Maven Search Group LLC reposted this
Had a call last week with an Assistant Project Manager who's frustrated. He’s five years in and doing Project Manager work, but still has the 'Assistant' title. Asked me what he's missing. My answer? Nothing. He's not missing anything. His company is, and it's an unfortunate common practice. Here's the thing about that Assistant-to-PM jump: Some companies will promote you when you're ready. Others will hold you steady for their own financial gain. If you're running your own projects, managing subs, making budget calls, and solving problems without hand-holding... you're already doing the job. You just don't have the title yet. So what do you do? You can wait and hope. Or you can test the market. We're not saying leave a good situation for a title. But if the title is the only thing holding you back from being paid what you're worth, then that's a company problem, not a you problem. Not every promotion happens in-house. And that's okay. Here's the reality: Good opportunities usually don't just happen or land in your lap — you have to position yourself to be found. That means keeping your resume and LinkedIn profile updated. It means staying in touch with recruiters and checking in. Because when we get a call from a company looking for a Project Manager, we reach out first to the people we've talked to recently, and the resume we saw six months ago might not be on the call list. You don't have to be desperate to be available. And you don't have to be miserable to explore what else is out there. Stay in touch and always be ready.