaff: $102,000
- Main tasks and responsibilities include:
- Creating workflows
- Drafting project plans
- Risk assessment
- Tracking and reporting on project progress
Project Administrator
Reporting to project managers, project administrators will take leadership on more of the administrative tasks for project teams. They often handle smaller projects on a more granular level so that project managers can focus on the big picture.
- Average annual salary in the U.S.: $60,000/year
- Tucson: $70,000
- Phoenix: $66,000
- Flagstaff: $62,000
- Main tasks and responsibilities include:
- Meeting scheduling and taking notes
- Task tracking to ensure deadlines are met
- Resource management and budget tracking
- Documentation and reporting on project progress
Project Coordinator
Reporting directly to a project manager, project coordinators are often called “junior project managers” due to the similarities in skills and responsibilities. Project coordinators are crucial in the successful delivery of projects from inception to completion.
- Average annual salary in the U.S.: $57,000
- Tucson: $50,000
- Phoenix: $54,000
- Flagstaff: $52,000
- Main tasks and responsibilities include:
- Task coordination and project planning
- Communication management
- Forecasting and resource allocation
- Developing improvements
The University of Arizona Continuing and Professional Education Project Management Certificate Course, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, can help you gain the knowledge and experience needed to get started in the industry as an entry-level project manager. In just 10 weeks, you’ll gain real-world experience through mentor-led sessions and flexible, hands-on learning to create a Project Management Playbook you can present to future employers.
Essential Skills for Entry-Level Project Managers
Soft Skills
In order to be a successful entry-level project manager, you’ll need to develop and refine the following skills:
- Leadership: You’ll be responsible for assisting and guiding skilled professionals on your team. It will be crucial to apply your leadership abilities to maintain team focus and motivation. When challenges or conflicts occur, you’ll work to find resolutions, fostering a collaborative and cohesive team environment.
- Communication: You’ll be an essential contact person for your team, stakeholders, clients, and more. Your role will involve passing along important updates and instructions to your team and making sure everyone is on the same page. You’ll also be responsible for sharing progress reports with both internal team members and external stakeholders, ensuring everyone stays informed throughout the project.
- Planning: A big part of your job will include planning projects from creation to completion. This means you’ll need to think about the project’s goals, set timelines, assess risks, and outline key deliverables. Through project planning, you’ll begin learning how to anticipate challenges and adjust plans to keep everything on track.
- Time Management: Your team will be relying on you to make sure they’re keeping up with deadlines, so it will be your job to ensure the projects stay on track. Once you become well-versed in project management methodologies like agile, waterfall, and scrum, you’ll be well on your way to being your team’s time management expert.
Business Skills
- Business Administration: Most of the skills required to be a successful business analyst overlap with the skills needed to be a proficient project coordinator and project manager. From data analytics and measuring business metrics to project planning and stakeholder analysis, entry-level project manager roles will require you to have a basic understanding of business administration to effectively and efficiently manage projects.
- Budgeting: To showcase required skills and help support the lead project manager entry-level project managers will often handle the project budget. Tasks may include identifying strategies for effective cost management in addition to negotiating with vendors.
- Resource Management: As an entry-level project manager, you’ll often be in charge of resource allocation and management. To effectively track and manage team performance, you’ll use resource allocation strategies—using Gantt charts or other visual trackers—to manage how resources are allocated over a project timeline or task list.
Technical Skills
- Project management methodologies: Agile, Scrum, and Waterfall will enhance your efficiency in leading teams and managing projects.
- Project management tools and AI software: Microsoft Project, Jira, Wrike, and Asana are the keys to demonstrating your ability to take the lead on projects.
Building Experience and Credentials
The best way to get your foot in the door and land an entry-level role in project management is through mentorship, internships, and volunteering. Yes, these methods are typically unpaid, but consider leveraging your current job; you’ll continue to earn a salary while getting hands-on experience in project management.
- Mentorship: Seek out a project manager at your company that you admire and ask to sit in on their project meetings. This is a great way to see a real-world example of how a lead project manager will manage projects and lead their team to success.
- Volunteering: Find different ways to volunteer on projects either with your current employer or elsewhere. This is one of the simplest ways to gain real-world experience in project management and enhance your resume.
- Internships: As a project management intern, you’ll gain work experience in project management with an entry-level position. Additionally, consider exploring sectors—like IT, construction, and health—that may be outside of your current field of expertise. This will showcase your adaptability and your ability to manage varied types of projects.
- Courses and certifications:
- Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)®: This project management certification via the PMI (Project Management Institute) is the first step in getting certified in project management. It endorses that you have strong foundational knowledge and skills required to be a project management professional.
- Project Management and PMP® Exam Preparation course at Arizona: This exam prep course equips you with the essential project management skills, tools, and experience you need so you can feel confident and prepared to ace the PMP® exam and get certified.
- Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification: Also administered by PMI, the PMP® certification is granted after you pass the PMP® exam. This certification demonstrates your advanced knowledge of project management aptitude—from basic principles and methodologies to advanced tools.
The University of Arizona’s Continuing and Professional Education offers a Project Management Certificate Course, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, that features flexible, on-demand learning. In just 10 weeks, you’ll build and develop an effective project management plan using essential tools like Jira, Microsoft Project, and more. This mentor-led course prepares you for entry-level project management roles with hands-on learning opportunities—developing a Project Management Playbook that you can present to future employers.
Where to Find Entry-Level Project Management Jobs
Outside of volunteering and internship opportunities, there are a few other ways you can find entry-level project management jobs. The first recommendation we have is to look internally at your current employer’s job board. You can search your internal company references or send some emails to find out who the hiring manager is and how to get a formal (or informal) meeting to discuss the role. If your current employer isn’t hiring for an entry-level project manager role, there are other avenues.
- LinkedIn / ZipRecruiter / PMI: Optimize your resume and profile using keywords in project management based on your ideal job description; link out to your portfolio; and upload your Project Management Playbook. From there, you’ll be ready to search for junior project manager roles.
- Networking: 85% of new jobs are filled through networking. So, how do you find a network? Outside of your social and family circles, there are a myriad of online project management forums, memberships, and local communities to join.
Creating a Winning Entry-Level Project Management Resume
As an entry-level applicant, you may have limited work experience. That is not only ok, but it’s to be expected! Resume Worded suggests, “Highlight relevant coursework and certifications such as PMP, CAPM, or Agile methodologies that showcase your knowledge in project management principles and practices.” Play up the certifications and project management skills that you have to showcase your experience in leadership and project management tools.
Key Sections:
- Education
- Certifications
- Technical skills
- Soft skills
- Relevant Experience
Entry-level Project Management Resume Example:
Create an ATS-friendly resume: Don’t forget that most employers are now using Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) to review resumes before HR or hiring managers. To get past this tracking system, keep your resume format simple and clear. Resume-building websites suggest avoiding the use of tables or graphics on your resume, as they can confuse the ATS. CV Compiler says, “Use a good balance of the keywords and phrases throughout your resume to show your fit for the role.”
The University of Arizona’s Continuing and Professional Education offers a Project Management Certificate Course, in collaboration with Ziplines Education, which provides personalized mentorship that will help advance your career. Throughout this 10-week program, you’ll not only learn project management basics, but you’ll also receive career coaching, group workshops, resume and cover letter tips, interview practice, and so much more from expert instructors and mentors.
Common Interview Questions for Entry-Level Project Managers
Take a look at these common interview questions and how to best prepare for and answer them.
| Tell me about yourself. | Describe yourself and your work experience in your own words. You can move through your past roles chronologically or focus on the most relevant roles that showcase projectmanagement experience and skills. |
| Tell me about a time when something went wrong in a project you were managing. | Highlight your risk management skills in youranswer and don’t forget to use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method. Identify the issue, what you were expected to do, what you ended up doing and how you did it, and lastly, what the outcome was. |
| How do you prioritize tasks in a project? | Showcase the importance of project deadlines by including the project goal, timelines, stakeholder needs, and tasks. From there, you can outline the most efficient and effective path forward based on project demands. |
| What was your most successful project? | Demonstrate your strengths with a real-world example of a project that you successfully delivered. While expressing pride about your success, include praise for fellow team members as well as key elements that drove that success. |
| What’s your experience with budget management? | Utilizing the STAR method, paint the picture of a situation where you effectively managed a project budget. If you don’t have experience in a workplace setting, feel free to use a personal example or two where you performed cost estimation, money allocation, and expense tracking. |
| How would you describe a project plan? | This is an excellent time to demonstrate your technical knowledge of project management fundamentals. Answer this by outlining the different aspects of a project plan (goal, tasks, milestones, etc.) and examples of how you’ve implemented them into a project plan in the past to achieve project success. |
Your Path to Success as an Entry-Level Project Manager
It can be tough to land your first job as an entry-level project manager. But, with resilience and motivation, along with the right training, certifications, skills, network, and real-world experience, a career in project management can be an incredibly gratifying endeavor.
Consider jumpstarting your project management career path with our on-demand Project Management Certificate course at Arizona, in collaboration with Ziplines Education. Our expert mentors and instructors will provide you with individualized support to advance your career—from resume and cover letter review to interview tips and career coaching. Feel valued and fulfilled in your career; explore the in-demand and creative world of project management.
