Jeff Lye
Project Manager - New Media AgencyBrief description of what you do.
Because it’s a smaller agency the project manager (PM) acts as both the account manager and project manager. As PM one of my main duties is to act as the client liaison, which means speaking with clients on a day-to-day basis. I also organize daily meetings to strategize about the progress of the projects through each stage. We have four stages in our projects: feasible, pre-project, ongoing project, and post project.
The very first thing I do each morning is read and respond to my email. After that I conduct the morning meeting with the team members of each project. During the meeting we discuss what was accomplished the day before and what needs to be accomplished by the end of the day. During the day, I’m on the phone with the clients, gaining additional information and giving them status updates on their project. I am also working on presentations, usually we do 2-3 per onsite client presentation per month.
Are you a graduate?
I have a BA from Birmingham Institute of Art and Design, and a MA in Communication Design from Central Saint Martins, 2002.
If you had to pick one positive and one negative aspect of your job what would they be?
The positive part of the job for me is that it is a process-driven role. Once you have set guidelines and a firm process it is a smooth flowing job. You need to be comfortable with being completely process driven, but for me I like it. If I had to name a negative aspect, it would be assigning the correct people to the correct project. Sometimes in a small new media company you have a lot of people doing similar roles, and roles overlap. It’s difficult to know exactly whom to bring on the project.
How did you find your job/position?
I found it through an industry contact. I network quite a bit, mainly at industry events. The new media networking group holds events every month - meetings, dinners, drinks, and talks. I find these groups incredibly useful. From my experience people would rather hire someone they know or someone they trust knows. This is why I suggest to network as much as possible.
What would be your top tip for someone looking to get into your field?
To work in new media you need to be up to date with all new media - social networking, web 2.0, and desktop widgets. You need to understand the PM role before you get into it. Research the role based on each agency you are interested in applying to - sometimes the roles vary with each company. The PM roles are unique depending on the size of the company. At larger web agencies the PM would handle more detailed briefs for more detailed projects, and focus on the project management of one or several projects. The account manager would handle the client facing work. In a smaller agency the PM handles both of the project manager and account manager roles. I recommend starting off in a smaller agency so you can begin learning everything.
