Tag Archives: Going the extra mile

12 days of Christmas, Networking, No, Project Management Communications, Recruitment, The CV Righter

On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..

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On the 4th day of Christmas my true love gave to me…..

….. 4 calling birds! Today we have chosen: On the 4th day of Christmas The CV Righter said to me 4 calling cards, 3 networks, 2 referees and a killer CV!

It is important to pick carefully the contacts you keep in touch with when looking for a new job and as such ideally you should be picking 2 recruitment agencies and 2 job boards. This doesn’t mean you ignore all others but as you research agencies and job boards in a new job search you will quickly find that there are some which are far more relevant to your skill set and their behaviours towards you as a prospective candidate.

Some job boards are better than others and some more focussed on your field – by setting up “jobs by email” alerts, following their twitter accounts and “liking” their Facebook pages so you receive updates in your news feed you can reduce down the unnecessary and irrelevant information being sent to you.

Likewise with recruitment agencies you can get a feel for the types of roles dealt with and how they treat you as a candidate – do they demonstrate an interest in you and wanting to find you the right role or are you just another applicant in the long list of others.

If you are fortunate enough to build up relationships with recruiters it is a good way to keep fresh in their minds as new opportunities are being qualified and you are more likely to get a call before a job advert is even created.

It is all a big learning curve with job boards and agencies so you may find oyu change your favourites list as you progress through applications or as you realise that your endeavours are not harvesting the effort you put in.

Here is an article talking through Project Management specific job boards which you may find useful.

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

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

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

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

12 days of Christmas, Careers Advice, Job Applications, Networking, No, Seasons Greetings

On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

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On the 3rd day of Christmas my true love gave to me….

….. 3 French Hens! Or for our theme: On the 3rd day of Christmas The CV Righter gave to me Three Networks, Two Referees and a Killer CV!

Today we’ll cover the three main networks available for free to everyone; LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter – all three of these online social networking sites have plus and minus points. But when you are looking to identify and secure a new job, the plus points outweigh the negatives. You can manage your privacy on all of these networks and I actively encourage you to do so – you could even set up specific accounts for job hunting, clearly your LinkedIn account only needs to be as is and you should look to continue maintaining it and your contacts once you secure a new role as it important when using such a business networking site that you do not pester your contacts when you need a job and then drop off the radar until the next time you need assistance.

Your Twitter account can be used to join in discussions and follow job tweets and also is a good way to start making contact with specific recruiters (as the phone seems to be an impossible barrier at times). Facebook business pages seem to be growing by the day and so are the recruitment adverts, an easy way to integrate your usual Facebook activities is by having job updates in your news feed.

Relevant articles can be found here:

 

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

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

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

Careers Advice, CV Tips, Project Management, Project management career progression, project teams, Team building

Impressing the boss is one thing – carving a name for yourself is another

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I am not one for lateness; in fact I have an in-built program which won’t allow it. I can count on one hand the times I have been late for work – those times were completely unavoidable. But being late isn’t the only bug bearer in a successful team – there are those who consistently turn up “just in time” who are also noticed in a professional environment. I have always liked to get into the office a little early as it gives me time for reflection and also the opportunity to pick up any problems which may have manifested overnight. In turn it allows me the opportunity to get ahead with my workload allocating time for any further issues which may arise without having a huge impact on my daily schedule.

I am not an advocate for those who turn up to the office at 7am and leave at 7pm either – this if anything worries me that the individual cannot fit their work load into core office hours which means they have either got too much on their plate or they are bad time managers. Getting the balance right is key, we’ve all had to start really early or finish late on occasions and that is the nature of working in a project environment. Arriving half an hour before the office opens is good practice and allows a little quiet time before the phones start ringing off the hook.

Going the extra mile is also a good way to get noticed; this does not mean volunteering for everything available and will result in the 7-7 shift; but taking on additional pieces of work will not only highlight you as a team player – it will assist you in building up your skill-set. I have often advised those both working in a project environment and those looking to get into the PM field to take this approach as it is a fantastic was to really get involved in core areas which are of interest to you and prove your ability to pick up areas of work new to you. For those who are not currently in the PM world and want to join it, it is imperative that you gain valuable experience working on projects. You can add the detail to your CV and really demonstrate your commitment to potential employers about taking a dedicated project position moving forward. For those who are seasoned in the PM field it is a prime opportunity to work on projects which you haven’t had exposure to before which will widen your knowledge field and potential for getting into differing projects later down the line.

There are others ways to increase your skill-set and get noticed for the right reasons at work – such as volunteering yourself up to head up presentations, some may be based on something new you have learnt or to generate a discussion about ideas you may have for the business. Not all management teams are open to new ideas – which is a shame and can be catastrophic for the business but you should persevere all the same. Your ideas may be shelved at the time but brought out when needs arise in the future. However most good managers will take your ideas on board and look at how they can be utilised with the core business goals. You could be the instigator for some fantastic strategies in the business – nice to add to your CV huh!

The best way to really impress your management team and the business is to think out of the box and don’t be afraid to challenge – the best businesses actively welcome being challenged and it proves a great way to really build strong strategies and initiatives that work for the business and for your career.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, Project Management

What sets you apart from others – food for thought on your CV

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Time and time again applications are made for project management roles and are either rejected or a lucky few make it through to interview shortlist but candidates are “pipped at the post” by the competition. Competition is exactly what recruitment is all about so in this blog post I want to delve into a common reason why some candidates appear to walk seamlessly into that next role while other good candidates are left on the bench.

I have addressed a number of key areas to be considered when creating your CV in my previous blog posts – this piece of information is taking that well written CV to the next level.

So, what actually does set you apart from others? Only you know this, have a think about what you do beyond what you are actually paid to do. Going the extra mile is a sure way of adding to your skill set and getting noticed for the right reasons, it also adds value to your marketability. In a time where employers’ resources are limited it is crucial to demonstrate how you can really enhance the team and the business with that extra set of skills and your willingness to do so. In smaller organisations it is common place for employees to not only perform their own role but to also get involved in other aspects of the business, such as implementing structure, business development and training personnel. In larger organisations employees tend to be kept within the structure of the business to manage their own workload however you can look at various aspects of your departments – identifying bottlenecks and working with departments such as IT to create more efficient tools for delivery.

Embrace the opportunities and think about the bigger picture – what skills will you gain or develop from being more actively involved in the business and how can you add this experience to your CV. Remember that other candidate that pipped you to the post may have a very similar delivery skill set but have also been involved in marketing campaigns which is something the potential employer is looking to embrace moving forward- therefore that other candidate got the job (possibly with an even more attractive package offering).

Do not deflect too far away from your core experience and skills in your CV but adding elements of additional aptitude will certainly add to your attractiveness with potential employers.

For a free CV review and discussion about how to best market yourself in your CV – get in touch: www.thecvrighter.co.uk