Tag Archives: Employers perspective

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO CV, Project management CV, project management resume

Be objective – PM CV Tips

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A lot of people come to me for advice and help about their CVs, not because they cannot write their own CV but because they want to understand how others view it and if they are being clear. It is common for those who create a document to assume others will know what it is they are trying to say. As you are doing the job it makes sense to you but it may be baffling to others – striking a balance between clearly defining your role and projects whilst engaging a number of levels of understanding can be tricky. The reviewer of the CV could be a non-specialist recruiter, HR administrator and equally a line manager who hasn’t got the PM experience (hence wanting to bring a subject matter expert into the team). Therefore it is important to ensure you have others look over the CV for you to gauge how clear the information is and if it is hitting the mark in regards to including the relevant detail. Those who assist others with writing CVs will know only too well how easy it is to reshape the document to say the right things even if not entirely au fait with what recruiters need to see in an evolving market place.

An apple is an apple??

I would recommend having a number of people review your CV – from those who have no understanding of PM to those who are seasoned PM professionals, remember you are asking for feedback so take all comments and criticism on the chin. All feedback is good feedback, take on board what is being said and see how you can address the CV to ensure it makes sense to a wide audience.

Remember project management is all about communication, often we need to address a variety of technical and non-technical stakeholders. As your job application is being judged from the moment of contact you need to ensure you are displaying all the right qualities, engagement being very important you should be treating every step of the application process with this in mind. Instead of stating you are a clear communicator – demonstrate it with your CV and the all important email. Don’t tell us you understand PM methods, tools and strategy – demonstrate it, it is very obvious who truly understands their role (and trust me, a lot don’t) by how they communicate the what, how, when, who and where’s of an assignment. Employers want to know what the benefits are to the work you have delivered, do you know what they are… I would hope so, have you communicated this in your CV?? Probably not!

Put yourself in the shoes of those recruiting; don’t assume they will know you have had exposure to a structured approach to PM just because you have the PM badges. Demonstrate your knowledge and use of structures as these are the core criteria being assessed on your CV when you apply for a role.

CV Tips, IT Project Management, Project Management, Project management CV, Project Management Lessons Learned

Rainy days in projects – Project Manager CV Tips

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Inspired by the never ending rain at the moment I have decided to share a really interesting piece of work a client has worked on and it ties nicely into PM CV tips, as it is a great example to talk about on the CV. I have spoken about how important it is to include project war stories in the CV as it adds another dimension to the document and really helps to demonstrate your management style. War stories are the bits about the projects which are often left out of the CV but they are important in demonstrating how you overcome major issues when delivering projects.

The story….

Sarah* is an Interim Project Manager who was tasked with implementing a data centre and quick reference application on all products for a large organisation. On arrival to the new assignment she found that the stakeholders were less than receptive to the change and being particularly difficult when it came to sharing information which they “held close to their hearts”.  It was these stakeholders who were the key to all the product information and as they had always held their own information in pocket books, they felt the information belonged to them and not the business. Sarah worked very closely with the stakeholders to gain buy-in through a number of means, such as one to one meetings and group workshops. She had to sell the change in a way which didn’t threaten the team but demonstrated just how useful it would be moving forward. Forming individual relationships and finding out personal “likes” etc Sarah managed to crack the core issue and was able to deliver a robust application which all the stakeholders finally agreed would be an asset and essential tool to cataloguing products.

You like coffee, yes

Now it would be easy to state in the CV that Sarah delivered on time and to budget blah blah blah, but knowing the issues she came up against and how she overcame them says a great deal to the reviewer of the CV. Therefore some subtle changes to the remit talking through difficult stakeholders and gaining buy-in, coupled with a strong, concise key achievement highlighted at the top of the CV, really brings so much more to the document.

As a former project manager, I know only too well that delivering projects isn’t always straight forward and it is the people skills and management style which can make the difference between a successful project and another statistic for a failure. When you are putting together your CV, always pause to think about the extra mile you go to achieve success.

 

*name changed for the purpose of the blog
A bit of fun, CV Tips, Halloween, No, Project management CV

Skeletons in the Closet – PM CV Tips

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As it is All Hallows Eve, far be it for me to pass up on a ghoulishly themed article, last year we looked at all things scary when it comes to job applications.  Something  I came across recently was a CV which seemed to say all the right things in regards to areas covered within the roles, but on asking questions about different aspects such as change management (which had been listed) it became clear that not all was as it seems. As a former PM recruiter I know only too well that candidates will be vetted on the detail supplied in their CV – usually at the point of contact with a recruiter but sometimes not until interview. Regardless of when this happens, rest assured it halloweenwill happen and if you have not got examples to back up your statements then you will be rejected for the role. Therefore it is important to keep it real, when I asked why the candidate had stated areas which they hadn’t actually touched on the response was “I thought it was what the employers want to see on the CV”. I pointed out that it would soon become clear there was no evidence to substantiate the claims and pointed out that they actually have some great experience despite the lack of exposure to particular elements. Why paint an untrue picture when you can create a masterpiece which is true and will gain interviews for the right roles? Scary to think some still believe it is OK to include untruths and not be found out. As tempting as it may be to try and boost your CV, don’t! Leave the dramatics and masks for Halloween parties and going out playing Trick or Treat with the kids.

Here’s a short guide to getting it right:

  • Nightmare on Elm Street or more Elmo on Sesame Street – don’t embellish situations / assignments to make them sound more interesting.
  • Pumpkin Carving or more pumpkin soup – think about how you make your mark within an organisation, are you carving the way or just mixing in with the soup.
  • Skeletons in the closet – lying is lying, you will not only jeopardise your job application by making false statements.
  • Witches and Warlocks – does what you clam sound like magic, or a little too good to be true? This will get questioned; it is about striking a balance between selling yourself and being realistic.
  • Devils and Ghouls – don’t become one of these! You will soon get a reputation with recruiters who will not touch you in the future and certainly won’t thank you if you have ruined a relationship with their client.

Skeleton

Have a fantastic All Hallows Eve and get the need to dress up out of your system – you might get some sweets and will certainly gain a more positive response than doing it in your CV.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management, Project management CV, project management resume

Bringing out personality in your Project Management CV

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As much as a balance of experience and competencies put into context are important on Project Management CV, personality is a close second. This may feel quite daunting as it can be difficult to bring the CV to life with a personal feel, but really it isn’t rocket science. Talking through you as a professional in your profile should really be a marketing pitch for employers which gives a snap shot of you, but don’t be afraid to present it in your own words – we are often encouraged to write this in a formal way but there are subtle ways of introducing your personality in there. Think about your management style and approach, if people are your thing then talk about how you engage people (briefly), you take a straight forward approach to implementing structure? Then say so, don’t worry about being too embroiled in PM terminology (there’s plenty of opportunity to get these keywords in further down the document. Now my favourite part of the CV, Key Achievements is the perfect place to really bring your personality to the document. This is where you talk about those extras that you do as a matter of course being a project professional and are what set you apart from others, so if you’ve already mentioned you are a good people person then you need to draw out a good couple of examples to qualify what you’ve said. If you have said you take a pragmatic approach to applying structure then this is also a brilliant place to talk through how and why you have done this with demonstrable examples. Really bring out your management style and personality to help the employer draw a picture of you.

Reflecting

Talking through your career experience you should look to add in context with the project details and competencies, then tailor the information to match up with your approach so it is wooden. I have come across so many CVs which are well written but read a little flat (missing the personality); the document needs to be informative and engaging.

It is really important to me to make sure a CV not only sells the candidate with all the right information but also to make sure the CV is akin with its owner – this is why a consultation takes place at the start of the our CV writing process – not only teasing out all the information, gaining a good understanding of your management style but also getting to know you and how you engage and articulate yourself.