Are you guilty of these Project Management CV errors?
October 23, 2009 @ How to Manage a Camel - Project Management and Recruitment from lindsayascott
Following on from our recent newsletter on project management interview and assessments I wanted to take a step back for a minute and answer some of the questions from candidates I’ve been receiving lately. Never mind about the interview stage, some people are not even getting past the CV submission stage!
I guess most people are fed up of hearing about the increased competition in the marketplace for jobs and that they don’t need to change their CV because it’s already worked perfectly well before when they were last job hunting.
But when you’re a couple of months down the line and still not giving even a sniff or a whiff of a job interview, are they still so sure that their CV is doing everything it can for them?
Here are my top five CV errors for today’s increased competition marketplace;
- Does your CV actually tell the reader who you are and what you do within the first 1/2 page of the CV? Seriously, have a look, it might say your name, address, education and some generic blurb about your personal profile, but does it actually state anywhere who you are and what you do (and importantly what you can do for the hirer)?
- Is your CV over 3 pages? Anymore than 3 pages and people don’t read it, and that’s a fact. The hiring manager looking at 100s of applications is not going to read all your CV if it’s too long in length, so whatever you think is so important on page 6 that you had to include, won’t even get read so why do it?
CV Blackhole
- Do you actually show in your CV what you are capable of doing? Don’t waste precious space! Too many careers histories in CVs give too much detail about the organisation, the department, the project they were working on and not enough about what you actually did in the job. Remember, the CV is about selling you, not your previous employer/ organisation’s projects
- Do you actually know who you are and is it clear to a reader who doesn’t know you? It might seem obvious but I receive applications from Project Managers all the time, when applying for project support roles! As soon as I open that CV, I close it. I’m looking for a project support officer therefore why would I look at applications from Project Managers? Often it turns out that they’re not Project Managers at all but they thought they would applied for the job with an “aspirational” CV.
- Have you got the project management terminology and lingo right? Using project management terms throughout your CV not only gives an impression that you know what you’re talking about but also it means you’ll get pick up on the CV searches and databases. Talking the common language of project management from the outset makes the reader more likely to bring you in for an interview, it’s then up to you in interview to deliver on credibility, knowledge, experience and capability
Do you have a project management career question that needs answering or looking for advice on how to preform better in project management interviews? Contact us via email or leave a comment below. Alternatively if you’re currently struggling with unemployment please have a look at the DWP/JobCentre help available to you.
Image © bobistraveling and used with permission.
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