Monthly Archives: April 2013

Career Objective, CV Tips, CV Writing, Project management career progression, Project Management Careers Advice, Project management CV, project management resume

CV Objective – to include or not

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Stating a career objective in your CV can be a great way to highlight where you wish to go next in your occupation, however it can also be stating the obvious. If you have a resume which is clear in your goals then stating an objective can over egg the pudding so to speak, however if you are looking for a change in career or want to be taken seriously for progression then including this detail can really help. For those who display their CVs online for recruiters and hiring managers to pick up, the objective can help stop wasting time being called for roles which are not on the radar for you. Especially those who may currently (and have a history of) managing projects and would like to progress to managing programmes and equally for those who have previously worked in a field which they wish to move away from.

Be careful what you state as an objective and don’t pitch yourself out of the market, a good objective will talk through why you wish to move into a particular field (such as interest or exposure to something you wish to specialise in) and also give a view of where you see yourself in the future (progressing up the career ladder).

Here’s an example of an objective which covers the above:

  • Following a successful career supporting a number of large projects now looking to progress to the role of project manager where these skills can be utilised to their full potential; following 3 years experience of managing smaller projects through the lifecycle. Long term goals include eventual progression into managing programmes of work.

Here the candidate is clearly stating that they are ready for that next step up to managing projects rather than supporting and they have experience which means it is not unrealistic. The long term goal tells the reader that the person is serious about their career and is working to a plan; they are not unreasonable and know that it takes time (and experience).

You can justify your potential for promotion / progression with your objective therefore if this is a route you are looking to take then including the objective can really work for you. Likewise if you are looking to move into a new industry or career you can also use the objective to highlight your transferability.

If you applying direct to an employer for a role, they may ask for an objective to be included on the CV. I cannot emphasise enough that all job adverts need to be read thoroughly, following instruction can be part of the recruitment process and as such you need to take this seriously and comply.

Making sure you are pitching to the right audience is key to getting viewed favourably for roles – don’t leave it to assumptions, make sure you are clear about what it is you want.

CV Tips, CV Writing, Project Management, Project management CV, Project Management Lessons Learned, Stakeholders

Stakeholder communications – lessons learned

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Stakeholders play a huge role in projects and effective communication is key to success, working closely with the team to ensure we are all singing from the same song sheet.

So why do so many not talk about their stakeholders in their CV? Your CV is the first piece of communication a hiring manager sees from you, by omitting detail about arguably one of the most important aspects of your role from the CV you are selling yourself short.

Let’s take a look at the fundamentals of stakeholder engagement:

  • Establishing who your stakeholders are – once engaging in a new project it is important to understand who your stakeholders are and list them in order of importance to the project.
  • Create a communications plan – work with your stakeholders to schedule in regular contact, understand their other commitments and set up a style which fits with this.
  • Honesty – don’t hide major issues from your stakeholders, talk about them and provide tangible solutions. You aren’t doing anyone any favours by keeping them in the dark, being upfront but constructive is essential.

Stakeholders

Adding this kind of detail alongside some context such as stakeholder locations, involvement and difficulties (yes we have all dealt with tricky customers), you can really start adding value to your CV. It is the anomalies and how you manage them which really start to set you apart from your peers in the field.

I have seen far too many CVs which place all the emphasis on the projects and none on how you work – yes, we want to know what the projects are but remember the CV is about you so we also want to see how you work. Simply listing a string of skills just doesn’t cut it with employers, actually adding in detail about what this means in your role is where you really add value. Forgetting the stakeholders is not giving the right impression and this is the first impression, so work on creating a CV which is inclusive and really tells the reader about you.

Job Applications, Job Hunting, LinkedIn, project management jobs, project management recruitment

Part time Project Management jobs

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More and more project professionals find themselves in a position where they need to work part time – this may be due to home commitments such as caring for dependents or even other interests such as writing books / working for charities etc. It may seem that employers will not be interested in part time employees as projects can be very time consuming, however there are a great deal of organisations out there who would benefit from experienced project professionals working on a part time basis due to budgetary constraints.balancing home and work

These types of roles are rarely advertised as the hiring managers have not yet thought about taking on additional support in this capacity but it does make sense. Therefore it is important to really think about how you can add value to a project or business and make contact with heads of projects etc. A first port of call would be your existing contacts base – update your CV and drop them a line explaining your desire to work on a part time basis and don’t forget to add in the benefits of a cheaper resource with a great skill-set. Once you have made contact with previous employers, colleagues, and contacts then you are on their radar – hopefully they will keep their ear to the ground and suggest you for additional resource with their contacts too. Then you should look to research organisations who have project management functions to see what is new with them – the best starting point would be to look at their news articles to see if they have anything new in the pipeline which could potentially yield new roles, such as new products / mergers / overhauling legacy systems etc. Before making contact – look to see if any of your contacts have any connection to the organisation, LinkedIn is perfect for this. If you find they do – ask for an introduction to HR or ideally heads of projects. The next part is really important: write a speculative covering letter which includes detail about their changes then talk through your relevant experience and exposure to this, do not be afraid to blow your own trumpet – but simply stating you are brilliant isn’t the way to do it, talk about your actual accomplishments which are relevant to the project and how you add value. Then talk through your desire for a part time position and spell out how this can be a cost effective resource for the project. Some flexibility to your working hours is always a bonus, so if you can be flexible – tell them so!

There is a fair bit of work required on your side with this approach to finding a new role but with competition high for the few part time roles advertised, it is this proactive behaviour which will yield results.

Careers Advice, Project Management Training, Software

5 less known development & analytical software skills which will slingshot your hireability

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Individuality is important. With that in mind, it is understandable why you wouldn’t want to make a habit of following trends, but if you want to be popular in the world of software development and analytics, you have to be able to supply what’s in demand.  When I say popular I really mean, ‘employable’ and, although experience counts for a lot in the IT industry, when it comes to new fields of technology having the right skills will put you right in the frame.

If you are considering which new skills you may need to add to your portfolio, it is worthwhile spending some time considering the technological driving forces that are likely to define the IT world over the next few years.  These trends will be instrumental in shaping your training plan and ensuring you’re able to fully utilise your new skills.

As a software professional in today’s world, your skills will have to be usable on both what the industry has inherited and, what it aspires to build.  Over the last few years, things like social media, cloud computing and big data have made a strong entry into industries which in turn, changes the game for people with a more ‘traditional’ skill set.  Generally, social media and cloud computing can be developed using broadly traditional tools such as PHP, PERL, Python, JAVA, C++ etc. so other than the paradigm shift in application interaction points and scale, they are created in using the old code type just in new places.

Big Data and Analytics

GlobalKnowledge Research report that Cloud Computing, Big Data and Data Analytics are amongst the biggest strategic targets for the technology sector and that this will undoubtedly create demand for jobs in these fields.  Unfortunately, ITBusinessEdge rather gloomily predict that although this may lead to as many as 4.4 million jobs in these fields by 2015, current training and employment trends suggest that only one third of them will be filled.

Pessimism aside, what are the jobs in Big Data & Analytics and what can you do about filing them?

EMC, Teradata & Hadoop

The major players in the emerging markets are using some new and proprietary products to provide the scalable environment that define the big data revolution.  EMC, Teradata and Hadoop are a few of the names establishing themselves as having a serious part to play in this emerging market and they are ideal for new implementations.

Traditionally, the providers of existing data platforms such as Oracle, SQL and DB/2 have been left wanting in these developments but take heart because these skills are still increasing in demand.

 SQL

SQL skills were still cited as required for 8 out of 10 of the top IT job categories by the E-Skills Council in their 2012 report.  In fact jobs requiring SQL and SQL Server skills have typically constituted around 20 % of IT jobs advertised in the UK each quarter since 2010.

Programming

And, as a nod in the direction towards these legacy skills, products such as Lingual by Concurrent Inc has been developed to allow native SQL queries to be used on the Hadoop platform.

SPSS

IBM, although not exactly hitting the mark with their DB/2 offering in the past, look determined to ensure they will have a hand to play with Netezza and their SPSS analytics application. IBM bought the SPSS application a few years back and after a time of looking lost in the wilderness, the application may be a key player in their ‘Smarter Planet’ initiative.

On its own, SPSS has had a 30 year pedigree in data analytics and has become a de facto standard for statistical analysis across social science and academic environments.  The social media data boom and big data analysis requirements will bring SPSS into a more commercial frame as correlation and statistical reporting becomes the next big thing.

Though there are no current formal certifications as yet for data analytics, EMC, Datameer, IBM and CISCO are all setting up programmes help customers and developers alike.

So it looks like the old dogs will indeed be learning new tricks and the legacy skills in SQL and analytical tools like SPSS, will have an important part to play throughout the Big Data revolution.  Don’t neglect them.  They will serve you well through the coming years.

After brushing up on these skills or perhaps enrolling in a SQL or SPSS training course, maybe take some time to look at the Hadoop platform in conjunction with EMC’s Greenplumb and IBM’s Netezza and you will be well on your way to becoming indispensable through the Big Data and Analytics revolution.

This article was brought to you by Acuity Training. Acuity is an instructor led, hands-on training company based in Surrey. Acuity offer crystal reports, autocad training and much more.