Tag Archives: CV Writing

Benefits Realisation, CV Tips, CV Writing, IT Project Management, Job Applications, Job Hunting, PMO CV, Project management CV

Realising your own benefits – PM CV Tips

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As project practitioners we strive to manage benefits throughout the project lifecycle to ensure the project outcomes are meeting the stakeholders needs – however when it comes to job applications this key skill is often overlooked. Looking at the job application process as a project (in basic terms) can really enhance your chances of securing that next challenging role. We’ve covered planning and communications in previous posts, today I want to go through the benefits management aspect of the process.

reap the fruits of your labour

First you should look to establish what the core benefits are you wish to achieve – in some cases it will be “a job” in other cases there may be other factors such as specific challenges (either because it is your specialism or because it is an element you wish to develop in your career portfolio) or money of course. Once you have determined your required outcomes then you should ensure that your actions are met with a constructive and structured approach. This is where research comes into play and some hard work – see the below checklist for ideas on how to strengthen your applications:

 

  • Research similar roles currently being advertised to gain a good understanding of what employers are looking for at the moment, trends and needs change all the time so make sure you are aware of what they are after.
  • Match up your CV with the relevant roles – put the CV next to the job description/advert and check off key skills/tools/experience on your CV. Have you addressed the areas required by the employer? Is it clear for all levels of reviewer (i.e. HR, Recruiters, Hiring Managers etc)?
  • Research organisations which may be running similar projects etc, develop a list of employers who may be relevant to your applications.

 

The final part of the process is to ensure you are enhancing your own benefits on your CV – demonstrating how you can really add value to businesses. Think about all the process improvement, enhanced project management capability, team coaching/training/mentoring, reducing bottlenecks, relationship establishing/building/rebuilding, and trouble shooting. There must be a plethora of examples you could share, write a list and use ones most relevant to the role/business you are applying for.

CV Tips, CV Writing, Networking, Project Management Communications

Building your own website to showcase your CV

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A fair few people are now turning to other means of promoting themselves out in the employment market and one way to do this is to create your own website. It is not as time consuming and crazy as you think, if you search in a search engine for a project management professional as an example, more and more websites are starting to appear. This course of action is particularly good for contractors who need to be visible even when engaged in work as the next assignment needs to be lined up ready.

To start you will need to choose a domain name (a website name) some choose names to do with your field of expertise and others use their own name. You can sign up with a number of website providers for a nominal sum of money and a good deal of these providers will have templates and online support to help you get moving. This can save you money in the long run as companies set up to design your website can charge hundreds, so think smart.

If you are using the website to try and obtain a new role then you need to make sure you add in detail similar to a CV, making sure you put emphasis on your key selling points and including what you think your target audience are looking for. Keep to the CV rule in that a strong layout, good spelling and grammar are adhered to – always include contact details, I wouldn’t recommend putting your full postal address on there but the nearest city or territory you live in (if you are not keen on moving) or stating you are flexible to move for assignments / relocate for a permanent role. An email address and a cell number will be sufficient.  Adding in pieces of work as part of your achievements can work well too – photos or links to articles / web pages which you have been involved in helps the viewer really get to grips with your abilities and as it is your website, you can afford to really go to town unlike a CV which has to be concise. You can even have a page dedicated to articles you have written and case studies, testimonials etc. the possibilities are really endless.

websites

Do make the website visually attractive but not overly complicated; it’s about striking a balance. If you are a keen writer and like to write blog articles, your website could be just the place to add in this function. It will help you rise on the search rankings if your articles are relevant to your field too.

By publishing a website such as this you are also demonstrating some valuable skills such as:

  • Website development and maintenance – think about those company webpages you have needed to create and update in your career.
  • Proactive behaviour – not just placing your CV and trust in the hands of a recruiter, you are making positive moves to be picked up. You are saving potential employers a handsome recruitment fee too.
  • Marketing yourself – your ability to market yourself well is fantastic; it demonstrates how you could market products, projects and initiatives.
CV Tips, CV Writing

Professional CV Writing – PM CV Tips

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It’s that age old question – to get your CV written professionally or do it yourself? The problem with asking someone else to write your CV is that you may miss a lot of the key detail required to secure you that all important place in the shortlist. However this professional CV writing service focuses primarily on you and what you have achieved over your career, making sure that all the key information sought after by recruiters and hiring managers is drawn out. We don’t just take your CV and reword it like many other CV writing services, we spend time with you to understand what your objectives are and ask all the right questions to produce a strong CV which really sings your praises and gets results. We have extensive experience of working specifically within the Project Management recruitment field and have actually worked in project management so we know that success is drawn by much more than just process. It is this unique skill set which makes us stand apart from other CV writers, you are taken along the journey to producing a strong CV which will equip you with knowledge and insight into how to update your CV in the future as your career progresses. Not everyone can write their own CV, often we are approached by clients who are happy writing others CVs but struggle to really convey their own experience. It usually takes someone from an objective perspective to be able to ask the right questions and put together a coherent document. We all have something we are great at – you are great at managing / supporting projects and we are great at getting all that detail down on paper.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, PMO CV, Recruitment

How to make your PMO CV more interesting – PMO CV Tips

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I am often approached by PMO professionals who want to make their CV more appealing to recruiting managers, as they feel their roles are the same from company to company (or assignment to assignment). It is easy to fall into the trap of being repetitive or trying to rephrase the same information over and over – but this rarely adds value to the CV and makes for a boring read to others. The trick is to really think about each role and draw out the core areas relevant to the assignment, in reality, there is always a difference in these roles whether it be with process or people. But addressing the core areas pertinent to the role in question will not only make for a more interesting read, it also helps you ensure you are talking through core competencies and situations recognised in the PMO field which should ensure you are getting “ticks in the boxes” of the recruitment wish list and ultimately being put into shortlists for the roles you are applying for.

painting a picture

A key starting point would be to list all the core areas relevant to your role within the PMO and then match up specific areas to roles, that way you are not leaving out any required pieces but you are also then beginning to split out some interesting pieces of information which will provide a flow through the CV and paint a strong picture of how you work and your understanding of supporting projects / programmes / portfolios of work.

Think about how you fit into a PMO, do you create templates and provide consultancy work to PMs and PgMs, have you established project capability to an organisation, are you analysing key strategic data business-wide? As the PMO is a complex field, it pays to really address what your specialism is and spell it out to recruiters who might not necessarily know what a PMO is (never mind the roles within them).