How to switch into Project Management in a Few LinkedIn Messages and One Summer

Can you break into the competitive world of IT project management in 3 months? When Iryna decided she was ready for a career transformation, she skipped expensive courses and took an unconventional route instead: cold outreach on LinkedIn, a self-designed study plan, and a relentless drive to bridge her technical gaps. Today, she not only manages key software projects but also mentors junior PMs.

Here is her story.

How did you get into Project Management?

I worked at a large FMCG company, in what you could call tech support, and I realized I was ready for something new. So I started figuring out “who I wanted to be when I grow up”.

The project manager role drew me in because it combined everything I liked: the technical side of IT, management, working with people, and process organization. I was genuinely excited about it and decided firmly: I want to be a PM.

This was 2020. I was skeptical about courses.

There weren't many back then, though the market was already growing. I decided, "No, I can do this myself." And I did. 

I went on LinkedIn and started messaging PMs whose profiles caught my eye. I wrote to my former PM and to a few complete strangers. My message was something like:

"I want to move into PM. I see you're already working in the field. If it's not too much trouble, I'd love to hear your advice on learning, useful materials, or courses."

To my surprise, one of the PMs I reached out to, offered a 20-minute call. I walked them through my motivation for moving into the field, and by the end of our chat, I walked away with a 14-item core checklist for transitioning into Project Management.

My English was already solid by then. Nine months earlier, I'd taken it from A1-A2 to B2, taking 3 intensive courses in a row and studying for 4 hours a day on weekends and whenever I had a free moment on weekdays.

So I had a list and Google. It was the start of summer. After my main job, I'd get on my bike, ride to the stadium, exercise for half an hour to clear my head, then come home and study for a few more hours. In two and a half months, I got through all the topics and knew I was ready to start interviewing.

At my first interview, they told me: "We really liked you, but we don't hire without experience."

Soon after, someone I knew at an IT company mentioned they were hiring. I asked them to check on a Trainee position. They agreed to talk, and I came to an in-person interview at their office in Lviv.

And I got the job! 

Did it match your expectations? What surprised you, or what do you wish you'd known earlier?

At first, I was surprised by how much hands-on oversight some people need. It's not my style, but that helps some people stay productive.

The other thing I underestimated was the technical side. Plenty of PMs come in without a technical background, but developers speak their own language, and if you can't keep up with all the terms they use, walls go up fast.

I saw that gap and took the CS50 course, which I now often recommend to my mentees. It explains algorithms, the basics of security, and core terminology really well. On top of that, in my first days on the job, I wrote down every word I didn't understand, googled it, and asked my manager: "What's staging? What's an API?"

The main thing is to understand the substance, not be afraid to ask questions, and actually get to grips with the processes instead of hiding what you don't know when something isn't clear.

What's your approach to working with a team? 

I care about people first, and that shapes everything about the way I work with a team. Before any project starts, I take time to actually get to know people — how they think, how they like to work.

Regular one-on-ones matter. So does asking how someone's really doing and building trust. Once that foundation is there, the technical problems get a lot easier to solve — people bring issues to you early, they're honest about what's not working, and they back each other up.

My team is a good example of this. Scrum says a team should be self-organizing and independent, and ours actually is. I'm really proud of our team: they're truly self-reliant and take ownership of the results.

Tell us about Softjourn and the team. When did you realize this was "your" team, "your" company?

I was really surprised when I came here. People often assume that mid-sized and smaller companies suffer from chaotic processes or push their employees to the limit. But there was none of that here.

I loved the recruiting process. It was clear and well-built. And once I decided to join, I saw I hadn't made a mistake. Everything here is really well organized: there are processes, and people follow them. That's one.

Two, you can influence the deliverables and the processes themselves, all kinds of things. You have that opportunity. You're not just a "little ant." Through good work, you can genuinely bring value to the company. And the people here are great.

One thing stayed with me. My closest relative needed serious medical treatment. And these were essentially my first months at the company. So about a month in, before I'd even finished my probation period, before I'd "earned" any trust, this happened.

I remember telling my manager. It was the first time I'd faced something like it, and I didn't know how it would go or how much money I'd need. Back then, I said: if there were any chance to take on overtime, I was fully ready. I understood treatment would cost a lot.

They didn't just approve overtime. They immediately offered help: " We can run a collection inside the company, or set one up somewhere else if you'd rather not do it through the whole company. Tell us what you need. Need time off? Go. Need money? We'll raise it. Need advice? We'll give it."

I was stunned, because I hadn't expected that kind of support. I was new. I hadn't had time to bring enough value for the company to already be "paying me back." And yet everyone was open to it right away.

The company, to me, is very human. And I love that, because I adore sincere, human people, and here it really shows

What are the common myths about the PM role?

The most common myth is that a PM is a kind of “parrot who just forwards emails”. But in reality, a PM is responsible for:

• Planning and scope: delivering what the client wants, within budget and timeline, without bugs or surprises.
• People management: a team is a lot of people, and something is always happening in each of their lives. One has a performance review, another is burning out, someone wants a promotion, someone needs a sabbatical. The work still has to get done, and you have to orchestrate all of it.
• Protecting the team and facilitation: defending the team in front of the client in a way that leaves the client with a win-win.
• Removing blockers: clearing every obstacle so developers can just sit down and calmly do their tasks.
• The strategic track: planning the budget, checking whether what we're building actually brings value to the client, and knowing when to stop and run an inspection and adaptation.
• Team sizing: sometimes you have to shrink the team because the budget won't allow it, which means having that hard conversation with someone and helping them through it. Or you need more people, so you have to find and hire them.

The team works at the level of specific tasks. But making sure those tasks are well-defined, aligned with business goals, on budget, and don't burn people out — that's a whole layer of work that stays behind the scenes.

 A PM cuts out the noise so the team can just work. That includes acting as Scrum master: organizing the process so the team can run on its own, without leaning on the PM for every decision. A lot of what a PM does never shows up directly. That's the nature of the job — when it's done well, everything just runs smoothly, and nobody notices a thing.

How has AI changed the PM's job? Which tools do you use?

Right now I'm organizing my AI use cases, and most of them are operational. I use Claude heavily (especially Cowork and Chat for work tasks) and Gemini or ChatGPT for cross-checking and reviewing documents. 

A project manager is, above all, someone who builds communication and works with people. AI won't replace that. But it does handle the operational load well:

• preparing follow-ups and focus notes
• initial research
• creating ballpark estimates
• building a risk register or first-draft documentation

By freeing up time from routine work, I can focus on strategic decisions, working with the team, and product thinking as I'm currently in R&D. Outside of R&D, I also manage other projects and work with our internal product. AI is changing how we execute our profession, but it's not replacing what's at the heart of it.

How did you get into mentoring?

Late last year, an IT school reached out to me on LinkedIn regarding a teaching. Impostor syndrome kicked in first: "What can I teach if I don't know everything myself?" But then I decided to go through the interview and let them assess my level and decide whether I was a fit. To my surprise, they hired me on the spot.

They gave me a basic syllabus, but I wasn't thrilled with the topic list. I reworked it, built new presentations with AI, and effectively designed my own course.

At the same time, I began sharing my industry journey on LinkedIn and offering free guidance to aspiring PMs. Within weeks, multiple people I'd advised, including a fresh graduate who landed a job after our session, credited me with helping them break into the field. And soon I started consulting junior and entry-level specialists. 

What makes a PM candidate stand out? 

I'd point to three main things.

• First, sincerity and human qualities. Businesses are not hiring just a function; they're hiring a person they'll work with on a team. When you communicate honestly and show both emotion and expertise, that's a big plus.
• Second, business thinking. You're hired into a business to bring value and results. You need to understand how your work helps the company make money.
• Third, critical thinking and your reasoning. If you don't know something, don't just say "I don't know." Terminology (like an API) can be learned in an hour with AI or YouTube. What matters more is showing how you think. If you don't have specific experience, walk them through your approach: how you'd analyze the situation, who you'd talk to, what steps you'd take.

When something goes wrong (say, "prod is down"), we have to communicate transparently with the client, but you shouldn't show up with just a problem. Show up with a solution: "Here's the issue, here's what our analysis found, and here's the plan for how and when we'll fix it.

What would you advise beginner PMs?

First, cover the technical side. Learn the theory and the basic skills for project management.

Second, soft skills matter just as much. Can you communicate clearly? Are you actually comfortable working with people? And can you handle multitasking, because that's the reality of the job. You'll be in a meeting while three people message you at once, or you'll have half a day of back-to-back calls and still need to get your own work done after.

So be honest with yourself about whether that pace suits you. I love it. I need it. Other people do better with something steady and predictable, and forcing that dynamic pace on themselves just burns them out. Ask yourself: do you actually enjoy building and organizing processes, or does it drain you?

Fortunately, soft skills can be intentionally developed. Prepare for key conversations deliberately and study team dynamics, for example, Tuckman's forming-storming-norming-performing model.

In short: study the technical side, the methodologies, and build your soft skills in parallel. Then just try it. If you find you're wired for the pace and you genuinely like setting up processes, go for it. And whatever else you do, be sincere and human with the people you work with.