Category Archives: No

Careers Advice, Networking, News, No, PMO, Project Management

APMG-International Showcase UK

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Today I will be attending the APMG-International Showcase UK formally Best Practice Showcase in London – this is, in my experience, one of the more professionally run and useful exhibitions to attend for the PPM domain. The line up this year is a little smaller in comparison to previous years’ events however good things come in small packages. The line up planned promises to be very informative and the birds of a feather sessions tend to prove to be beneficial for those wanting a more intimate session where your questions will be heard.

This event in years past has always proven very popular with the senior project management professionals and makes for a great networking opportunity whether you are seeking a new role or simply seeking others who may be able to share their knowledge on delivering success.

It is good practice as a PPM professional to attend such events to assist you will be keeping abreast of current methods, new training workshops, PPM tools, etc. Networking is not something which everyone is naturally born with however practice makes perfect so do not be intimidated and use this as a great way to start – project management is all about networking and growing your networks is essential in the modern world.

I hope to see some of you today – please feel free to come and find me and enjoy your day!

For details of the event, please visit the APMG website here.

Friday Snippet, Networking, News, No, PMO, Project Management

APMG-International Showcase UK (formally Best Practice Showcase) – Friday Snippet

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It’s that time of year again where programme, project and portfolio professionals come together for the annual APMG-International Showcase UK. This is a must see event for anyone working within the project management domain and is of particular interest to senior PM, PgM and PfM professionals. The event is based around structured sessions both interactive Birds of a Feather sessions which are a more intimate session sat around a table in smaller groups to larger presentations.

Date of the event: Thursday 28th June

With sessions around portfolio management collaborative working, maturing your EPM solution, managing benefits and PPM qualifications to name a few – there is something for everyone. Programme list here.

As well as these great sessions this is a prime opportunity for you to network with your peers and hopefully walk away with some ideas, solutions and new business connections.

The event is free and based at the QEII Conference Centre – nearest tubes are Westminster and St James Park.

Register online and make sure you book into any sessions which are of particular interest as they fill up quickly. Even if you cannot take the entire day out from the office – it is worth popping across the city for a few hours.

I will be attending the event as a delegate and look forward to seeing you there – come and say hello.

Careers Advice, News, No

Steve Clarke pleads for work at the roadside

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I read with great interest the article in the Daily Mail dated 20th June 2012 – an unemployed man from Bolton who is at the end of his tether trying to secure a new role after being made redundant 11 months ago. Steve Clarke, previously a Quality Assurance Engineer has made over 300 applications in this time with little result, only 5 interviews. In a bid to try and draw some attention and a fantastic PR stunt (although I am not sure it was premeditated); Steve sat on a chair by the roadside in Bolton with a homemade placard stating: “Willing to work. Job required. Steve 07584420914”.

The article drew my interest as I have worked with hundreds of unemployed people who suffer frustration at not being able to find work – upsetting when they actually really want to work. I saddens me to see such desperation but also warms my heart to see the determination one man has to secure some work and stop his house from being repossessed. The government through the DWP once offered a scheme called the jobsearch support scheme which allocated funds the jobcentre plus to put customers forward to professionally trained organisations geared to assisting the likes of Steve. Unfortunately this funding was pulled in March 2011 and I cannot help but think that such a scheme would be ideal for Steve. As Steve has not been unemployed before he has little exposure to how the job market works in the current climate and as such this lack of knowledge and understanding puts him behind his competitors for a new role.

This isn’t the first attempt to secure a new job buy standing in the street with placards and I am sure it won’t be the last time it is reported. I only hope the publicity from Steve’s campaign secures him some leads and he is soon back in employment.

Could we be doing more? Yes, I think we could! My personal contribution towards assisting those in a vulnerable position is to offer a free CV review – by talking through the CV and offering constructive advice which you can take away with you and make changes to your document, I like to feel I am giving something back. I would be interested in other organisations who offer free assistance and advice to job seekers as it would be an ideal opportunity to create a repository of information and guidance to make sure we do not have more desperate approaches to finding a job.

News, No, PMO

New Beginnings

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Hello and welcome to The CV Righter blog!! In this first blog post I want to introduce myself and the business to you all. Firstly, if you have read my website and linkedin profile then you will know a little about me – you may also know me from my PM or recruitment past, I am not new to writing blog posts, narrating podcasts, attending PPM events and being fairly high profile in the PPM community. After nearly 5 years specialising in Project Management recruitment I decided to take a leap of faith into an area which has been of interest to me for a number of years. Working in recruitment I have spoken to so many PM professionals who are frustrated at not getting the job they thought they were ideal for, only to face the realisation that their CV does not meet the minimum criteria, never mind dazzle the reader – despite having all the right experience. Time and time again I too would be frustrated by the best CVs attracting attention not the best candidates. So here I am, offering a service dedicated to ensuring that PPM professionals get a service which is tailored to their needs, with results which attract the right kind of attention.

Our services:

– Offering a one to one specialism which meets your needs

– Understanding what you do and making sure others can understand this too by using language uniformly recognised by employers in the PPM domain

– Providing advice on job applications and if required, tailoring your CV to a specific role

– Supplying a quick turnaround service for those who have just spotted the job of their dreams and need to hit a deadline

Writing a CV isn’t rocket science – putting the right message across in an ever-changing niche area of the job marketplace can be. I have spoken to countless project professionals at varying levels of hierarchy and all say the same thing, they can write business cases and extensive reports etc but find it incredibly difficult to write their own CV. Why stress about it – let me write it for you.

www.thecvrighter.co.uk