Alumni in Action: Audrey Pettingill, Contract Project Manager

When Audrey was considering her options after her position at a publishing company was eliminated in 2013, she knew she would need to find work in a new industry. While Audrey had extensive experience in project, process, and vendor management, she decided to take the BPG Six Sigma and PMP prep course because they both are standard methodologies that work across most industries.

As a result of the BPG training, she thinks differently about processes.  Her first question is always “how are things done?” Then she asks how they “should” be done.

The training was also instrumental in Audrey being hired as a contract project manager. Her assignment was to roll out processes to vendors.  This involved both project management and process work.  Her first step was mapping out the existing processes so they could be documented.

Audrey is now working full time with a large financial firm.

Reflecting on how to get the most value from the BPG  programs, Audrey shared these thoughts:

• “Translate what you did in one industry to another so a prospective employer can envision the value your experience and the certification bring to them.”  For Audrey, that connection with Six Sigma was easy to identify:  “In publishing, I was constantly asked to do more with less, with no more people, and so I was forced to think smarter. That has Six Sigma written all over it! “
• If you decide to take the PMP Exam, “Do not try to memorize anything about the PMP. Learn it. All of it. You’ll live and breathe it for many weeks, but that brings the payoff. I tried to memorize the material, and I failed the test the first time! The test questions are written such that you must know where you are in the process in order to know the correct answer.”

Like other BPG alumni, Audrey has found that the value of her BPG training is not limited to her work life.  She says “I even run a more efficient home after taking this training. It helped me think about the process while I worked, earned certifications, and finished my master’s degree.”

This post was contributed By Breakthrough Performance Group Graduate, Tricia Boies. Tricia holds her Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Certification. She is a freelance business writer, project manager, and process manager. You can connect with her on LinkedIn.