Tag Archives: Careers Advice

Careers Advice, Project management career progression, Project Management Careers Advice, Project Management Training

Breaking into Project Management

Leave a comment

Careers advisors have been working with young people for decades to help them recognise their potential through various testing and quizzes which often list project management as a suggested route for those who demonstrate an organised approach to working. However it is one thing being listed as a suggested profession and another thing actually being able to attain a project management role. Most of the PM people I know happened to fall into the field – like myself, I was working on quality control for a large blue chip when I was asked to get involved with some continuous improvement projects. Having demonstrated my willingness and aptitude to managing these projects I was put on courses to learn a structured approach to delivery and quickly moved into a role where I was managing new product introduction projects across Europe. I haven’t looked back and having been fortunate enough to have a supportive senior management team I learnt a great deal very quickly.

Knock on effectI would always recommend those who want to get into PM take a look at their current circumstances, what can you do where you are to achieve your goals? If you are yet to secure a new role then I suggest targeting businesses with the scope to be able to offer more, later down the line. Make a point of securing a new position which is ideally office based and work hard, get noticed for the right reasons and don’t be disheartened if you don’t feel you are moving at a pace you feel you deserve. It is important to make sure you gain some trust by the senior management team, once they know you can do the task in hand (i.e. the job you were employed for) and can see your willingness to be involved in projects you should start being invited to get involved. In the first instance you are likely to be asked to support a project, this is a great basis to build up your portfolio of skills and gain a greater understanding of how projects are run. You will also get to work with other parties around the business and begin to be recognised in this field. The knock on effect is that you may then be requested from other areas in the business to join new projects. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, be open to training, and be keen to join in.

This can work for those already established within a business, if you have been working in a job which isn’t challenging you, take time to speak with your manager and ask if there are any projects you can get involved with. Explain you are keen to be involved but be careful not to be too dismissive of your current role – think about the reasoning behind why you want work on projects, always take a positive approach.

Job adverts, Job Applications, Job Hunting, project management recruitment

Reasons why your project management job applications fail

Leave a comment

I have been approached literally hundreds of times over the years by job hunters asking why they are not getting calls following on from job applications – each case is usually slightly different but on the whole it comes down to a few reasons listed below:

  • Incorrect matching for job – in the current climate, most employers are less flexible with what they will accept in regards to skill-set and experience. If they are asking for a professional with specific product knowledge or project management method of delivery then they tend to stick with this requirements list and interview those who already have a close match. Remember, you need to meet at least 90% of the role requirements to be in a position to be considered for the job.
  • Poorly written job adverts / job descriptions – this comes down to recruiters and HR staff either not understanding the role or using old job descriptions to create new ones which are often out of date and not relevant. Therefore when you see an advert which doesn’t give any real detail about the organisation / projects in hand you are taking a leap of faith with your application.
  • Generic CV – alongside the generic job descriptions, these rarely give enough detail about your experience and specialism. As employers want project professionals who are closely aligned to their requirements it can be difficult for them to gauge you and they will naturally pick out the CVs which spell it out.
  • Job is closed – yes, a lot of roles are already closed when they go to advert. Why do it then you ask. A good recruiter will already have some candidates in mind for a role as they are qualifying it; as such they will have made contact with the candidates and will have sent in a shortlist to their client before writing up and publishing an advert. This is because there is a lot of competition for these roles with recruiters and time is of the essence, the advert will go online after, which will generate interest and more CVs for next time. Also the recruiters know that the best way to generate further business is to be seen to be publishing lots of new roles – the busier the agency appears to be the more likely they are to get more leads.
  • Fake job adverts – there are still a number of job adverts placed out and about which are “fishing” adverts, usually generic in their form and not unlike the above scenario. But these tend to be nonexistent jobs purely used to help build a recruitment database.
  • Too slow – not all roles are filled when published online, especially the harder to fill positions, but with competition high from your peers, you must be quick. I have published roles which have generated hundreds of applications within the first few hours, I have interviewed and shortlisted before the day has ended.

Looking for work

It is not uncommon to believe your CV is saying all the right things and reads clearly to others but all too often the common trait is that you know your job inside out and assume others will understand this. The CV becomes a document so in tune with what you know rather than a clear communicator of your exposure to different elements, difficulties you have faced (this sets you apart from others), core competencies (as you assume the reviewer will know you covered all aspects) and the types of projects you worked on (believing that leaving out the technical element will make you a more transferable candidate). My advice is to first address your CV, ask for a review – make sure it is honest! Then when you are confident it is good, keep an eye out for roles which look genuine and apply swiftly.

Careers Advice, Internet Recruitment Sites, Job Applications, Job Hunting, project management recruitment, Recruitment

Internet Recruitment Sites

Leave a comment

Often the first port of call for most looking for a new job – internet recruitment sites can be effective but need to be tackled in the right way to ensure you are harvesting good results. It is easy to apply online for roles and using the job boards provides very easy access to hundreds of recruitment agency job adverts. However if you are merely applying for anything and everything which broadly covers your skill-set you could be off to a non-starter – look at it from the recruiters perspective, if you apply for roles which vary significantly in salary and seniority then you are wasting their time. You will get noticed but for all the wrong reasons, quickly being labelled as a “apply for all” candidate who does not A. Read the job advert or B. Does not understand their own skill-set

Take time to really understand which roles are relevant for you and make sure you don’t assume that the recruiter knows what it is like to work at xxx ltd. When I say this I mean I have seen CVs which are rather limited in information and often do not have enough of the skills covered which are required for a role, therefore the application is rejected and it is not uncommon to have a call from the candidate asking why they were rejected. When explaining the key areas for the role the candidate will say they have done this and my response was – it is not in your CV. No matter how good a recruiter is at their job if the CV is not including the key skills asked for in their client wish list then the CV will be rejected from the client and it is important for the recruiter to maintain a good relationship with their client.  Sending in CVs lacking vital information looks bad on them so they won’t do it.

Your CV also needs to be compatible for the recruiter databases – often there are some guidance notes on the recruiter sites as to what works best with their systems, make sure you follow these but a good rule of thumb is to keep the CV to a basic formatting and avoiding tables and text boxes. Otherwise you may find that your CV is not displaying correctly on the recruiters screen and could be missing large chunks of information. As the recruiter will be dealing with hundreds of CVs on a daily basis you will easily be discarded for a CV which is correctly formatted and states all the key requirements for a role.

Keyword searching by recruiters is also very popular these days due to the volumes of candidates in databases so it is important to make sure you weave relevant keywords within your CV – do not just list a mass of keywords! This is not helpful to the recruiter who requires some context of how you have used skills, software etc. Take a look at roles being advertised and check that the terminology is similar to that used in your CV, make sure you really work at placing some effective statements about when you have had exposure to certain aspects such as the project lifecycle including how, when, why.

guest blogger, management advice, Project Management, Project Management Careers Advice, Project planning

How to Handle Stress When Coming Up On a Deadline

1 Comment

Deadlines are a key component of project management. One might argue that deadlines are the reason that project management exists as a career. The ability to manage deadlines is a crucial project management skill, but unfortunately even in those that are fantastic at deadline management, coming upon a due date can be a time of immense stress and anxiety.

That’s because all deadlines are naturally stressful, and in some cases this stress can cause severe anxiety if it continues too often. Project managers experience something very similar to lawyers (a group notorious for intense anxiety and depression) – their ability to handle a project is too black and white. Either you meet the deadline or you don’t. Either you succeed or you fail. As a result, even the best project managers tend to experience this degree of intense anxiety when coming upon a due date.

Getting over that deadline

Tips for Controlling That Stress

Due dates are ongoing, and there are usually many of them. That’s too much stress for one person to handle. So to combat that stress, consider the following tips:

  • Create Sub Goals and Sub Deadlines Well in Advance

You already likely do this in some form, and it may seem unlikely that more deadlines helps with anxiety, but so much of the stress and anxiety that comes from coming upon a deadline is the result of not knowing what’s done and waiting on things that need to be completed, etc. If everything for the project has a short deadline, and every little bit is mapped out, you’ll have a better idea of what you need at every given moment. Essentially there will be no deadlines, because every day you know what’s getting done.

  • Start By Exercising On the Day of the Deadline

There is a tendency to want to get started at work right away, but the best thing you can do is immediately tire out your muscles and fight some of your anxiety symptoms. One of the best ways to do this is with exercise. Exercise releases calming neurotransmitters and tires muscles so your physical symptoms will be less severe throughout the day. Anxiety builds upon itself, so if you’re more physically relaxed with fewer symptoms, the day will not get to you as much.

  • Time Yourself With Breaks

You also need to take breaks. It’s not always something that comes easily, but if you spend time only focusing on the deadline, you’re going to suffer. One dual method that appears to be effective is giving yourself short timely deadlines throughout the day. Set an alarm for 1 hour, for example, and work as hard as you can for that hour. Once that hour is over, force yourself to take a 15 minute break. Do something fun, call someone on the phone – take your mind off what’s going on. Then set the alarm again and doing it again.

  • Don’t Clock Watch

Watching the clock has never helped anyone when coming across a deadline. You’re not going to work faster just because it’s 3:01 instead of 3:00, and time spent checking the clock is time wasted. Find any way you can to turn the clock off, unless a specific time is necessary for your work.

Planning, Living, and Being Happy

It’s not the way you do your job that needs to change when you have stress leading up to a deadline. Chances are you’re great at your job, and the stress still gets to you. What matters is how you spend all of the other time. If you can manage how you handle the issues that cause you stress and reduce the likelihood of experiencing anxiety, you’ll find a greater chance of relief from your anxiety symptoms.

About the Author: Ryan Rivera suffered from intense anxiety and panic attack symptoms at his work. He writes about overcoming anxiety at www.calmclinic.com.