As you advance in your career as a construction project manager, you will have ample opportunities to make a positive contribution to the construction industry. By taking the time to invest in the future of construction, you will help accelerate construction excellence.
We have identified a handful of ways that you can use your construction project manager experience to support future constructors, the overall industry, and yourself. Take a moment to think about which opportunities best suit your skills, experience, and personality.
Ideas to Leverage Your Construction Project Manager Experience
From mentorship to actively seeking ways for your company to improve project delivery, consider our list of practical ideas to utilize your industry experience.
1. Become a Mentor or Coach
Do you have specific experience in a particular area of construction management? Did you benefit from a mentor or coach when you were growing in your role? There is likely an up-and-coming construction manager in your company that could use your support.
– Mentorship: Take a vested interest in the person you identify to mentor. Try to establish a long-term relationship with the manager so that you can establish a baseline for growth and then track progress over time. Ask questions about their career plans, see where they need to close gaps in specific areas, and maintain continuous communication.
– Coaching: Someone else in your company or on a project may require shorter-term support to help them grow in their role. Consider using your construction project managerial experience to create a six-month plan to coach this individual on a particular area of construction management. Then, review their progress at the end of the coaching engagement to measure their growth.
Overall, by investing in the development of the next generation of construction managers, you are doing a great service to the industry.
2. Pursue Higher Roles
Are you ready for higher positions in your company? See what opportunities are available in your company as you advance up the corporate ladder.
Your experience as a construction project manager should provide you with a solid foundation to support critical decision-making in your company. You’ll be able to think through ethical issues, recommend areas for improvement, and help your company become more profitable.
To determine whether you are prepared to take the next step in your career, consider asking higher-ups what they are looking for in key executive roles. See where you need to learn, grow, and improve in order to position yourself as a strong internal candidate for these roles.
3. Create a Plan for Improvement
One way to impress your company is to create a plan for improvement. The plan could cover one specific area of construction project management that needs to be addressed or you could take a holistic look at your company’s overall approach to project management to provide your recommendations for process improvements.
Use your expertise to capture what needs to change, why these improvements need to be made, who needs to be involved in this project, how to achieve buy-in, and what the expected outcome will be once the improvements are implemented.
Your forward-thinking approach will not only impress higher-ups but also create better construction projects. Your company will benefit from being better positioned to deliver on cost, quality, and/or quality to satisfy the terms of construction agreements with customers.
4. Join AIC to Elevate Construction
If you are not already a member of our organization, then we recommend joining the American Institute of Constructors (AIC) to help us advance the construction industry.
We are a professional society of construction professionals who advocate for the industry, support individual professional constructors, and encourage each of our members to strive for the highest ethical standards.
If you have strong experience in construction project management, then we encourage you to participate in our organization to learn from experienced professionals, share your experiences, and identify career growth opportunities.
5. Participate in our Collegiate Ethics Competition
If you have a passion for ethics and helping the next generation of construction leaders, then we recommend getting involved in our annual AIC Collegiate Ethics Competition.
The ethics competition brings together construction management students from colleges and universities across the U.S. to evaluate ethical issues in construction, formulate responses, and present their responses to a panel.
AIC representatives serve as judges, coaches, and hosts of the competition. You have the opportunity to invest in students who are currently enrolled in construction management degree programs. We invite you to watch this video below from Easy Foster, who supported the 2022 edition of our competition, to learn more about the value of participation.
Ready to Use Your Experience as a Construction Manager?
You can’t replace experience. If you’ve been in the industry for any length of time, then consider the many opportunities to use everything that you have learned to benefit the industry, yourself, and aspiring construction professionals.
Find out more about AIC membership and all that our organization has to offer. We can help you tap into your relevant experience as a construction project manager to support the advancement of the construction industry!
