Describe a typical “day in the life” of a project manager:
“For many project managers, every day is a new adventure. As early as 9:40 pm, I am already in the office. First things first, I motivate myself to do great things for the day. I start with checking emails for campaign assignments, assigning right agents on the right campaigns and updating the team if there are changes with the guidelines. At 10:00, dialing hours start to kick in. I login to our monitoring software to start checking account KPIs related to project progress, identify issues, discuss with the team leads and create an action plan to improve performance. I do these all day long.“
What are the skills, education, and training needed for this career?
“I must say, one should have the following: Strategic and Business Management, Time Management, Leadership Training, Scope Management, and Schedule Management.“
What were you doing prior to becoming a telemarketing project manager?
“Team Leader.“
Did you have to make sacrifices at the start of your career? If so, what were they, and why was it worth it for you to make those sacrifices?
“Yes, I sacrificed my time, especially being a full-time mom for this career but I chose to face the new challenge and learnings. It’s all worth it because I was able to enhance my skills, share best practices and help the company that I care to achieve goals.“
Why did you choose this line of work?
“This field offers a promising career growth and opportunities.“
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your career?
“The most rewarding aspect is when the project hits the targets, and exceed company & client expectations. Being recognized as Employee of the Month for November 2018 was my big break.”
What’s the most challenging part?
“Based from my experience, it is a challenge when a new campaign in a new niche and we do not know what exactly to expect from the project in terms of hours and results.“
What does it really take to make it and succeed in this career?
“You have to identify your goals and… self-awareness. Know yourself first. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. Be responsible, accountable and you have to love what you are doing.“
Describe one of the best moments you’ve had on the job:
“The best moment is when I see my agents grow and successful. I am happy to see that most of them are already part of the support team.“
What’s the hardest part of the day?
“I consider it the hardest every time a difficult message or feedback needs to be delivered to the team.“
Are there misconceptions about this type of work? If so, what are they?
“Some people would think that being a Project Manager is on a pedestal. It’s not an easy job and it takes a lot of analysis and decision making that will affect the entire projects. On a project management some would think that you should never stop a campaign, but there are cases where it is better to kill a campaign than proceed.
When a list is exhausted. Penetration rate is high. If a campaign has a low productivity, it is better to end it.“
What’s one aspect that’s integral to your job that most people wouldn’t know?
“Leading a project isn’t easy, and on a daily basis as a project manager I have to anticipate possible obstacles. For others it may look like micromanaging, but for me I see it as coordination. As a project manager I have to ensure that the team leads under my umbrella are doing their part and work together cohesively in hitting our targets which includes hours, team RPH and QA.“
What advice would you give to someone looking to pursue a career in your field?
“The most important advice that I can give to an aspiring individual pursuing a career in my field is to avoid following the trend because following it alone without thinking about its consequences on a long term is going to be difficult and too often, when deciding a career path some focus only on their passion but the impact of the work is drastic. But if it’s their calling, why not? There are a lot of things to consider and little do people know that there are a lot of sacrifices needed to gain and that includes sleep, family time, and sometimes relationships.“
ABOUT THE RESPONDENT: Mirasol “Sabrina” Baron is the current Project Manager of Open Look Business Solutions. Sabrina has been in the company for 4 years now. She is handling phoneticall, telemarketing and audience development projects.
ABOUT THIS SERIES: This is an ongoing series of the Open Look Content Team that takes a snapshot look inside the lives of those who work in the company. Want to share a Day in your Life? E-mail us at jintervencion@open-look.com.
