Tag Archives: Project management CV

Careers Advice, CV Tips, CV Writing

Writing a CV from scratch

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One thing we’ve all been guilty of doing is putting off writing a CV – sometimes it makes sense to start from scratch and build it up, this sounds even more daunting than reworking what you already have, even though it is very dated and surely only needs a little more work. But I beg to differ; taking a fresh look at what you should include in the CV is a great way to really get down the right kind of detail to attract employers.

Getting started:

  • Write a list of all your jobs, note dates, company names and job titles – then place them in chronological order with most recent at the top.
  • Source a professional looking template from online to help you get started and add in the jobs as above.
  • Include some information about what your main tasks were – think about why you were brought into the business and what you set about to achieve.
  • Make notesThen start to list what you actually did, how did you achieve getting from A to B. Include areas specific to your role and make sure you talk through things that set you apart from others such as working globally you may have dealt with cultural differences etc.
  • Read back through the role and make sure it is clear and concise – look at roles you may be looking to apply for which are asking for your skill-set, are you speaking the same language (terminology) and covering what they ask for?
  • Move down each role taking the above structured approach to adding in detail as you move further down the CV to older roles you should reduce the detail. Anything over 10 years old should be a line stating dates, company name, and role title as a list.
  • Add in your education and any additional training towards the end of the CV (unless you are a recent graduate, in which case this should be included at the top of the CV).
  • State some hobbies – think about what you really enjoy doing, group activities, sports, etc.
  • Now it is time to go back to the top of the CV and write a short profile about yourself; make sure it gives an overview of your skills and experience. This should be much easier to write now you have run through all your skills and experience in the role remit, all you are doing is summarising the information.
  • Place some key achievements beneath the profile and above the employment history, consider adding in where you have really added value. Employers like to see where you have gone beyond the specified role and actively reaped results.

Now you have a CV – wasn’t so hard was it? However, this new CV needs to be checked by someone else for some honest feedback. Ask them to read it and then ask them, what is it I do? If they can tell you and are correct then you are on the right track – remember when you apply for a job you will have your CV reviewed by people who may have no exposure to your job so it is imperative that you are communicating to all levels. So we’ve covered the basics, now is time to really work on terminology, target audiences, and tweaking to ensure you are keeping the emphasis on the right skills for that job (remember priorities are different for each hiring manager).

CV Tips, CV Writing, Project Management Lessons Learned, Project Management War Stories

Good Project Management – when things go bad

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Over the years of managing projects and listening to others tell their tales of PM, by far the most interesting stories are those which contain elements of difficulty. This isn’t just because we all love to hear when the proverbial hits the fan for amusement, it is because we start to get a sense of unity and learn a lot by how issues have been overcome. It says lots about an individual and their professional style, bringing a different slant to the overused “on time and on budget” results.

Projects fail for a number of reasons, and how we react in the face of pending failure makes us who we are – this is something which is rarely recorded in a CV and probably one of the key elements which sets you apart from your peers in the field. Put yourself in the hiring managers’ shoes, if you are looking for a good project manager does this mean someone who has only ever had smooth running projects which have always been delivered on time and to budget or do you think you would look for a successful PM who has a portfolio of projects which have not all come to fruition? How many times have you been managing a project which has lost sight of the benefits or the benefits are no longer aligned to company strategy? Would you want a PM who can hold their hand up and push back on the sponsor to close it down to reduce cost impact? And on those key projects which have tangible benefits, but the scope is slipping – a PM who can recognise the signs and take action to bring it back on course through good management?

PM War StoriesI would be a little worried assigning a new PM who has never managed the tricky elements of project delivery to my valuable portfolio for these very reasons. When you are looking for a new position whether it be a promotion or a move into a new organisation you should think about what sets you apart from others and what actually makes you a good PM – the same goes for the support roles too, PMO professionals are empowered these days and the responsibility to ensure your programmes and projects succeed come down to how you engage with the delivery staff. Understanding the business objectives and identifying where bottlenecks occur is paramount to setting you apart from others. Talking about how you can analyse and apply solutions to the programme of work will not only highlight your professionalism but also work in your favour for moving up the career ladder.

By demonstrating your good management skills through dealing with the difficult aspects rather than merely focusing on success you will be presenting a good case for your prospective employer to interview you. Don’t be afraid to talk about it, embrace it and all the positive elements which go with it.

Career Objective, CV Tips, CV Writing, Project management career progression, Project Management Careers Advice, Project management CV, project management resume

CV Objective – to include or not

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Stating a career objective in your CV can be a great way to highlight where you wish to go next in your occupation, however it can also be stating the obvious. If you have a resume which is clear in your goals then stating an objective can over egg the pudding so to speak, however if you are looking for a change in career or want to be taken seriously for progression then including this detail can really help. For those who display their CVs online for recruiters and hiring managers to pick up, the objective can help stop wasting time being called for roles which are not on the radar for you. Especially those who may currently (and have a history of) managing projects and would like to progress to managing programmes and equally for those who have previously worked in a field which they wish to move away from.

Be careful what you state as an objective and don’t pitch yourself out of the market, a good objective will talk through why you wish to move into a particular field (such as interest or exposure to something you wish to specialise in) and also give a view of where you see yourself in the future (progressing up the career ladder).

Here’s an example of an objective which covers the above:

  • Following a successful career supporting a number of large projects now looking to progress to the role of project manager where these skills can be utilised to their full potential; following 3 years experience of managing smaller projects through the lifecycle. Long term goals include eventual progression into managing programmes of work.

Here the candidate is clearly stating that they are ready for that next step up to managing projects rather than supporting and they have experience which means it is not unrealistic. The long term goal tells the reader that the person is serious about their career and is working to a plan; they are not unreasonable and know that it takes time (and experience).

You can justify your potential for promotion / progression with your objective therefore if this is a route you are looking to take then including the objective can really work for you. Likewise if you are looking to move into a new industry or career you can also use the objective to highlight your transferability.

If you applying direct to an employer for a role, they may ask for an objective to be included on the CV. I cannot emphasise enough that all job adverts need to be read thoroughly, following instruction can be part of the recruitment process and as such you need to take this seriously and comply.

Making sure you are pitching to the right audience is key to getting viewed favourably for roles – don’t leave it to assumptions, make sure you are clear about what it is you want.

CV Tips, CV Writing, PMO, Project Management, Project management CV, The CV Righter, The Lazy Project Manager

Your CV resembles a Jenga game

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I really enjoyed reading Peter Taylor’s (The Lazy Project Manager) blog about our services and particularly like his reference to CVs being like a game of Jenga towards the end of the game. This is a fantastic analogy and is so true of CVs being sent to me for review.

For those unaware of the game, basically it starts off as a tower of wooden bricks each layer placed across the next in opposite directions – the aim of the game is to take bricks out from the lower layers and add to the top of the pile without knocking the tower over. So as the game progresses the tower becomes unstable on the lower levels as gaps appear, the higher levels become top heavy with bricks which leads to eventual demise of the tower.

Jenga

How very perceptive of Peter to describe a CV like this – as we work through assignments and change jobs we often add in detail to the CV but begin to lose consistency, we leave gaps further down the page, add in more and more detail working towards the top leaving the CV unbalanced and often lacking relevant information.

It is always good practice to revisit your CV on occasion regardless of whether you are thinking of making a career move or not – as it only became too apparent for a recent client of mine who had treated his CV like a game of Jenga then found himself made redundant. When I reviewed his CV it looked disjointed and in need of a great deal of work, he had made attempts to rework it but in doing so had managed to make it look very disjointed. When we talked through his feedback I teased out a number of interesting areas of work which he had failed to address in the CV and it quickly became apparent that he needed a sounding board to talk through his experiences enabling him to really draw out the kind of content which would see his CV placed on the top of the pile with recruiters.

As he had left it so long before working on the CV, he had forgotten a great deal of information and regretted not keeping on top of it. Also he now had an immediate requirement to get his CV out to recruiters and apply for roles as he was out of work – adding significant pressure to his already stressful circumstances.

After offering up key advice to him, he decided to have a go at rewriting his CV himself due to financial constraints, however after attempting to do this over the weekend he came back to me on the Monday asking if I could provide the CV writing service proposed.

Although it was not an ideal situation for him financially he had concluded that an investment in his CV would yield a much greater response from employers than he was currently receiving. So we worked together to really get to the crux of his core skill base and draw out achievements which demonstrate his ability to go above and beyond the call of duty – really emphasising his value to organisations.

The lesson to be learned here is that you should always have an up to date CV – don’t leave it until you are pushed to have to do something!

photo credit: Herman Rhoids via photopin cc