Category Archives: PMO CV

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, PMO CV, Project management CV

When a PMO CV can be too good

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I have been working with a new client who is a PMO guru – she has an impressive portfolio of contract positions in a variety of industries and is highly regarded in her field. When I was first presented with her CV for a review I was pleased to tell her that her CV says all the right things although it was missing some key facts, and as a recruiter I would be delighted to receive her CV. However I also stated that her CV was a little too good, as a recruiter passing on CVs to potential clients my fear was that it is just too good. Now at this point you may ask how can a CV be too good – well you need to think about who will be screening CVs when you apply for roles, as a project management specialist I can understand the terminology, but a great deal of clients would struggle to get their heads around it. Also when you apply for roles you may not be sending your CV to a PMO specialist – there are a great deal of recruiters with no specialist knowledge in the project management field and also HR representatives alike.

My suggestion was to add in the key areas missing in the CV and break down the information supplied into a more reader friendly piece of information. Not dumb it down but use plain English with a good level of keywords put into context within the CV.

Don't make it too complex

Assuming the reader will know what it is you are trying to say is one of the biggest mistakes professionals can make when writing CVs – by sitting on the other side of the table you can start to think about how you communicate with non-project personnel, perhaps in a work environment. Therefore you are demonstrating on your CV an ability to be able to turn complex pieces of work into easy to digest information.

Working with my client has been very interesting – we agreed a plan of action and worked together to clearly promote her experience and skill-set so she has a balance of what is expected recruitment wise and what she wants to say.

This is a clear example of a client recognising she needs to do something right with her CV and accepting that change is the order of the day – that’s a great project person, taking a pragmatic approach to ensuring she comes across in the right light.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO CV, Project management CV, project management resume

Tweaking your CV for project management jobs

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If you have a good, strong CV then you are in a great position to apply for new roles – however there is such a solid emphasis placed on matching candidates up for jobs with a requirement of 90%+ ticking of boxes. As your CV shouldn’t exceed 3 pages, it can be difficult to be able to place all your experience in there. This is where tweaking comes in, now it is not about drawing out a tiny fraction of your experience for a role which is predominantly looking for someone with a clear focus on something. For example if the role is a project manager for implementation of desk top rolls outs and your core experience is new product development but you have a small amount of exposure in a previous life to desk top roll outs. As clearly there are people with the right experience level who can fit the bill.

Tweaking is about highlighting specific areas deemed as most important to the hiring manager – such as stringent reporting, you may have covered this lightly in your CV but if it is listed high up in the job description then this skill is clearly an area which the employer deems are very important to that role – therefore you should look to draw out detail about your reporting in your CV. Looking at what kind of reports you generate, who you present them to, how often, and in what format these take.

Choosing the right combination to create the best picture
Choosing the right combination to create the best picture

Achievements are another area which can be tweaked for applications, again focussing on particular examples which may be relevant to the position – this is where you can be a little clever too. By researching a business (this only tends to work for direct employer roles as recruiters aren’t keen to divulge enough information on businesses to be able to know who they are) and looking at what else they are doing such as major change, and incorporating an achievement relevant to their change. Although not directly relevant to the role you are applying for it can highlight your exposure to specific scenarios which the business is currently undergoing. If the project management function is undergoing changes such as new structures or implementing a PMO then you may have some exposure to working with PMOs / heads of projects to support implementation. Something which you haven’t necessarily covered in your CV as you are focusing on delivery – it’s these little extra pieces of information which can really set you apart from your peers and put you in a shortlist for interview.

Always scrutinise the job description / advert and see where the emphasis lays with competencies; they are usually in order of importance. Make sure you read through the list of requirements and can tick the boxes, then put your CV next to the description and make sure your CV have the required emphasis on each competency. Clear communication is the order of the day and let’s face it – that is the key to effective project management, demonstrating what you say you are good at from the first point in the application process will stand you in good stead.