Category Archives: project management recruitment

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management, Project management CV, project management recruitment, project management resume

Recruitment for Project Managers – how to make it work

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I was approached this week by a new client asking me how recruitment works – having been in a permanent role for some years he is looking to go interim and wanted to know what the formula is to make recruiters sit up and take notice of him. There is no hard and fast rule as such – naturally the recruiter has a list of requirements from their client which need addressing in the CV, if your CV does not touch on these requirements then you will be discarded and often forgotten about. So what actually makes a recruiter work for you? For a start you need to really understand your own skill set and how this works in the project environment, clearly contextualising your experience and the project benefits is key to the basis of a good CV. Making sure you apply for roles which meet your abilities will put you in good stead with the recruiter and if you are not quite right for that role you have a better chance of being remembered for the right reasons, as from the start you have demonstrated your understanding of the role itself and are not just applying for anything.

If you have a wealth of experience managing a diverse range of projects then the recruiter needs to see the projects most relevant to the role you apply for, however this does not mean you need to leave out other information. The trick is to present a summary of the types of projects, complexity, budgets and team size / locations / skill sets, then you need to talk about how you deliver, the difficulties you have encountered and your specific aptitude – you may be great with demanding and difficult stakeholders or you may be great at manipulating data or balancing finances. Everyone is different and what the recruiter wants to know is what sets you apart from others. Talk about key achievements, don’t be fooled into thinking that delivering a project on time and to budget is an achievement – you are paid to do this right! Think about how you got there, what hurdles did you overcome, what have you learnt from the project and what measures have you adopted for future delivery?

All of this information needs to be kept to a maximum 3 page but ideally a 2 page CV, it can be difficult to edit and condense this information which is why a second pair of eyes can be extremely effective. We offer a free CV review at The CV Righter where honest and constructive feedback is presented to individuals – there is no obligation to take up the CV writing service however should you decide to take the service up then you will only be charged for a service bespoke to you. If you do not require an entire re-write then you don’t pay for one. The review is performed by a former project management specific recruiter and will be executed as such which will give you a valuable insight into how recruiters actually view your CV.

News, Project Management, project management jobs, project management recruitment, Q&A

Project Management job market insight – Q&A

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This week we have a great question from a client looking to get an insight into the reality of the job market during reported “troubled times” with the economy.

Hi Nicola, do you know what is happening with jobs in project management at the moment? I’ve noticed a distinct drop in advertised positions over the summer holiday period, is this normal as I saw a healthier jobs board over the same period last year?

Judith; Programme Consultant – Bristol

Hi Judith, thanks you for your question – yes it has been a quiet summer for advertised jobs in the PM field. There are a number of reasons for this and the obvious ones are the Olympics and Paralympics taking over a great deal of attention, however the media were finally reporting upbeat news which normally tends to have a positive effect on recruitment. Once the doom and gloom stories of the economy shrink back – a sense of confidence from hiring managers’ emerges. To be fair I haven’t noticed a huge dip in project management roles across the board, a number of independent job boards seem to be publishing a healthy volume of new PM related roles on a daily basis and having been in touch with a fair few senior managers at large blue chips, I can confirm that hiring personnel is not on hold generally. In fact I have discussed many fantastic positions with these clients and noticed a trend of recruitment being taken in-house. This cuts back on the fees for engaging recruitment firms and in their opinion saves them time and money – they have in-house recruiters / HR who can do the job so why look outside. I can see their point and for roles which are not so niche and are well paid, they shouldn’t struggle to attract strong applications. However the harder to fill positions will still be dished out to recruitment specialists eventually; however they will try to fill the roles themselves, sometimes for months before taking external services.

Businesses are turning away from the major job boards and relying on their own websites, twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to advertise / attract talent. This makes your job a little bit more challenging as you need to research organisations in your field, find roles and apply direct. Of course a great deal of the in-house recruitment teams are being trained up to use LinkedIn as a tool for finding talent too – clearly a time to dust off your profile and make sure it is up to date and searchable. The specialised job boards are offering very competitive fees for advertising roles on them so it is important to keep an eye on them too.

The advertised roles are certainly picking up now we are heading into autumn and speaking with a number of specialist PM recruiters – there is a positive impression that the recruitment market is picking up.

CV Tips, CV Writing, Job Applications, Project management CV, project management recruitment

Creating the money shot – CV tips

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Everyone will tell you that setting up and running your own business is hard work – and it is, to a point. Well it’s busy and no one day is the same – like project management, but the main driver behind starting your own business has to be something you enjoy not just the money. Personally I love creating CVs for people – taking what is sometimes a list or a lengthy essay and changing it into a document which is clear and concise and most importantly; one which will attract the interest of hiring managers and recruiters.

I was asked yesterday, how can I make each CV so right for each individual and yet also make it attractive for roles – simple I responded, I find peoples USP (Unique Selling Point) and ensure I add a balance of “doing” skills and experience. Once you have worked with a number of hiring managers and really got to understand from their perspective what they expect to see in a CV the fog lifts and you instinctively know what a CV needs to look like. Of course you do need to be able to articulate yourself clearly and use professional language; and in The CV Righters’ case you also need to have a good understanding of project management and its terminology (which can be like a second language). Once you have this knowledge and these skills under your belt then all you need is passion and patience.

Understanding the perspective from the candidate also comes into play – I was working with a Project Management consultant last week who was petrified of losing content from his rather long CV. When I pointed out that we can condense the experience and still cover all bases of his career by structuring his CV in a particular way, he relaxed. Trying to secure interviews is a frustrating and scary process especially for those who are currently out of work. Little to no feedback from hiring managers and recruiters for your applications really doesn’t help. How do you know you are doing things wrong if no one actually tells you?

Speaking with another client last week who had harvested no success from agencies from her applications – she said she’d asked recruiters for feedback and the best she had managed to gain was that she needed to add more about what she’s done to her CV. The rather unhelpful recruiter also said; having had a discussion about what the candidate had actually done that she would be a great applicant to put forward to clients’ but her CV needed changing. Being a fairly recent graduate, with little experience of writing a professional CV she walked away from the conversation not much wiser.

Writing an effective CV does not come naturally to all – I started this service because I want to make a difference to those who are good, strong, candidates that could easily win the interview if they could just get through the door in the first place. Creating really meaty CVs to enable people to get noticed for the right reasons and secure interviews is what I do. I insist on taking a collaborative approach to creating the CV which means the CV never loses your mark, time is taken to really understand you and how you work.