How to land an awesome role in tech (when you’re not a techie)

 

Put yourself outside your comfort zone. Understand others’ points of view. But don’t be surprised when they don’t do what you want them to. Rosie Hall’s story has lessons for all ambitious project managers

“I’d like to think I’m proof that you don’t need to have a first-class degree in physics from a red-brick university to make it in tech,” says Rosie Hall. “You can achieve anything with the right mindset and belief in your abilities.”

Young project managers may wonder whether they can make the leap into the tech sector – after all, it can be intimidating to work with coders, framework architects and other seemingly arcane disciplines. Hall’s example says otherwise. At just 26, she is a high-flying project manager at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence, a business and technology consulting division of the defence giant.

Hall took an unorthodox route into project management. Her degree at Kingston University was in business and human rights. It turned out to be a strong grounding for a stressful and people-centric career. “Human rights might not seem like an obvious thing for a project manager to have studied,” she says, “but it’s actually been incredibly useful. Human rights teaches you about different philosophies. It broadens your mind. You learn about the psychology of why people act the way they do. A strong project manager needs to be able to do the same thing, and step into other people’s shoes. You get to empathise with teammates, customers, stakeholders and your boss – to understand them. It also teaches the concept of reconciliation. How do you fix things when they go wrong? You definitely need that as a project manager.”

Horses and courses

The business side of the degree gave Hall an entrepreneurial streak.

“For my dissertation I had to run a business – not just write about one. I started a company called The Hidden Pocket, making a clip-on pocket for women who need to conceal a wallet, or want an extra pocket on their dress on a night out. By the end I was making a profit.”

This experience meant that by graduation she was primed for the job market. So much so that she started her first major role, at BAE Systems, a day after handing in her final piece of coursework: “I finished university on Friday and started on the Monday.”

Hall is also a hard worker, happy to get up at ungodly hours. The reason?

“Horses! Everyone here knows I can’t have a conversation without turning it round to horses. Nearly everything I do relates to horses. I’ve been riding since I was old enough to walk. It teaches you so much. At university I had a horse in my second year. I’d get up at five, do the horse, go to university, go back home and do the horse again. You can’t take a day off with a horse.”

Horses also helped her see how to cope with adversity. “I had a bad accident, where I cracked my spine. I faced not being able to ride again. Having the mental discipline to say, ‘Yes, you will get through this,’ gives you a positive mental drive. You learn not to give up.”

Hall is using her work ethic to improve her prospects. “I’m learning Python in my spare time,” she says. “I don’t imagine I’ll ever write a line of code for BAE Systems, but it’s useful for managing technical projects.

“My advice to younger project managers is to always keep learning,” says Hall. “I’m learning from online tutorials and books.’’

Her colleagues are helping her to continue to develop. “We have a career manager programme. My manager is amazing. She is supportive and draws on her own experience. I go to her whenever I need guidance, which is about once a month. She is the one who encouraged me to believe in my own capabilities.

“You can come into project management from any background. All you need is drive and the right attitude.’’

Rosie Hall’s breakthrough moment

“I was project management officer for a £9m government framework project. It was early on in my career at BAE Systems, and I suddenly felt overwhelmed. I added it all up – the responsibility, the number of stakeholders, my age, the value of the project I was running. I thought, ‘Crikey! I am out of my depth.’

“I had to take a step back. I ruled out quitting. I ummed and ahed. And I decided to grab it and make a go of it. I took it day by day, never getting ahead of myself. Six months later I’d pulled it off. There’s no doubt that the experience made me stronger.

“My advice for younger project managers? Try to get out of your comfort zone, and find yourself in those sorts of situations, to enable you to grow.”

Rosie Hall

Age: 26

Education: Kingston University, Business Studies and Human Rights

First job: Project manager at SABMiller

Current job: Project manager at BAE Systems Applied Intelligence

Qualifications: PPSO Essentials

Hobby: Horses – “They never do what you ask them to. They are animals, they do what they want. It prepares you for project management!”