All posts by Nicola Caswell-Thorp

//platform.linkedin.com/in.js
Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, News, PMO, Project Management

Covering your projects whilst on holiday

Leave a comment

OK so we’ve all been there – summer is fast approaching and you are reaching critical stages in your projects, your holiday has been booked for months and your family are excitedly packing their cases ahead of the break. Short of taking your work mobile and laptop on holiday and praying for a decent WIFI connection by the pool – you need to look at how and who can be trusted to keep momentum on your projects in your absence!

I have learned my lesson sorely by entrusting my critical workload to colleagues who promise the earth but when it comes down to it – they are either far too busy with their own schedules or figure it’s not really their problem. So what can you do to ensure all is not lost in your absence?

  • In an ideal world, there would be enough slack in the budget to cover an interim for the period you are away – but reality often dictates no spare cash for such resource. Depending on the impact on the business due to slippage and current investment – you may be able to present a business case to secure funding for a contractor.
  • Speak to the PMO, in another ideal world – there is an established corporate level PMO in place which holds extensive resource maps, (and should already be aware of your absence) to which they can work around resources to ensure a dedicated individual with experience (who has been briefed) can pick up the reins.
  • Plan ahead and create your very own second in command – from the outset, ideally, employ a project coordinator / junior project manager / project assistant who is not used as an admin tool (although if you cover this aspect in your role then exposure to this is required), he/she works alongside you and learns all about the project, suppliers, stakeholders, business requirements as you work together. OK so you may now be saying this is an expensive resource. Is it? You are offering to provide some strong work experience to a professional who is already on the cusp of promotion into delivering a small project. I think we could all easily write a strong business case for this and also gain good buy in from the person to take the role.

Planning ahead and thinking outside of the box are key requirements for a good project professional, don’t leave it to chance – make sure you have cover in place so you can enjoy your holiday and save yourself from stress when the only thing which should be worrying you is which factor sun cream to use. Or of course in the UK which raincoat to take!

Are you currently using these skills in your role? Does your CV tell us this? Are you missing a trick? Get in touch with your CV for a free review exclusive to Project Management professionals! www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Cover letters, CV Tips, CV Writing, Friday Snippet, PMO, Project Management

Cover Letters

1 Comment

Whenever anyone mentions cover letters I hear the same old sigh and comments such as; “Does anyone actually read them?!”. It is a bit of a lottery depending on who is reading your application but it cannot hurt to write one specific to the role and especially when applying direct to an employer it is courtesy. Remember you are being judged from the moment you make contact with an employer or recruiter – simply writing, “See attached” or even sending a blank email with your CV attached is not good form. Equally, writing a cover letter which is generic is also not adding to your application.

  • When writing an effective cover letter you should look to address the person you are sending properly – if the job advert states the name of the person accepting the application, make sure you address it to them personally.
  • Ensure you state where you saw the advertisement and what the role is (remember HR and recruiters deal with numerous roles at once).
  • Look to add some strong content which matches up your relevant experience to the role itself – if the job advert states it requires someone who has implemented PMO procedures then make sure you add detail about a time or times when you have had this input.
  • Do not copy and paste detail from your CV – you’ve already stated this.
  • If the business product has a strong synergy to a current or previous employer – talk about this, demonstrating your understanding of the way the industry works.
  • Do not be afraid to add into the letter that you will follow the application up with a call to discuss your experience further and state a date; then do as you say you will.

Remember you are one of a number of applicants for any one role – making an effort to tailor your application not only demonstrates your enthusiasm for this role, it also demonstrates your written communication skills and ability to follow up on pieces of work. As a project professional these are key qualities and as stated above, will be judged from the outset.

Making a smaller number of tailored applications will return a higher number of call backs and interview possibilities rather than applying for everything with the word project in it. Remember when dealing with recruitment agencies you will soon gain a reputation if you apply for everything, especially when the roles as so dissimilar. Create a good impression first time around and be remembered for the right reasons – you may not make it into the shortlist for that role but a new role may just be being qualified that has your name on it, a good recruiter will recognise this and have you top of the list to speak to for that role.

 

The CV Righter is a professional CV writing service aimed at project and would be project professionals – we can assist you in tailoring your CV and cover letters for specific roles too.

For a free CV review visit: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, News, Q&A

Questions Answered – Why do I not hear back from recruiters when my CV is submitted to employers?

Leave a comment

Having received a great deal of questions over the past couple of weeks from project management professionals regarding their CVs I felt it would be a good opportunity to share my responses. I aim to take the most asked questions and answer them over the coming weeks – if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch either through the website, twitter or our facebook page.

My CV is being put forward to employers on a regular occasion through recruiters but I am not receiving any feedback – I can see my CV is of interest but it seems to stop at the employers’ door and I am not sure why I then hear nothing? David, Programme Manager, London.

Hi David – many thanks for your question, one I hear on a regular basis from candidates coming to me for advice. First of all I will assume you have been applying for roles online through the job websites which the recruiters often use as a means to attract talent to new roles. I believe this is a good introduction to agencies however I also believe it is a sterile form of application – in that you are not striking up a relationship with the recruiter personally from the outset. It often then becomes difficult to move the relationship forward from this point as the recruiter will submit your CV along with a shortlist and move onto another role until they hear back from the employer. You could work on building relationships with the recruitment agencies from the outset by taking the time to identify agencies which work in your field and make contact. Often these agencies will have their own jobs board which you can apply direct to and if you already have that relationship with a consultant you can call them to discuss the role further before submitting a tailored application. This will give you greater “buy in” with the individual and as such you should be able to set a communication plan moving forward to be kept up to date with your application. You are more likely to then receive feedback about your application, such as why the employer will not be taking yours to interview etc and gain a great deal of knowledge in regards to future applications.

Of course there are other reasons why you are not hearing back, roles close without notice due to changes in the business and internal candidates being placed but you should also be receiving this feedback from the recruiter. Personal exposure to recriutment agencies has seen that some work on quantity not quality – so they may take a large list of roles and not necessarily take time to review CVs specifically for the role and so just submit a lot of CVs to the client. Working on this basis leaves little time or inclination to respond to candidates with feedback. Therefore I would suggest you pin point agencies which specialise in your field and only take on a set number of roles where they spend time and knowledge to identify CVs which closely align to the business needs and as such will only present a shortlist of less than 10 CVs to the client. These types of agencies tend to take time to nurture relationships with their clients and candidates to ensure successful outcomes.

As “Questions Answered” is to become a regular feature on this blog site – we welcome any questions you wish to submit. To make contact please use the above links or come direct through our website: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management

CV reviews for Project Management professionals

Leave a comment

When was the last time you had your CV reviewed? Your CV is the key tool to gain interest by hiring managers and recruiters. I have had a fair few enquiries recently from candidates wanting to understand why they had applied to many roles with little or no feedback; often describing their job applications disappearing into a “big black hole”, never hearing anything back. There are a number of reasons for this, one being that you may be one of up to 100 applicants (sometimes more depending on role type, location, salary etc.), as a rule of thumb the recruitment process will filter down the list of applications to a manageable shortlist of candidates to speak to or interview outright. When I asked the candidates if they had chased up their applications, a good percentage said yes but felt fobbed off with standard responses such as “candidates with a closer match to the experience required made the shortlist”. When pushed for further feedback the recruiters and HR staff were reluctant to provide any useful feedback stating the CV was OK. However, if the CV is “OK” and you feel you have a strong synergy to the role requirements, why are you not making shortlist? I always recommend going back to the recruiter for further feedback as it is important when you feel your CV says XYZ – why it doesn’t to the person reviewing it for the role.

As a professional CV writer, specialising in the field of project management I have sat on the recruitment side of applications too – I have spent many an hour discussing candidates CVs with the applicants in order to assist them in getting the right information down on the CV to ensure successful applications for roles in their field. As such one of the services we provide at The CV Righter is to perform a free CV review for candidates where a one to one appointment is made and areas of the CV are discussed. I have found the feedback for such a service to be very positive, after all another person’s perspective is always beneficial but particularly when that other person has actually done the job and recruited for hundreds of roles spanning, PMO, project management, programme management, portfolio management, change management and business analysis to name a few.

If you feel your CV needs that competitive edge and you feel you have gone as far as you can with it but still are not securing interviews – then it may be time to let a professional CV writing service take a look. We offer a competitive value for money service which is tailored to your needs. If the CV does not require a complete rewrite then we talk through areas that do need work and charge accordingly. We also offer an insight into the recruitment aspect of applications and advice on how to move forward with success by taking a detailed account of what you do at the moment and equip you with new approaches to applications and getting noticed in your field.

Get in touch with your CV for a free CV review – be prepared for honest and constructive feedback, we believe you can only add value if you know where you are going wrong. Visit www.thecvrighter.co.uk and make contact through our contact page.