Tag Archives: CV Tips

12 days of Christmas, CV Tips, CV Writing, No, Project management CV, Seasons Greetings

On the 9th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

On the 9^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

…9 Ladies Dancing! How wonderful and cheerful, almost like too many eggs in a pudding – which brings us onto: On the 9^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 9 pages too long, 8 mistakes of applications, 7 deadly sins of job hunting, 6 Key Achievements, 5 Golden Rules, 4 calling cards, 3 networks, 2 referees and a killer CV.

Yep, we are back to the length of CVs and believe me – I have seen CVs 9 pages long. The longest CV I have ever come across was actually 13 pages, but the longer CVs don’t tend to come in just over the recommended 2/3 pages they average 7 to 9 pages… Wow! I cannot stress enough how off putting a long CV is, put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager – when faced with a pile of CVs where all they want to see is that you can hit the mark of their “wish list” they do not want to read beyond the first couple of pages.

It says a lot about a candidate when they cannot condense their skills and experience down to a manageable size, they will be thinking how you interview – and it is not uncommon for them to assume the shear length of a book length CV will mean a really long interview. Can this person get to the point whilst covering all that is required? No, he/she will be going around the houses for a good half hour on the first question and I have 20 to get through!

Here is an article written previously which talks through the length of CVs and what is expected.

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

On the 7th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me the 7 deadly sins of job hunting

On the 8th day of Christmas The CV righter gave to me 8 mistakes of applications

12 days of Christmas, Careers Advice, CV Writing, Job Applications, Job Hunting, No, Project Management Careers Advice, Project management CV, Seasons Greetings

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 8^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

…8 Maids A-milking! Well all sorts could be read into that, but we’ll go for: On the 8^th day of Christmas the CV righter gave to me 8 mistakes of applications, 7 deadly sins of job hunting, 6 Key Achievements, 5 Golden Rules, 4 calling cards, 3 networks, 2 referees and a killer CV.

A popular article is “What’s the worst that can happen? 8 gaffs when applying for roles” – which talks through some very valid points which I have seen over the years in my recruitment capacity; although they seem obvious these mistakes are still made by eager candidates.

The key to making a successful job application is not to rush – yes there are deadlines but if you have planned and researched from the outset then you will be in a position to start making applications, rather than deciding off the cuff to just start applying one day.

Make sure your CV is up to date – I’ve lost count of applications from candidates who sent in CVs which hadn’t been updated since securing a new role 3 years ago. Or worst still, an updated CV which has a garbled one line about the current role which tells us nothing and doesn’t follow the format of the previous roles so it is obvious they have rushed something to make the application. It does not create a good impression and if anything, says a lot about how you work and where you are willing to put in effort. Not good for a project person – not good for anyone but really, for a project professional!!!

Research your field and understand the basics such as skill-sets required, salary bandings (and where you sit), recruitment agencies specific to your needs, job boards yielding your types of roles and get networking in the right circles.

Putting that extra bit of effort in can be the difference between securing interviews with the lucky few or being discarded with the hundreds of competitors also looking for a new job.

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

On the 7th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me the 7 deadly sins of job hunting

On the 8th day of Christmas The

12 days of Christmas, No, Project Management Achievements, Seasons Greetings

On the 6th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 6^th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…

…6 Geese A-laying! Good for a hearty breakfast I am sure, but today we bring you: On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements, 5 Golden Rules, 4 Calling Cards, 3 Networks, 2 Referees and a killer CV!

The all important key achievements in your CV, the clue is in the naming here – KEY, meaning only highlighted ones. Not everything you have ever done and ACHIEVEMENTS meaning noteworthy pieces of work, not necessarily delivering projects on time and to budget as this is expected when you are a project manager. However it is OK to talk about projects which have faced significant challenges and if you are not a delivery person so have stepped up to the plate and delivered above and beyond the call of duty then talk about it.

I have written an article which addresses stating key achievements on your CV here.

Would you like an example achievement?? Of course you would – here:

Identifying the need for a programme management framework within a large blue chip company – on agreement, tasked with defining the associated processes and controls, recruiting a team in cross functionally to embrace and embed new method, ensuring full training administered. Resulting in a 20% improvement in project delivery across the organisation.

Only you can sing your praises, so please stop being so British about things and actually tell the hiring manager just how good you are!

On the 1^st day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me a Killer CV

On the 2^nd day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me Two Referees

On the 3^rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks

On the 4^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards

On the 5^th day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me 5 golden rules

On the 6^th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 6 Key achievements

12 days of Christmas, CV Tips, No, Project management CV, Seasons Greetings

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

Nicola Caswell-Thorp Leave a comment

On the 2nd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

….Two Turtle Doves! Following on our 12 days of Christmas theme with a twist, we decided to go for:

On the second day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me two referees and a killer CV!

Not all employers ask for references when offering a new role but a good deal do; therefore it is important to make sure you have the contact details of 2 referees to hand. Don’t put these details in your CV for a number of reasons:

You do not want your referees being contacted until you are ready, if one or more of your referees in a current employer – then you really do not want them being contacted until you have decided to take a role (and have handed in your notice).
As you send your CV into a number of agencies and direct employers you will unfortunately come across some recruiters who will use the contact details to make contact (often using your name) and try to gain a lead for recruitment. Not what you want put yourself in your referee’s shoes – being hounded by sales people using your name is not going to go down well.
Save precious space on your CV – use the space on your CV more effectively, there is enough room for another bullet point in a remit or an achievement instead of someone’s contact details.
Data protection – yes, that is right – we need to be more conscious of giving out other peoples details!

I have previously covered references in CVs here.

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Making Your CV Project You