Tag Archives: CV Advice

CV Tips, Project management CV, project management resume

Top 5 PM CV Tips

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Have you ever put yourself in the shoes of an employer when it comes to writing your CV? If you were looking to bring in fresh talent, whether on a contract or for a permanent role, what would you want to know about that person? When putting together your project management CV you should always try to take an objective view to what you are presenting, obvious things are grammar, spelling, format, CV length etc but beyond these standard considerations there is a lot you can be doing to make sure your CV is being considered for the job and not just put in the recycle bin.

Top 5 PM CV tips list:

  1. Are you telling the reviewer what it is you actually do? Your profile should be a summary of you as a professional, we would expect you to be motivated, complete (most of) your projects on time and to budget, and be a good communicator. What we actually want to know is: what do you actually do? Project management is a rather large umbrella that professionals sit under so tell us the types of programmes / projects you manage / support and what this involves. You are marketing yourself so some indication of the size and complexity coupled with the projects themselves is a good starting point.
  2. Talk us through some key achievements; tell us more than “successfully delivered a £20m programme on time and to budget”, after all this is expected if you were paid to do it. However projects don’t always go to plan or may be particularly tricky and it is this type of information which sets you apart from others, it tells us a lot about your management style.
  3. Your career history should give detail about the projects and your involvement and then look to drill down core competencies (as these are what are checked for by recruiters / employers – work through the project lifecycle and don’t just list keywords, add context.
  4. Keep emphasis on the most recent roles and reduce down the detail as the roles get older – something over 7 years old is a lot less relevant than work you have completed in you most recent roles.
  5. Any training and education should be included towards the end of the CV, do add dates and institution names and practitioner registration numbers. This is a professional document and most employers / recruiters will check, so make it easier for them.

Put yourself in my shoesThese are very simple but important tips to work to when putting together your CV – by following them you will create a document which tells the reviewer what they want and need to know about you as a prospective employee. Putting yourself in the employers’ shoes again, you have a project which requires XYZ and someone who has delivered similar sized/complexity through ABC methods – making sure you address this in your CV and add in that extra management style will set you apart from your competitors.

Project management CV, Project Management CV Workshop, Project Management Help, project management resume

Project Management CV Help

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With the UK job market seesaw it is important to make sure you are making a good impression with your job applications – often with the lift in roles we are lulled into a false sense of security that the market will stay buoyant for a while and that the volume of roles means we are in with a good chance of securing interviews. Unfortunately this isn’t the case, the volume of applicants remains high and as such the competition is still strong. With recruitment companies endorsing the need for a good CV to yield results from your job applications and a small emergence of courses aimed at assisting project professionals gain the tools and knowhow to create a winning CV it is now widely being acknowledged that job hunters need to step up.

I have been pleased to see such interest in my field and completely agree that more needs to be done, time is of the essence and those who are fortunate enough to have the ability and/or time to put together a winning CV should take heed. For those who recognise they either cannot put together a strong CV or haven’t got the time/inclination are best suited to invest in their careers with a professional CV writer who actually understands the industry and doesn’t just play about with formatting and rewording documents at a high cost.

Project Management Help

I am presenting a PM CV writing workshop later in the year with APM as I feel it is important to give something back to the PM community and fully endorse those who can write a CV but need a little guidance should be doing so. For the rest of you, I have put together a series of blog articles with lots of examples and tips on how to create a winning CV and continue to offer a competitively priced CV writing service bespoke to your needs. A great deal of contractors come to me already bought-in to the investment opportunity of having a CV created which time after time secures them interviews moving forward, likewise a great deal of senior PM professionals who are just too busy to work on their CV step forward to take the service. I have also noticed a number of clients wanting to break into project management but not knowing where to start or indeed what the roles actually are – these clients receive coaching in a variety of areas and walk away with a strong CV and knowledge on how to approach a career change.

There are many reasons clients come to us but one which made me smile the other day was a project manager who when asked his reasoning for coming to us was that he is in a position where he can pay others to do the tasks he hates. Just like having a breakdown membership, why change the wheel yourself when there is someone much better qualified to do this whilst you get on with your life. Embrace the help that is out there and identify what is most relevant for you, treat your career needs as an investment, just as you would take PM training or invest in better tools (software) – make a difference to your life.

 

 

CV Tips, CV Writing, Project Management Events, Recruitment

Project Management CV Workshop

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I will be presenting a Free* Project Management CV Workshop at The APM North West Branch on Thursday 5th December at 6pm in Golbourne – this will be an interactive event where I will talk through structuring your CV to make it an effective tool to generate results for your job applications.

Workshop

Recruitment has evolved over the past few years and it has become increasingly difficult to make it into shortlists for interviews, employers expect to see a lot more in a CV than in the past and those who have previously transitioned seamlessly into new roles are now finding job applications a challenge. As the first point of call for job applications is to present your CV, it is imperative that you are making a good impression from the start of the process. An effective project management CV needs to have a balance of information such as project types/size/complexity, how you work (addressing core competencies), key achievements which add value and give a flavour of your management style, and core areas relevant to the type of role you are applying for. I will address all these areas and talk through workable examples to help you grasp what it is that makes an effective CV, I take a recruiter perspective so you can see how it works on the other side of the fence.

Areas being addressed:

  • Structuring the CV
  • What information to include in the CV
  • What employers expect from you regarding your applications
  • How to market yourself in your CV
  • Questions about effective CV writing
  • Questions about recruitment today

The session is aimed at all levels of project management – from support roles through to senior level delivery roles. You will gain a greater understanding of what works and how to pitch yourself to hiring managers and walk away with the knowledge of how to create a strong CV which actually yields results in a flooded marketplace. There is also an opportunity for you to have your CV reviewed supplying you with constructive feedback for improvement.

Spaces are limited as the session will be very much a “round table” scenario with the opportunity to engage throughout, providing ample opportunity for you to ask questions and have a more personal experience to producing an effective project management CV.

More details about the event and to book, visit here.

*The session is free for APM members and only £10 for non-members.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO CV, Project management CV, Q&A

PMO CV Vs Project Manager CV – Q&A

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Hi Nicola, I am a PPM professional with a mix of both managing projects and implementing/managing PMOs – I am looking to secure my next contract position and want to know whether I should have two CVs, one pitched at each audience? Nadia, PMO/Project Manager; London.

Hi Nadia, many thanks for your question – one of my favourites and aimed at all those out there who have more than one string to their bow. I believe the skill-set you have is perfect for the market today as organisations are always looking to save money so having more knowledge and experience about supporting and managing projects provides exceptional value for money to employers. I also believe it is very important for project professionals to have had exposure to these two elements of PPM; it certainly makes for a more effective environment when you have sat on both sides of the fence. Keeping this in mind I suggest you ideally would have one main CV, a “master copy” which lists all of your experience and an equal number of PMO and PM achievements. This makes the CV rather long but you can strip out the PM achievements or PMO achievements for each application as relevant. That way you are still keeping in the core experience within each remit but highlighting the achievements which would be deemed most appropriate for the role you are applying for and requires a little work for each application. Some roles may be hybrid PM/PMO positions so a combination of the two elements in achievements would be useful here.PM Vs PMO That said I always believe a little tweaking is required for every job application, ensuring the relevant information for each position is demonstrated. There is generally more emphasis placed on specific competencies within a job description / job advert so bringing out more detail in these areas, re-jigging the order and stripping back detail on the competencies not asked for will always assist you in gaining more attention from the reviewer. In regard to the detail in the role remits, always ensure you place an introductory statement before you bullet the competencies, context is very important so talking through what it was you have been tasked to achieve and some detail about the complexity, team sizes etc is important. The bullets need to talk through how you delivered, do not fall into the trap of just listing a few keywords like a job description, remember every project/organisation/department works differently so do not assume the reviewer will know what you are talking about without adding in some context.