In This Issue
Mind the Chronology Gap: What the Recruiters and Hiring Professionals Think Of Crucial Missing Details
The Working Resume: A New Approach for Job Applications
News from Arras People
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Events
Arras People will be sponsoring the 17th PPSOSIG conference on the 19th March 2010
The Programme and Project Support Office Specialist Interest Group conference is focused on "Competence Frameworks for the Programme and Project Office"
If you are interested in attending the event, Arras People has one delegate pass for one of our clients
Please contact us for more information
> More information about the event
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Arras People became an OGC Buying Solutions Supplier through the Commercial Resources Framework win last year.
This enables Arras People to supply contract and interim project management professionals to UK public sector organisations
> Read on for more information
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Quick Links...
Our DWP Work
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Greetings!
Arras People's monthly newsletter focuses on Project Management CVs and we're sharing with you the latest thoughts on how project management professionals should be maximising their job searching endeavours. In this issue Arras consultants also share their thoughts about errors and gaps in project management CVs which you might find useful when reviewing your own shortlist of candidates for new vacancies.
We've also discovered there is one alternative to the traditional CV gaining steam, and we delve into the concept of The Working Resume as
opposed to the traditional work history CV used in project management applications. It's an interesting concept and one we think the UK recruitment market is not quite ready for.
The Arras People Project Management Benchmark Report 2010 has now been printed and a copy should be with you in the post over the coming weeks. We've also been busy with two events this month; the CV Workshop for APM and the BPUG Congress in London
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Mind the Chronology Gap: What the Recruiters and Hiring Professionals Think Of Crucial Missing Details
 This article featured in this month's newsletter to our programme and project management professionals; we hope the insight into how project management CVs can be improved will prove useful to you the next time you're reviewing CVs
You would never leave out the dates on your project schedule. After all,
such detail informs project team members about deadlines and providing as
accurate as possible what needs to happen to make your project succeed. So what
possible reason is there for sending out your CV devoid of any crucial
information like lack of dates, gaps in chronological work history,
achievements, or things that directly address your suitability for the
vacancy?
Now this might sound a ridiculous thing to say and you're
probably pooh-poohing it already: "My CV's not like that." Take another look,
because you might be surprised to learn that it happens more than you think.
This article is meant to serve as your heads up to ensure that you are not
making basic CV errors and seriously affecting your chances in the employment
market.
What are the crucial things that are being left out of a CV? Some may be
obvious: others require more digging.
Unexplained Gaps in Working History
Sometimes when an unexplained gap in your work history occurs, candidates
may have left it so because they were confused as to how to handle this aspect
of their life, unsure of what might look best on their CV. The result, as you
can imagine, was avoidance of the issue altogether, and a reader of your CV left
feeling not assured. Don't run from these gaps: embrace them. If you took a
break from work to do important things, like travel the world, raise a family,
undertake further education/training or you're simply between contracts; lessons
learned, achievements and honesty can prove beneficial to your attractiveness to
employers.
Clear and Concise
Hiring managers don't want to read a novel; they want it spelt out with the
5W-How (see below) and to have it right now. Pages upon pages of a single CV
have been submitted by candidates in years past as some sort of badge of honour.
In reality, hiring managers are likely to put it at the bottom of the pile.
They're not looking to weed through it and pick out the bits that suggest "Hey,
that's where it addresses what this candidate can do for us in this role. Get
'em in here!" You want to work for them, so don't assume for a minute they're
going to work for your sake before you're even asked in for an
interview.
Prioritise the
Information
Few candidates tailor or amend their CV for the role they've applied for,
one of the most overlooked flaws in the process. It's not a "one size fits all"
document: you have to account for the information that directly addresses the
crucial points of the job specification. Therefore, your CV for role A must be
different from the CV you submit for role B.
How do you manage projects?
It's often assumed that this is a fairly obvious part of a project
management CV. Take a look at your CV now and ask yourself the question, "Does
this CV tell the reader how I manage or support projects?" If you are a project
manager, do you cover how you plan a project, how you resource effectively, how
you communicate with stakeholders etc? If you are a project support
professional, do you cover the tools you use to report, plan, and support the
project or how you track the project in accordance with the methodology? You
will receive questions in the interview that delve deeper into your project
management competence, experience, skill and style so make sure you are being
picked for the interview shortlist by giving the reader what they really want.
In the simplest terms your CV should be able to answer the question "Does this
person have all the required skills and experiences we need to make a successful
hire?". A good starting place with the CV is the 5W-How terms:
Where are there examples of your ability to do the job?
When (or, How Long) have you done the job?
Why do you think you are suitable for the role?
How do you manage projects?
Another tip in creating a CV
that demonstrates how you manage or support a project is the "lifecycle" model.
Take a blank piece of paper and draw your project lifecycle across the top. For
each stage of the lifecycle, note down the role you perform and the tasks and
activities you carry out. This gives you a framework on which to start building
up your CV.
Context and Scale
Parameters of
a project are often spelt out in the job description, giving you an idea of
budgets, size and schedule before you even submit a CV for a role. Include your
previous projects' context and scale frequently in the CV as an asset to help
hiring professionals trust that they're dealing someone who's done this before.
If the context and scale match up well with the job description and you address
it clearly and concisely, you're in the running!
The main idea of a CV is
to effectively project (no pun intended!) your potential in the role you're
applying for in a clear, well-spelt out manner. A consultant I spoke with
recently pointed out that the jobs sometimes go to the people who market
themselves best and not necessarily the best person for the job. Thinking of the
CV not as a portrayal of what you've done, but rather as a testimony to what you
can do for future employers, may provide you with a new understanding of how
well your CV can be used to market yourself better and more
effectively.
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The Working Resume™: A New Approach for Job Applications
This is the second article which went out to our programme and project management subscribers; the UK recruitment market is still tough for the project management industry and job-seekers are keen to try different ways of getting notice in their job applications. Could the Working Resume really overtake the traditional CV as THE way to apply for a role?
The Working Resume™ has been
popularised in recent years thanks to Nick Corcodilos, an American head-hunter
and management consultant who runs the popular job search/hiring tips blog "Ask
the Headhunter". In a 2008 newsletter piece entitled Resume Blasphemy, Corcodilos
describes the idea behind The Working Resume which is about stating specifically
what you would do going forward in your career, listing (quoted from the
article):
- "A clear picture of the business of the employer you want to work for."
- "Proof of your understanding of the problems and challenges your
prospective employer faces."
- "A plan describing how you would do the work the employer needs
done."
- "An estimate of what/how much you think you could add to the bottom
line."
Corcodilos writes also of his disdain for CVs*, judging them "too static"
and susceptible to being "lumped in" with other CVs. In applying for a job, he
opines that The Working Resume™ doesn't
require academic credentials, prior employers, past experience, jobs you've
done, accomplishments, achievements or awards. Just stick to the four bullet
points above. Sounds radical, so we delved further to see if this approach could
be adopted by the project management industry.
His January 21st post entitled How to apply for a job: The Working Resume highlights an effective example of a solid Working Resume (submitted by one of his readers) from one of the great artisans of history: Leonardo Da
Vinci. It revolves around Da Vinci's application for employment with Ludovico
Sforza, the Duke of Milan, in 1481. In it Da Vinci illustrates ten-fold examples
of what he can do when hired, and wraps by indicating his willingness to provide
a free trial. Corcodilos is bowled over by the letter, ending the post with
disdain for the traditional CV and its reference to experience, credentials,
education and achievement.
Corcodilos writes: "When the applicant says he can do all the things you
need him to do and is willing to show up and prove it? That's a Working Resume."
It's an inspired read, one we definitely recommend so you gain a full
understanding of just what is happening in this new and radical approach to
gaining the job you really want. And although we do advise on delivering
effective CVs to hiring personnel, we're not above suggesting The Working Resume™ to you if it can give you a leg up in getting your foot in the door. Frankly, when done effectively, it's a
document worthy of endorsement.
The UK job hunting market as it stands today (see a role, apply for it [through agency or direct], gain interview and hire) is not conducive to The Working Resume™ idea for a number of reasons;
Lack of need to include anything in terms of working history, the
achievements or accreditations is too much of a step change - how on earth would
recruitment agents be able to sift and sort without keyword searches (!)
Most opportunities in the marketplace don't give enough detail about who the organisation is, the ins and outs of the programmes or projects, or the realism of the job specification and person specification - how can an effective Working Resume be created without this information There is not enough of a collective voice to say "we don't like how the hiring process works" to change the way we do things now - without that, it doesn't become the norm
But that's the great thing about The Working Resume™, it is not the norm and we
think the principles of it can be adopted for your competitive advantage.
While keeping the four bullets within the context of it, our version of The Working Resume does not eliminate the CV. Rather, it moulds it according to The Working Resume™ standards. Keep the CV, but emphasize the achievements or responsibilities you've undertaken previously in your work experience that
specifically address the key points in the job specification. If you do the research and can point to those things on your working resume as effective demonstration of your capabilities in the role, you've started to gain a competitive advantage already.
The project management field lends itself
perfectly to the four principles of The Working Resume™:
- "A clear picture of the business of the employer you want to work for."
Ensure you clearly include in your CV your match to the employer business
or sector. It's easier to do this when applying directly to an organisation but
if you are applying through an agency, ask the questions that enable you to make
these changes to the CV.
- "Proof of your understanding of the problems and challenges your prospective
employer faces."
Project management is all about providing solutions to business issues, whether it's corporate strategy, customer needs or public service. If you research enough about the project or organisation you want to join, it becomes easier to understand what the current pressure points are and what projects are
being undertaken to address them. Demonstrating that you understand the bigger picture of how projects provide solutions for a business could be included in the personal statement or work history.
- "A plan describing how you would do the work the employer needs
done."
Now this might sound like "teaching grandma to suck eggs" so I won't go into detail but a project management CV should include the basics of how you manage projects. Tell the reader how you deliver successfully (and not just that you deliver within the triangle constraints!) Spell it out; from initiation, through planning, execution and support, these are the details your future
perspective employer needs to see.
- "An estimate of what/how much you think you could add to the bottom line.
Again, this is the bigger picture; if you understand the problems and
challenges a business faces and you know you deliver projects effectively and
successfully, tell the prospective employer not only where you've delivered cost
savings, increased profit, reduced time to market etc, but also how this
translates to their current needs.
For The Working Resume™ to be an effective undertaking, it cannot be the same for different roles you apply for. This is a principle that applies to simple CVs as well: The job descriptions are different, and that changes the achievements you'll need to highlight in your traditional CV. You have to tailor the document you are providing to the job and hiring personnel you're applying for/to. That means properly prioritising the order of work examples from your past, allowing you to better point to accomplishments that address the problems and issues the new employers need to have solved.
*Corcodilos' writings rarely use the word 'CV', as the
commonly-known title for a working history document in America is the French
term 'resume'. We've stuck with 'CV' in all possible references outside the
trademarked The Working Resume™ to avoid confusing our readers.
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Vacancy of the Month
In each monthly newsletter we feature some of our current requirements from our clients. The newsletter goes out to over 16,000 subscribers, all of whom are programme and project management professionals.This is just one of the ways we target individuals to see and apply for your project management vacancies.
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Sincerely,
Arras People - Project Management Recruitment
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Arras People hosted a "CV Workshop" for the members of 
