All posts by Nicola Caswell-Thorp

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CV Tips, CV Writing, Job Applications, Project management career progression, Project Management Careers Advice, Project management CV

Horsemeat burgers

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Keeping topical and those of you who follow my blog will know I do like to bring food into the equation given any excuse. All the news of burgers and ready meals containing horsemeat got me thinking about the fundamentals of not labelling correctly and misleading others to buy products. This can happen with CVs, as with food products you are required to state what goes into the product – by putting emphasis on one key ingredient and not addressing other areas you too could be falsely packaging yourself and as we’ve seen, you will eventually get caught out.

I am a reindeer honest

Most people have had some exposure to project management at work, however describing yourself as a project manager when you are in fact a business manager who has managed a project or two is not an accurate description of yourself. The same goes for those with titles other than project manager who actually are dedicated to managing projects and nothing else.

In the latter circumstance then clearly labelling yourself as a project manager is vital should you be looking to take on PM roles moving forward and knowing how some HR staff do tend to just read a job title before dismissing CVs it is important to be clear in your profile. Never change your job title given for each role as this will be picked up later down the line but your profile is a fantastic opportunity to tell the hiring manager what you actually do and name yourself PM.

The issue with the former situation is that too much emphasis on only a small part of your job can mislead others into thinking you are something you are not. Now I know you may be perfectly capable of managing projects having managed a few over the years but there is a big difference to a PM with a vast portfolio of delivered projects under their wing. The key is to be honest and strike a balance – look at the uproar of the burgers and ready meals, people feel miss sold a product which clearly described itself of one thing but contained something else too. This is where the issue really lays, without jumping too deep into the politics of it horsemeat has been eaten for years in countries such as France. There is no issue in regards to safety but there is an ethical factor in regards to those not wanting to eat an animal seen as a pet.

As with hiring managers they want to buy a XYZ then they realise they have been presented with an XYY – naturally they are going to be a little put off to say the least. If you are honest and up front about your experience and skill-set then the hiring manager can make a decision whether to see you or not, in fact they may actually like that you have operational BAU (business as usual) experience to add to the mix.

So think on, be true to who you are as a professional and the right role will be found.

A bit of fun, CV Tips, CV Writing, Job Applications, Job Hunting, No, Recruitment

Be my Valentine

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Valentines is a long held tradition across many countries in the world as a day to express love for another – one legend is that of a priest in the third century in Rome, who took it upon himself to marry soldiers in secret, who were forbidden to marry under Emperor Claudius II as his belief was that single men made better warriors of war. On discovery, the priest was executed; the Catholic Church recognises three saints Valentines or Valentinus’ all of whom were martyred. Of course there are a fair few legends but this one I think is particularly romantic in that it talks of a religious party striking against what the establishment deem as right in matters of the heart.

Be my valentine

So naturally I wanted to tie the Valentines theme in with CV writing, sitting down to think about what Valentines actually means to others and how it affects our lives I put the question out to my friends – the response was good but one of my favourites was this response; “It’s a bit like Xmas. You can go the hype route, or if you take heed of the underlying message you can enrich your life.” How true, seeing through the commercial aspect it is a time set aside to reflect on what really matters in your life.

I began to write a list of what actually happens on Valentine’s day and the actions we take:

  • Putting yourself out there – taking a risk for something you really want. For single people valentines provides an opportunity to let that special someone know that you are thinking about them. As is the case with applying for a role, it doesn’t have to be an advertised job, you could make contact speculatively. You have nothing to lose as long as you keep your approach professional. You never know, as up until the point you make contact you are not even on their radar!
  • Making an effort – getting dressed up to create a good impression doesn’t always mean knocking on doors physically, dress up that LinkedIn profile and CV; make contact and let them do the talking.
  • Thrill of the chase – now we all love a chase to get something we want so why only extend the exhilaration to romance, use the adrenalin and endorphins to keep you motivated and enjoy the ride.
  • Rise above the fear of rejection – the time old saying, it’s better to have tried and failed than never tried at all. Performed in the right manner, surely it is worth a go.
  • Anonymity – traditionally sending a card or flowers to a valentine is supposed to be a secret, a bad CV can have the same effect – to recruiters, bad CVs get put in the recycle bin and it’s like you never existed so heed the warning.
  • Rock someone’s world – it’s not always the flamboyant and expensive gestures which make an impression, often it’s the well thought out but simple motion.
  • Dating agency – for those still looking for that special someone, an agency can be just the ticket. Recruitment agencies and job websites are also there to attend to your professional needs. Sign up, make contact, search through profiles, find something which makes you want to make contact and do just that.

Striking a balance of a happy personal life and happy work life is the key to contentment – if you invest as much time and effort into finding a new job as you do to matters of the heart and take the thrill of it rather than see it as a chore you will find yourself on a new exciting journey.

CV Tips, Project management CV, project management resume

That all important first half of your CV

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The most important part of your CV is the first half – the reason is simple, it’s the first thing hiring managers and recruiters read and it can either whet their appetite to read more or switch them off and make them move on to the next CV without giving you any serious consideration. So what is the winning formula to generating the right kind of attention and will it make the reader actually turn the page with interest?

Let’s take it from the top:

  • Headings – whaaaaat?? Indeed what! There is absolutely no need to give your CV a heading, it is very obvious that the document is a Curriculum Vitae or Resume so don’t waste precious space. Also bear in mind software for candidate databases tend to take the first line of the CV and process it as the name of the candidate. You do not want to be listed as Curriculum Vitae instead of Bernard Thomson right!
  • Name – your name should always be at the top of the CV and ideally in a larger font than the rest of the document. For the above database reason, but also because it needs to be in a place which is easily seen by the reader, there is nothing worse for a recruiter than having to search for a name on a CV trust me! Some also choose to add the name alongside page numbers in the footer – this works well for when the document is printed out helping to ensure none of the pages are lost. However a lot of offices do tend to be paperless these days so a footer isn’t a crucial requirement.
  • Address – again this should be towards the top of the CV and ideally under your name. If applying to recruiters and posting your CV online I recommend you don’t include your entire address, in fact I would suggest maybe stating a City or County. However if you are applying direct to an employer then it is better to include your full address so they can see how far you are from the role location. Some employers will contact you by post (yes this practice is still very common for larger organisations); also offers will generally be posted out. Not getting ahead of ourselves here, but it pays to keep HR on side; they do not want to be chasing up such details.
  • Phone number – your mobile number will suffice, this is ideal as you can screen calls and take them in appropriate areas rather than in front of the current boss. Don’t give work numbers and if you work in security cleared areas which do not allow mobile devices – make sure you tell the hiring manager / recruitment consultant this in your application and provide an appropriate method for them to contact you.
  • Email address – often recruiters will email you to arrange a time to talk and employers may wish to send you further information / testing etc via this method. Make sure you have a sensible email address and it is spent correctly. I have lost count of the amount of emails I receive on behalf of another Nicola with a dot missing from her email address!
  • Profile – who are you / what can you do (in a professional capacity)
  • Achievements – the all important evidence of where you have added value.
  • Career history – starting just about half way down the page, starting with most recent role first.

This takes us to half way down the CV – the crucial point! Do read through the above links to blog posts which drill down in to more detail and give examples etc.

Job Hunting, Motivation, Planning, project management recruitment, Redundancy

Employees facing redundancy – 7 things to think about

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It is never a good time to hear that your job has been put under threat of redundancy, most of us have been there at some point in our career and just when you think you are doing a great job the news hits. One thing to remember is that this could be the change you need to make a positive move forward – how long have you been thinking that you would like a change / more money / progression / a boss who really appreciates all the hard work? By being forced out into the cold you have to take action and this is a perfect time to really take stock of your career to move into a new challenge.

Some things to assist you in your transition are listed below:

  1. It is not your fault – it is easy to take things personally when you are faced with redundancy. However, no matter how good you are in your job there are always other factors that management need to take into consideration for the good of the business and as such departments are removed. Especially when it comes to project management, how many projects are still realising their benefits? Are the right people running them? How can we improve outcomes and cut costs?
  2. Take stock of your skill-set – performing a skills audit and writing a list of your accomplishments to date will help you re-evaluate your position, feeling kicked to the curb means you lose sight of you as a professional and running through your achievements and abilities will help you get back on track mentally.
  3. Make a plan – take a good look at how you can tackle your circumstances, research the market for roles which meet your abilities and create a spreadsheet to list job boards and start noting down roles to apply for. Remember now is time to look for something which will meet your expectations in terms of progressing, whether it be in seniority, money, potential for progression and/or training.
  4. Work on your CV – make sure you use your list from your skills audit and also look at the job descriptions, what are they asking for? If you have done these things have you articulated them in your CV?
  5. Keep motivated – remember it is not you; the business has to make changes for whatever reason. Now it is time for you to demonstrate to others how good you are, harsh but recruiters and employers do not like to hear and see candidates down in the dumps.
  6. Keep up momentum – your plan should have clearly marked out sections to tackle such as xx hours on job adverts, xx hours searching company websites for direct applications to employers and also other routes such as looking for opportunities which aren’t advertised. Keep to it – make sure you set aside a good few hours a day and really work on each application; applying for everything rarely works but a good tailored application to fewer roles really does harvest results.
  7. Seek help – if you are finding you are yielding little results from your approach it may be time to seek help, your CV is a first port of call. Get a free CV review, talk to others about their approach to finding a role and see if you are missing anything.

Once you have been notified of your redundancy payout you should look to structure how to use it effectively, after covering your mortgage and bills for a number of months you should look to see if you need any additional training, a professionally written CV and careers advice on applying for positions and interviewing can be a very effective investment too.