You’ve done more project management than you realize; you just haven’t described it that way. This chapter helps you reframe your experience in terms hiring managers, stakeholders, and executives understand.

• Learn the language of PM without overloading on jargon
• Describe your work through the lens of delivery, coordination, and problem-solving

Output: A written PM-style profile: “About Me as a Project Manager”

In 1982, a young software engineer named Steve Jobs walked into Xerox PARC and saw something that would change the world. It wasn't revolutionary technology. The graphical user interface had been around for years. What Jobs possessed was something far more valuable: the ability to see what others couldn't. He had an information advantage.

Every project manager carries their own version of this advantage. The problem? Most never recognize it, let alone leverage it.

The Commoditization Trap

Here's what hiring managers won't tell you: the market is flooded with project managers who sound exactly alike. They use the same buzzwords, tout the same certifications, and describe their experience in identical terms. They've fallen into what economists call the commoditization trap. Becoming indistinguishable from their competition.

But you're not a commodity. You're a collection of unique experiences, insights, and capabilities that no one else possesses in quite the same combination. The challenge isn't developing new skills. It's recognizing and articulating the ones you already have.

The Origin Story Advantage

Your professional journey didn't begin the day you became a project manager. It began years earlier, in whatever field first shaped your thinking. This is your origin story, and it's more powerful than any certification.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What field or industry did I come from before I became a project manager?
• How does that background help me see problems differently?
• What aspects of my previous career still influence how I work today?

Consider Sarah, a project manager at a healthcare technology company. Before managing software implementations, she was an emergency room nurse. While other PMs struggled to understand why hospital staff resisted new systems, Sarah instinctively knew: in healthcare, any disruption to workflow could literally mean life or death. Her nursing background wasn't irrelevant experience. It was her competitive edge.

Your origin story works the same way. If you came from:

• Engineering: You speak the language of technical constraints and trade-offs
• Finance: You understand the true cost of delays and scope changes