Category Archives: Q&A

Careers Advice, Interviews, PMO, Project Management, Q&A

Contacting employers post interview – Questions answered

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Nicola, quick question – in your opinion is it good practice to send a LinkedIn message to people who have interviewed you to thank them for their time etc?

Angela – Programme Manager; South East.

 

Fantastic question Angela – Thank you. It all comes down to how you applied for the role; if you made a direct application to the employer then yes by all means drop them a quick line thanking them for their time. Do not expect a direct response as most organisations have a policy in place where HR will be the go-between. Also check they are still active on LinkedIn as I have known a fair few people set up these accounts and rarely check into them, they change email address and forget to update LinkedIn so miss out on any messages being sent. Do not ask further questions such as when can I expect to hear from you as this should be covered by HR. You can add in something along the lines of, “If you have any further questions” or similar so they know you are open to a discussion or a further meeting.

 

If you have made an application through a recruiter then I am afraid you need to leave it to the recruiter to make contact with the employer. When organisations instruct recruiters to manage their recruitment needs it is usually because they do not want direct contact with a candidate and part of the recruitment etiquette is to not be contacting employers direct. It is often frowned upon by recruiters and employers alike. I have seen this happen on a couple of occasions and had emails / calls from employers telling me they have received correspondence direct and asking for me to contact the candidate to ask them not to. In some cases it has broken down the relationship with the employer for the candidate and rightly or wrongly they have chosen a different candidate to take forward.

If the application is through a recruiter you could contact them after the interview and ask them to pass some feedback to the interviewer – it is good practice to call the recruiter after an interview to let them know how you think the interview went and let them know if you are keen to pursue the role or have decided it is not for you. At this point if you are happy to proceed you can ask the recruiter to thank the interviewers on your behalf and explain any areas which may have been highlighted that have increased your interest. Ask the recruiter to keep you updated with any feedback provided and also set out a communication plan so you are kept to the top of the recruiters list of priorities.

Employers do not like to give away too much initially, in most cases, so asking for some initial feedback is OK. Any feedback is good feedback – taking anything critical should be a key to understanding how you come across to others in an interview scenario and assist you in honing your communication skills further for second round interviews or interviews in other organisations.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, Friday Snippet, Networking, PMO, Project Management, Q&A

What else can I be doing? – Questions asked, Friday snippet

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Following on from my previous blog posts addressing questions asked during consultations this week we have a good question from a project support professional wanting to progress:
 I have what I feel is a strong CV and have built up a good level of experience in the project management field – I have also taken my PRINCE2 and various other in-house PM courses to bolster my chances of progressing in my career. Is there anything else I can be doing?
Emma, Project Support Administrator; South East.


Hi Emma, many thanks for your question – I can see from your question and current position you wish to climb the career ladder and are doing all the right things so far. I agree there is more you could be doing to help the progression such as gaining further experience and networking.
In your current role supporting a number of projects’ administration you could volunteer yourself up to assist a project manager directly either by coordinating activities or by taking on smaller projects (or aspects of them), in doing this you will build up trust with the delivery team and should get noticed for the right reasons. A great deal of projects seem to be lacking resources in the current climate so any offer to ease the burden should be gratefully received. Try talking to the programme or PSO manager and explain your interest in progress and being more heavily involved in the “doing” aspect. Of course you need to understand that such a move will increase your workload as you will still have your daily duties to perform. The more exposure you can gain in the delivery environment, the more extensive your skill set will be and whether you wish to progress in the support or delivery aspect of project management you will gain great experience. A good support person would ideally have exposure to delivery too; likewise a good delivery person will need the stern foundations of the support aspect to be effective in the team environment.
Networking is a great way to gain some good exposure to others in the field – often the larger project management networking events are coupled with presentations and seminars which are a great way to learn more about the reality of various aspects of project management. There are a number of organisations which run events (some are free) which I believe are a great starting point for networking. Go along and see what they have to offer and start getting to know professionals in the field – you can gain a great deal of knowledge and insider information from these people and moving forward, you may impress one enough to stick in their mind when a new position appears in their team.
I shall continue with the Q&A – if you have any questions you would like answering, get in touch: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, Cover letters, Friday Snippet, PMO, Project Management, Q&A

Portfolio , Programme, Project – What’s the difference? Friday snippet

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OK so today we are going back to basics, talking through what a portfolio, programme and project actually are. I was in consultation with a project manager last week who was describing his current project list, as we talked through his input into the business he asked if he was in fact a programme manager – which lead me to write this blog piece. Having spent more years than I care to remember delivering and studying in the field of project management it dawned on me that a great deal of professionals currently working in the field of project management rarely get an outsider perspective and certainly won’t have read through the skip load of books I have. So those of us who are well into the field of PPM are sat inside a rather well oiled bubble and there are hundreds of effective and hard working PPM professionals out there who are just beginning to learn of our bubble. So for all those new to the bubble – welcome and here’s a basic overview of the 3 Ps.

  • PROJECT – A piece of work with a definite start and end, and clearly defined deliverable.
  • PROGRAMME – A programme is a number of related projects run collectively to obtain specific strategic objectives and benefits.
  • PORTFOLIO – A portfolio is an assortment of projects or programmes categorised to facilitate meeting strategic business objectives through effective management. This is a centralised management of programmes, projects and sometimes portfolios which aren’t necessarily interdependent or related directly.

 

OK so now we have cleared that up in the simplest form – here’s a couple of useful links for further information (APM MSP MoP) . Once you start to get a grasp of the basics, I assure you, you will be drawn into wanting to know more.

If you are in need of some advice about what it is you actually do – get in touch, no question is a stupid question and with a little consultation we will have you well placed for taking that next step to finding a new role: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management, Q&A

CV Length – Questions answered

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In-line with my regular Q&A sessions this week we have a good question from a candidate who wants to understand what the acceptable length is for a CV.

Can you please answer me how long my CV should be – I have lots of experience in the PPM domain covering an expanse of different types of projects and programmes, when it comes to writing a CV I find I am not able to keep the document down to a short list.

Sharon, Programme Manager; London.

Hi Sharon, many thanks for your question – it is a question often asked and one which can simply be answered by stating “2 or 3 sides”. However as you are finding it difficult to keep the document to a length deemed acceptable in the recruitment field I would like to address a few things:

When compiling your CV you should look to take the following guidelines on board.

  1. It is important to include all your employment history; however I suggest you keep the bulk of the detail to your most recent roles. Roles over 10 years old need only be a line on the CV including dates, employer and job title.
  2. When writing the detail in your remit for the more recent roles – look to address the following: number and type of projects, stakeholders, benefits, how you deliver, size and complexity. Additional information such as any major issues – simply stating delivered on time and to budget doesn’t tell us a great deal. For example you may have had to gain “buy in” from teams / senior management etc. or globally dispersed stakeholders with cultural differences and availability may have been a challenge.
  3. Rather than adding achievements to individual roles; you could look to address “key achievements” at the top of the CV – these can be interchanged for particular job applications, ensuring you have relevant detail available to the hiring manager for that role.
  4. The key achievements must not be too lengthy, try to keep to a structure of describing what the project or piece of work was, your input and the results achieved – employers like to see how you can add value so £ and %’s are good to add here if appropriate.
  5. Do not list skills in a separate section, integrate them, thus adding context to the role remits.
  6. Ensure to use terminology common to project management, especially if you have been working through a structured method such as Prince2, Agile etc.
  7. Treat the document like MI; clear and concise – do not say in 30 words which can be stated in 10 or 15. Keep to the point but do not just write a job description.

The good news is that you have too much information – now it is time to edit the document back down to a shorter version, you can keep the long version as a master copy and pick and choose relevant information for specific applications. By creating more than one version of your CV you will be in a position to swiftly apply for a range of roles specific to your skill set.

At The CV Righter we provide a free CV review and career guidance to project professionals and those wishing to enter into PM. Send your CV through our contact page at: www.thecvrighter.co.uk