Introduction
Looking for a Project Manager with 10 years of experience, PMP, MBA, willing to travel and work night shifts. MUST HAVE 10 years’ experience working in E-commerce Industry. 😤Hiring Program Manager with 15 years of experience, MBA, PMP, Agile Certified, willing to work 12 hours/day & on weekends. MUST BE from Automotive Industry.👺Dear Corporate — is it not enough that you already ask for superpowers? Or that you expect people to sell their souls to your KPIs? Must they also come with an exact industry stamp on their forehead?
I’ve always wondered how such precise expectations are justified. Does senior leadership truly believe this is the best way to grow a company? Are we sure those setting these filters are the ones who should be leading others?
Let’s dig deeper into this practice of hiring Project Managers strictly from the same industry — and whether it’s a smart, sustainable strategy at all. Hopefully, this article brings some sense (and maybe a change) for those involved in hiring decisions.
What Really Defines Project Managers?
The Pawn of the real world.
The unsung guardian — Project Managers.
That’s the first image that comes to mind when I think of who they are. They act as protectors of senior stakeholders, shielding them from the risks and challenges that projects often carry. They’re courageous enough to take the fall — making sure problems don’t impact the morale of the project team. In chess terms, they’re the ones on the frontline, safeguarding the rooks, knights, and all the heroes behind them.
They carry the message, manage the movement, and hold the fort.
Project Managers: Expected to Be Superhuman
They work across all directions. Consider:
- Marketing project? You’re expected to collaborate with the copywriters, designers, branding experts, researchers, finance teams, and senior leadership.
- Software project? Get ready to coordinate between front-end devs, backend devs, UI/UX folks, DBAs, QA testers, and business teams.
FUN FACT: It takes 15 years of school, 3–6 years of college, and at least 5 years of experience to learn just one of these technical domains. And yet, corporate job descriptions expect Project Managers to know all of them — and ideally have experience in each.
But wait, there’s more…
The Cherry on Top: “Must Be From the Same Industry”
Would I be exaggerating if I said every other job listing nowadays demands that the PM comes from the same industry? Whether you’re in HR, consulting, or a senior role — do you truly believe this is a good strategy?
I certainly don’t. Because here’s the thing:
Project Management is not about doing the work — it’s about managing it.
- Managing people.
- Managing flow.
- Managing expectations.
- Managing delivery.
The core skills of a Project Manager are not industry-specific. They’re rooted in how well someone can apply structured thinking, communication, leadership, adaptability, and problem-solving in an uncertain environment. And if you’re working in an Agile setup, these qualities are more relevant than any domain familiarity.
Let’s Talk About Agile for a Second
Take the first Agile principle: “Individuals and interactions over processes and tools.”
This means prioritizing people and a healthy work environment over red tape, rigid tools, or complicated leave policies. Now, does that only apply to the AI industry and not to E-commerce? Do BFSI projects not require skilled communication or collaborative mindsets?
Of course they do.
The Agile values, principles, artifacts, and frameworks are not industry-bound. They apply to any project with complexity, change, and people involved.
‘But I ONLY want this one!’ – said every stubborn hiring manager ever.👶🏻
Let’s be fair for a moment. Why do companies insist on hiring only from the same industry?
The usual reasons are simple: they believe onboarding will be easier, and that the person will understand how things work in that space. Familiarity with jargon, systems, workflows, and internal politics often seems like a huge plus. Hiring someone from the same domain gives them a sense of comfort. It feels like less risk.
But this is where it all falls apart. That sense of comfort is false confidence.
Because when it comes to Project Management, domain knowledge doesn’t guarantee success. You’re not hiring a developer, or a designer, or a finance analyst. You’re hiring someone to drive timelines, balance priorities, facilitate team collaboration, navigate blockers, and communicate with stakeholders. All of that can be done just as effectively across industries — if not more so, when someone brings fresh ideas from a different one.
The trust that comes from hiring someone with domain experience often backfires when that person ends up focusing too much on the “how things have always been done here” instead of challenging what could be done better.
Corporate – Read this or you WILL regret your hiring decisions!
Here’s where it gets serious.
1. You eliminate brilliant candidates. By making industry experience a non-negotiable requirement, you turn away some of the most capable, thoughtful, and skilled PMs out there. These are professionals who understand delivery, structure, communication, and leadership — but because they weren’t in your domain, you don’t even give them a shot. You’re not protecting your standards — you’re shrinking your talent pool.
2. You create flawed expectations that derail projects. Hiring someone from the same industry tends to lead to an unspoken assumption: that the PM will contribute to or oversee technical decisions. But a Project Manager is not a technical specialist. Expecting them to get into the weeds of code, design specs, or compliance reviews can cause more harm than good.
Instead of empowering the actual experts, you risk micromanagement, confusion, and a drop in team morale. The best teams operate on trust — and nothing breaks that faster than a PM stepping into technical lanes they shouldn’t.
Should Narendra Modi (a tea-seller) be in politics if you still disagree with me? 😉🤭
3. You block innovation and cross-pollination of ideas. Industry silos kill creativity. When you only hire from your own industry, you hire people who think like you. That might feel safe, but it kills innovation. Someone coming from a different sector can bring in a new lens, challenge dated workflows, and introduce ideas you never considered. That kind of diversity in thinking is how great companies grow.
Expand Your Horizon, Expand Your Impact
This isn’t just about job descriptions — it’s about changing how we think about leadership, talent, and growth.
With so much talent idle, and so many roles unfilled due to artificial filters, the gap is clear. The solution? Revisit how we write job criteria. Be more open. Be more strategic.
Let’s stop rejecting great project managers just because they didn’t work in your industry. Start hiring the ones who can manage the work — not just the ones who’ve done the work before.
What do you guys think?
Is this a shift that hiring teams need to embrace? Let me know in the comments. 🫶🏻
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