Tag Archives: job applications

Careers Advice, Change, Job Applications, Job Hunting

12 stage plan to finding that next role – PM Career Tips

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Decided to take that next step and look for a new role, but don’t know where to begin? Look no further, here is you 12 step guide to finding that next role:

 

1.    Check your CV – get it professionally reviewed, plenty of organisations will do this for free including The CV Righter.

2.    Make appropriate updates – listen to the feedback given and make sure you address these in your CV.

3.    Make a list – what do you want to achieve? More money, a new challenge, career progression.

Moving on 4.    Research – look at the roles out there which match your skill-set and start to really understand where your applications will progressed.

5.    Networks – make contact with your networks and let them know you are looking for a new opportunity.

6.    Get your CV out there – place your CV on job websites and register with agencies. Make sure you refresh regularly so you are not going to the bottom of the pile.

7.    Decide who you want to work with – having made a decision about which agencies and job boards work for you, keep to a short list of these and keep in regular contact.

8.    Be clever – set up “jobs by email” and google alerts so you can let the technology do the trawling for you.

9.    Research employers – understand all there is to know about the companies you wish to work for and keep an eye on activity. You may get ahead of all your competitors by anticipating new roles due to changes in the organisation such as new product launches, partnering with other businesses and mergers.

10. Join in professionally related discussions – LinkedIn and Twitter often have lots of discussions; you can get yourself noticed and hear about new roles through such networks.

11. Review – keep an eye on your applications and see what works and what doesn’t, you may need to revisit point 1 if you are not harvesting interviews.

12. Keep organised – a simple spreadsheet covering all your applications and endeavours to keep track of everything is a good way to help generate new ideas and see trends for the right jobs for you with specific agencies and job boards.

Job Applications, Job Hunting, project management resume, Q&A, Transferable Skills

I have applied for 10 jobs and not heard anything – PM CV Tips Q&A

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Dear Nicola, I have been in the same role for 5 years (a Project Coordinator) within Central Government with a lot of experience in supporting hardware and software roll outs. I am due to be made redundant next month and so I have updated my CV and applied for 10 positions but not heard anything back. Can you tell me where I am going wrong please? John, Project Coordinator, London.

 

Hi John, many thanks for getting in touch. Firstly let me start by asking if the roles you have applied for are similar to the one you are currently doing? As it is common for PM professionals to apply for anything with PM job titles without reading the job description/advert properly. As you’ll probably be aware, job titles can be very misleading so it is important to read through each role before applying for it. Ensure you can meet at least 90% of what they are asking for, employers are very cautious on the skill set they will want on board the team and in a time where training has been cut they will want a close match to their requirements so you can slip into the role with minimal handholding. Once you start to look at all the roles out there, and there are quite a lot, you will start to recognise the ones you should be applying for and avoiding ones which aren’t going to gain a response.

The next step is to look at your CV, as I have reviewed your CV I can see you have gone into a great deal of detail around the core competencies used throughout the project lifecycle, however these do look a little bland in that there is no context so we have no clear idea of the size of projects you support or indeed the number of PMs you support. There is also a vague overview of the technologies you have been supporting the delivery of – something which can be very transferable into your next role. Your CV comes across very process driven, which is fine but there is little detail about engaging with stakeholders, PMs etc. which gives the impression that you may prefer to be hidden in project documentation. Not ideal when a Coordinator is usually the central point of contact on projects for the business.

The writing is on the board

The other issue may be that you are applying for private sector roles, and there is a prejudice with some employers that public sector staff will not transition well into a commercial environment. I believe that support roles are fully transferable; however you need to convince employers of this. By talking through the projects/technologies themselves and any exposure to dealing with 3rd party suppliers/stakeholders external to the council, you will assist the hiring manager in matching up your knowledge and abilities in supporting the delivery in such projects. By taking all the above advice and revising your CV you will have a stronger chance of securing interviews moving forward.

Careers Advice, CV Tips, Project management CV

Not getting a good response from your job applications – PM CV Tips

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Taking that step back into the UK job market can feel like a lonely place at times, applying for roles and waiting for calls. But how do you know if you are being seriously considered for the roles you really want. We’ve all applied for jobs we’re not entirely bought into; often this is done whilst we are applying for roles we really want. Therefore if we look at the volume of applications being made versus the call backs and subsequent interviews being secured we will have a good indication of whether your CV is working for you or not. Proof is in the pudding so to speak, so you should be seeing a healthy response from your efforts – if you aren’t then it is probably time to revisit your CV. Of course it could also be that you are not applying for the right roles, you must be realistic in your aspirations, matching roles to your skill set and ensuring your CV reflects your seniority.

Scores on the door

All common issues and all easily tested through seeking feedback from your applications, recruiters can be difficult to get a hold of admittedly but you should be making the effort to speak with them about your applications; asking for feedback is a good idea. Be careful of those recruiters trying to engage you into training or paying for thorough feedback and also those who will say anything to get you off the phone. A good reputable agency will take time to speak to you about your CV with some constructive feedback. If you haven’t been considered for a role, ask why? What is missing from your CV which would have you be considered for the role. Remember recruiters see hundreds of CVs per day and some feedback isn’t asking too much. It is in a recruiter’s interest to help you, the better your CV is, the easier you are to place. Do not assume that agencies rewrite or tweak your CV for applications – this is deemed as too time consuming and writing CVs is a honed skill set which doesn’t naturally correlate for all in the recruitment profession. Make sure you gain some feedback from your peers, do you know anyone in HR who might be willing to look at it for you? All feedback is good feedback, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time – learning how others translate your CV is very important, once you have the feedback, be constructive and make changes – it could be the difference between getting interviews or endlessly applying for jobs with no response.

Interviews, Job Applications, Job Hunting, Negotiation, project management jobs, Recruitment, Recruitment Agencies

Job offers – PM Job Tips

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I have been working with a recent graduate to get his CV up to scratch for his first job in his chosen field, we have produced a good, strong CV and also been through some careers coaching to ensure he is applying for the right roles and in the right way. As he started to apply for positions he found a great deal of interest from recruiters and direct from employers, so much so that he had a number of interviews lined up and was now being prepped ready for these when he came across an awkward situation with a recruiter.

To set the scene; he had already been through a 2 stage interview with company A and was due to go for a 2nd interview with company B when he received a call from the recruiter representing company A telling him he had an offer for the position – great news! However the candidate wanted to go for his 2nd interview with company B later the following day as he had a preference for this position/company. Being new to all this, the candidate explained his situation to company A recruiter and asked for a little time to consider his application. Bearing in mind 24 hours since his offer had been made hadn’t passed this shouldn’t be an issue. However recruiter representing company A then started to pile on pressure, stating that the offer may be withdrawn if he didn’t accept now and that he had a list of other suitable candidates which he could supply to company A.

Offer letters

The candidate called me and explained the situation asking what he should do, he feared being left in a position where he would have no offers at all should company B not make an offer and company A may withdraw offer. I pointed out that he should be in receipt of an offer letter as a minimum from company A but ideally they should be sending over a contract as there is no real offer until you have something in writing. I also pointed out that I doubted company A were threatening to revoke the offer and that it was likely the recruiter was saying this as a bullying tactic to get him to take his role – clearly his commission was at stake.

After a lengthy discussion we agreed that any company offering and withdrawing within 24 hours might not be the company you would want to work for, but giving them the benefit of the doubt we said a positive move forward would be to ask for the offer in writing for consideration (and buying some time for the other interview to take place). When the candidate asked the recruiter for an offer letter/contract the recruiter said it is not normal practice to send out such documentation without acceptance of the role. As the candidate regaled the conversation to me it became clear that recruiter A was getting rather desperate and saying anything to get the candidate to accept the role.

This kind of practice is not on and can really damage the reputation of the company the recruiter is representing, not to mention lose a good candidate for them, the good news is that the 2nd interview at company B was a success and an offer was extended on the spot to the candidate who has accepted and starts next week.

It is important to stay in control in these situations, do not be bullied into taking a role and always ask for an offer letter/contract as you may find yourself with no firm offers in place – you are entitled to take some time to consider an offer and it isn’t unreasonable to take a couple of days, keep your cards close to your chest about other opportunities when being pressured as this can lead to additional pushing from recruiters. Gut instinct should play a good part in decision making, don’t let fear of losing an opportunity make your decisions for you. If you are commanding a good level of interest elsewhere then you won’t be on the shelf long before more offers come your way.