Tag Archives: Employers perspective

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, Job Applications, PMO, Project Management

Being specific on your CV – Project Management CV tips

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All too often we write our CVs conscious that we have 2 or 3 pages maximum to get down as much information as possible to attract employers and recruiters. However in trying to be frugal with words rather than write an essay, key information is lost in translation. I agree it is important to include keywords as these are what bring your CV to the top of the search for recruiters but it is also required to state what that process involves. For example stating you have full software lifecycle development experience would also require further detail such as key components like business requirements, UAT etc. Providing some context around this will also strengthen your application. When recruiters and hiring managers are reviewing CVs they are also looking for this detail and are far more likely to pick up the phone to you if you are answering their initial requirements by being thorough on your CV. Purely providing a list of skills is not useful to the reader as they need to understand when you have used the skills and what for.

Here are some tips to consider when creating your CV:

  • Your CV needs to be clear and concise – do not assume the reader has worked at your company or even performed your role before. Ensure you carefully address all aspects of the role which are relevant to moving forward.
  • If you have a list of skills in your current CV – look to remove from the skills section and integrate into the role remit, contextualising and expanding on those skills will provide the reader with the detail they need to see to be able to process your application successfully.
  • Supersede the skills list with some key achievements which clearly state what you can do and how you add value in a team / business.
  • If you are making applications – read the role advert or job description from start to end and ensure everything which is asked for is included in your CV, if you have done it. Do not add detail which is untrue or implies you have more exposure to than you actually have.
  • Ensure you place more emphasis on your most recent roles and less detail on the older roles – this will assist you in getting good, relevant detail on to 2 or 3 pages and it is these roles which the employers are more interested in. Roles over 10 years old are less important to the employer as they were so long ago. Do, however, ensure you list these roles as company, job title and dates for completeness.

Writing your CV properly is the most important starting point to successfully securing a new role – once you have a good strong CV you are in a position to start planning your applications. Taking the time to ensure the CV is right first time will save a great deal of frustration further down the line.

If you have not previously considered having your CV professionally written, maybe now is the time to make contact to have a free consultation and CV feedback. www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Writing, Job Applications, PMO, Project Management, Sector Advice

Project Management Job Applications

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Applying for jobs can become tiresome especially when there is little to no response to applications made and job adverts are less than inspiring, I’ve even spoken to techie IT PMs who have set up software to apply on their behalf – which does seem a bit extreme and has proven embarrassing for them when I have called them about a role they didn’t know they’d applied for.  I have spoken with candidates who have applied for jobs in excess of 20 per week – trust me, that is too many. And I have also spoken to those who do not apply for any roles yet always secure interviews for roles relevant to their experience.

What is the right way? Well there are lots of right ways as much as there are lots of wrong ways – the most important way, is the one which suits your lifestyle and schedule most. If you are between contracts or unemployed, then I recommend all the below. However if you are currently in employment and not in a rush to “jump ship” then I would pick and choose which work for you best. Remember, if you are working in a secure area and cannot take calls during the day – you need to ensure you are communicating this in applications / on your CV and you should also look to set aside time where you can speak with recruiters’ etc. such as taking lunch breaks off site or agreeing to take calls prior to work or after hours.

Here are some ideas to ease the search for that next new role:

  • Set up searches to do the trawling for you – most job websites will have a search engine which you can set to run daily / weekly and email you the results. The key to success for this type of search is to try a few keywords and see what the searches bring back to you. If you have a niche skill which you would like to play on, then you may only need to put this skill as a keyword such as Primavera etc. However using keywords such as “project manager” for a London location will return a rather large list of roles, so try to get the balance right by using keywords closely matched to your skill-set / industry / sector etc. Once you have your list of roles emailed to you, you need to go through each role and discard all the roles which are clearly not for you. By filtering down your list to a small manageable list of jobs, you are cutting down the disappointment of rejection and also cutting down your workload to send your applications to. Track your applications (which should be easy to do if there are only 3 or 4 per week) and request feedback for rejections, this should assist you in understanding whether your CV is saying the right things.
  • Market yourself – Gain a review of your CV to understand if it is working for you, once you are confident it is, load it on the job websites and wait for the recruiters and employers to come to you. If your CV is good – they will! If you are under confident or you have tried this method and it hasn’t worked for you, seek advice from a professional CV writer who specialises in your field.

As part of one of our services – The CV Righter can assist you with getting started on applications and show you where to look etc. For a free CV review contact us: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing, News, Q&A

Questions Answered – Why do I not hear back from recruiters when my CV is submitted to employers?

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Having received a great deal of questions over the past couple of weeks from project management professionals regarding their CVs I felt it would be a good opportunity to share my responses. I aim to take the most asked questions and answer them over the coming weeks – if you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch either through the website, twitter or our facebook page.

My CV is being put forward to employers on a regular occasion through recruiters but I am not receiving any feedback – I can see my CV is of interest but it seems to stop at the employers’ door and I am not sure why I then hear nothing? David, Programme Manager, London.

Hi David – many thanks for your question, one I hear on a regular basis from candidates coming to me for advice. First of all I will assume you have been applying for roles online through the job websites which the recruiters often use as a means to attract talent to new roles. I believe this is a good introduction to agencies however I also believe it is a sterile form of application – in that you are not striking up a relationship with the recruiter personally from the outset. It often then becomes difficult to move the relationship forward from this point as the recruiter will submit your CV along with a shortlist and move onto another role until they hear back from the employer. You could work on building relationships with the recruitment agencies from the outset by taking the time to identify agencies which work in your field and make contact. Often these agencies will have their own jobs board which you can apply direct to and if you already have that relationship with a consultant you can call them to discuss the role further before submitting a tailored application. This will give you greater “buy in” with the individual and as such you should be able to set a communication plan moving forward to be kept up to date with your application. You are more likely to then receive feedback about your application, such as why the employer will not be taking yours to interview etc and gain a great deal of knowledge in regards to future applications.

Of course there are other reasons why you are not hearing back, roles close without notice due to changes in the business and internal candidates being placed but you should also be receiving this feedback from the recruiter. Personal exposure to recriutment agencies has seen that some work on quantity not quality – so they may take a large list of roles and not necessarily take time to review CVs specifically for the role and so just submit a lot of CVs to the client. Working on this basis leaves little time or inclination to respond to candidates with feedback. Therefore I would suggest you pin point agencies which specialise in your field and only take on a set number of roles where they spend time and knowledge to identify CVs which closely align to the business needs and as such will only present a shortlist of less than 10 CVs to the client. These types of agencies tend to take time to nurture relationships with their clients and candidates to ensure successful outcomes.

As “Questions Answered” is to become a regular feature on this blog site – we welcome any questions you wish to submit. To make contact please use the above links or come direct through our website: www.thecvrighter.co.uk

Careers Advice, CV Tips, News, PMO, Project Management

Are you using LinkedIn to its full potential?

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LinkedIn is a fantastic, free, self marketing business tool. Originally created as a business networking site, it has evolved over the years to become a powerful tool in the recruitment world. As such the pressure is on to ensure you are utilising the tool effectively as employers are checking your profile not only for potential employment but for current employees to understand how you are networking. Networking has long been a fantastic way to enhance your special interest groups but has also become an integral part of successful business in a risk averse world – the old saying, “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” really does stand.
So what can you do to ensure your profile is saying all the right things?

  • Make sure you state your current and previous employers / job titles / dates, as a bare minimum.
  • Try to add some detail to each role, treat the profile as a CV but don’t just copy and paste your CV into your profile. Think about adding something different / extra – chances are, those reading your profile have also seen your CV.
  • Get some recommendations from current and previous employers – also clients and colleagues can be great, they all operate similar to references and give a reassurance about you in a working capacity.
  • Write a good profile, think about what you want the reader to gain from this and what your intentions are moving forward – don’t state you are looking for new work if you haven’t discussed with your current employer.
  • Keywords are as important in your LinkedIn profile as they are in your CV – they will help you rise up the searches towards the top of the list.
  • Connect to all your former colleagues, friends and associates. Grow your network; try to avoid randomly sending invites to connect to those you do not know. If there is a particular reason you wish to connect to someone, write them a message explaining why. Etiquette on this site is not to treat it like Facebook, sending out lots of requests to get as many connections as possible. You should know your connections or at least explain and show willing that you will get to know them.
  • Join groups and get involved in discussions – there’s just about every type of group now available on the site, join some of particular interest and add to the discussions. Some ask advice or generally want opinions. By joining in, you can quickly gain a reputation for expertise in a particular field. PMO and Project Management groups are very active on the site.
  • Don’t just use it when you need something – time and time again I have seen connections be dormant on the site for months and even years then suddenly, they are in touch asking for work. Again this is not good etiquette – touching base every now and then is the best course of action as it keeps you fresh in people’s minds but also won’t seem quite so bad if you do need assistance with getting a new role.

As with anything written about you, ensure you have someone proof read it and let you know if anything doesn’t make sense. It’s usually best to have someone who doesn’t work at your business do this for you as you need to avoid internal terminology and someone who knows the projects. An outsider perspective is ideal, a partner or best friend is ideal. They don’t generally know what we do at work beyond office gossip and job titles – if it makes sense to them, you’re onto a winner.

The CV Righter can assist with creating and writing content for business networking websites, for a free review of your current profile or CV get in touch: www.thecvrighter.co.uk