Tag Archives: Project management CV

CV Tips, Project management CV, project management recruitment, project management resume

Underperforming Project Manager CVs

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Our CV is a personal thing, in that we take it personally when we receive no feedback or rejection for jobs. After all we have spent hours of blood, sweat, and tears putting together a document which talks through our life’s work and it reads great to us so why don’t others get it? Lots of reasons I am afraid, it is difficult for you to be objective when you have spent so much time creating it and you understand what the jobs involved. To others though it can be a mix of lists and terminology which they have never come across before, and when they have literally hundreds of CVs to review they will not spend extra time trying to decipher or pick up the phone to ask you to clarify. Let’s take a look at some of the reasons a CV may be underperforming:

  • Gaps in the CV – naturally there will always be a gap or two in a CV, it is (thankfully) not the law that you must go from one role to the next without a break. But you do need to address the gaps, if you were travelling, then fine add in a line.
  • Nondescript profiles – this is very common on a CV, your profile needs to tell the reviewer what it is you do rather than telling them that you are motivated and have good time management – a given for a project professional surely!
  • failure or successLess is not more – often the more senior the PM Professional the less information they add to the CV. Big mistake, huge! As you will be a high earner and the role will demand a lot more, you need to address this and demonstrate your worth. Work hard to really drill down what your role involves and don’t be shy when talking through the project lifecycle – employers do want to see this, especially reviewers who may have a tick list which will inevitably involve a number of competencies based around the project lifecycle.
  • Poor grammar and spelling – yes, we’ve said this over and over but still this is prominent in a lot of CVs. Think about how others will view this, if you cannot construct a document which makes sense and is spelt correctly what type of communications will you be sending out to customers and internal staff!?
  • Structure – PM is all about structure, no matter how ad hoc you perceive yourself to be. Structure is important for success and demonstrating this on your CV with an easy to read, flowing document is a must.
  • Internal terminology – easy to use this especially if you have been a organisation for a while. However it makes little sense to people outside the business.

If you are applying for roles and not getting responses, equally if you have your CV in databases for recruitment agencies and online and no calls – it is time to go back to the drawing board and work on your CV.

We offer a free CV review for UK and EU residents at The CV Righter, you will receive honest constructive feedback and gain a better understanding of how your CV is viewed by a recruiter.

Business Analyst CV, CV Tips, CV Writing, Project management CV

Business Analyst CV

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Business Analysis is an integral role within organisations – often the role is merged with a project management roles which will see a great deal of PMs and BAs taking on a dual role, as with other areas such as change management it has become an profession which reduced budgets have forced over the years. However a Business Analyst is very much a numbers and facts role first and foremost, investigating both systems and processes. Other important areas for a successful BA are listening and negotiation skills, as such the CV needs to take a holistic view of all these skills and demonstrate this detail. This is where the CV differs to other project management CVs, when putting together the CV you must strike a balance of methods, types of assignments, user groups, and communication plans.

  • Business AnalysisProfile – the profile as with all CVs should be a short statement which highlights what it is you actually do and where your skill-set lays. Talking through (briefly) the types of assignments such as industry and core systems / processes / task in hand.
  • Achievements – Addressing achievements is something I note a lot of BAs negate from their CVs, however this is an area where you can really add some value and set yourself apart from your competitors.
  • Career History – Here is the important part, make sure you give enough detail about what you have been tasked to interrogate. Give some context in relation to the size of user groups, methods adopted, benefits, challenges and how you work (what did the role actually involve you doing).

As a Business Analyst you will look at centralising services to improve working environment  efficiency, address duplication of processes and develop 3rd party supplier relationships – so talk about it!!

BAs are visionaries and need to think outside the box, you will be on top of up-to-date processes and systems and as such will be called upon to recommend fit-for-purpose solutions which keep an organisation ahead of their competitors – give some examples!!

Because there are always elements of project management in these roles, you should also talk through these – the more adaptable you are, the greater value you add to a team (and often reduced budget). It has become increasingly difficult for everyone under the project management umbrella to secure interviews due to tighter requirements and strong competition, unfortunately reputation does little for applications if you don’t have a good CV to back up the experience. The best CVs win every time for shortlists, not necessarily the best candidates – so invest time into your CV and ensure it reaches the top of the recruitment pile.

Careers Advice, CV Writing, Project management CV, project management resume

Project Manager CV writing services

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Writing your CV doesn’t come naturally to a lot of people and Project Professionals particularly find it difficult to strike a balance between getting the project information versus the core competencies. This is understandable as there is often a great deal of detail you wish to include and in doing so, key criteria is missed out completely. Knowing what the hiring managers want to see has changed over the years and with the volume of job applications increasing for roles you are unlikely to be called in for an interview to discuss the missing parts when there are those who have clear and concise documents which do have the correct balance of information.

I was talking with a recent client who had previously had her CV professionally written and one of the bullet points stated Change Management – I probed what this involved in that role and she said she hadn’t actually done any CM in that role but had been advised to state it anyway. I pointed out that should she secure an interview with the CV that she would inevitably be asked to expand, as there was no detail and it is a point of interest for a Project Manager job. She became very concerned that her CV was not saying the right things and began to question the advice she had received from the service she had invested time, money and faith into. I have come across a number of CVs which have been professionally written, which either don’t make sense or are limited in content – the problem with not using a CV writing service which is specialist in your field. At the CV Righter we work with you to understand where your skill-set lies and help you achieve a CV which will draw attention for the right reasons, we look to add that extra information about your style and where you go above and beyond the role. Setting you apart from your competitors is crucial to getting you on that shortlist for interview.

Service your CV

Do not make assumptions about the reviewer of your CV – they can come from all sorts of backgrounds and may not necessarily understand Project Management, you need to be hitting the right keywords but also adding in context to make the information understandable to all.

Identifying a CV service which is right for you and your skill-set is important – just because it is cheap or very expensive, doesn’t mean you will be getting value for money. Ask for a review of your CV before engaging services and see what their understanding of your experience is, it is all well and good pointing out grammatical errors and formatting – but what will they do with the content and how will they work with you to achieve a good, strong, honest document which will harvest results?

 

Get in touch today to receive a free review of your CV and constructive advice on how to improve it.

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

Project Manager CV Checklist

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Ready to start applying for a new job, but have you done the necessary to ensure you are in with a good chance of securing interviews? Here we are going to run through a few areas of key criteria you should be addressing in your Project Management CV:

 

  • Well presented CV – move away from using fancy fonts and colours; make sure you spend some time formatting your CV to ensure it is clear and easy to read. Remember this is a professional document!
  • Grammar and spelling – don’t rely on spell check for this, print off a copy and go through it word for word highlighting any errors for amendment.
  • listCV length – keep the document short, ideally 2 pages but 3 maximum keep the detail around your most recent roles and less so on the older positions.
  • Contact details – seems obvious but so many forget to put a contact number and email address, make it possible for employers and recruiters to contact you.
  • Profile – make sure you include a short statement at the top of the CV which clearly tells the reviewer what you actually do, where your key skills lay and ensure you take a holistic view.
  • Achievements – as a Project Management professional you should address some key areas which demonstrate where you go above and beyond the call of duty. Include how you add value – employers want to see what they get for their money and it is often the case that PMs will do so much more than just deliver the project.
  • Employment history – starting with most recent experience first, look to include detail of the business (so the reviewer can see which industry/sector you worked in), detail of the projects delivered, and how you deliver. All the skills often listed separately in the CV should actually be worked into this part of the CV as the stand alone list does not add value so leave the list out.
  • IT skills – this can be a useful area to add in software used such as planning/tracking tools (e.g. MS Project, Primavera, Jira etc.)
  • Hobbies – an optional area which adds a little personal detail, sometimes it can really work in your favour as I have had clients who have specifically requested candidates with a passion for the arts / travel etc.
  • References – just state “available on request”, don’t include names and contact details as you will find your referees getting harassed by recruiters looking for leads.

 

The key to a good CV is to make sure you include enough detail so reviewers can understand what you do, how you work, size of teams/projects and the types of projects. Strike a balance of information including keyword searching criteria. You should be ensuring the CV is understandable to everyone, from recruiters/HR staff with little understanding of PM to hiring managers/senior management.