Arras People, a national project management recruitment agency based in Heywood, made a 500 donation to Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary, Edenfield, Ramsbottom. The ceremony was marked with a cheque presentation and photos Monday afternoon.

After conducting a series of Project Management Careers Clinics for nearly a year, the total sum of the donations made for each clinic have been rounded up by Arras to present four different charities based around the Greater Manchester area.

The four registered charities slated to receive donations this year include: Bleakholt Animal Sanctuary; Derian House Children’s Hospice, Chorley; The Youth Charter, an extracurricular activities provider for Children, Salford Quays, Manchester; and George House Trust, an HIV Voluntary Organisation, Manchester.

Donations made by Arras People will total 2,000, a large grant based on the popularity of Arras People’s commitment to providing prospective project management job candidates with quality career consultation and advice. Arras People’s managing director, John Thorpe, and consultants Mick Hides, Lindsay Scott, Nicola Thorp and Gary Holmes, provide career advice and help for people on their CV and share their opinions and tips in areas such as qualifications, training, current job markets in project management. Fees for the sessions were donated to the charity of the candidate’s choice.

Said John Thorpe, a director of Arras People: ‘It is great to have a dedicated team who are willing to make time to share their experience and at the same time generate money that goes towards helping others in our local community.’

Six Arras People employees were treated to a tour of the Bleakholt facilities by Martin Mercer, Head of Stables at the Sanctuary, which has officially operated near Ramsbottom since 1957 and served as a registered charity since 1969. Mercer led a tour of the stables that feature 27 horses and 11 donkeys; stalls for farm animals, including two New Zealand Kune Kune pigs; and kennels featuring a variety of dogs and some cats. One former circus horse named Serpie showed off her patented hand shake to the overjoyed group, while several different dogs caught the eyes of the dog lovers in the group.

The Project Management Career Clinic has been set up by Arras People to provide advice and help for people who are looking for project management careers/training/CV/market intelligence advice. To use the service, professionals are asked to donate 25 to one of the three charities nominated by Arras People. The service provided by Arras People’s trained staff provides general CV help while also providing educated advice, tips and opinions with students in areas such as qualifications, training, current job markets in project management and other related topics.

For Lindsay Scott’s take on the visit to Bleakholt, click here to read her post about it at How to Manage a Camel.

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Talking to project management professionals during our recent project management careers clinic sessions, were seeing a common picture relating to real issues that people are facing in the current marketplace. Advice on securing my next contract position, Im facing redundancyhelp!, What is the best way to focus my efforts on getting back into work and I would like to explore whats happening in the project management market today are some of the concerns being voiced, which six months ago were less common. It is becoming obvious that some project professionals are finding the current environment tough, where once securing a new contract or permanent role felt relatively easy; many are now left wondering how and why their normal job hunting methods are failing to bring in that next opportunity.

In the previously buoyant employment market, the ebb and flow of new vacancies and opportunities came through the normal channels of job board advertisements, personal networks or extended contacts in their industry. Now, with a contracting economy, many professional contractors are finding less opportunities available as their current assignment comes to a close; some are being terminated early as cost cutting measures are put into place and personal networks are not as fruitful as in the past. With some project professionals entering the market for the first time in years after a prolonged period of employment, the current marketplace can seem a confusing, sometimes hostile and negative place to be.

So what has changed in the marketplace and what changes can a project professional make to increase their return on effort?

In line with the general economy the project management marketplace has seen levels of contraction, with some sectors feeling the pinch much harder than others, a situation that is likely to continue in the coming months. Organisations are naturally approaching their resourcing needs differently as pressure to reign in costs comes to bear. For example, we are seeing more organisations looking for project managers who can deliver now and really make a difference to the bottom line; they have no interest in bringing raw talent on through training and development. As a consequence there are fewer roles for the entry level project manager. As hiring organisations see an increase in available candidates many are using qualifications and professional accreditations as a mandatory selection criteria, whereas in the past demonstrable practical ability was in many cases enough to gain an interview. Rightly or wrongly this has become a popular way to reduce vast numbers of applicants for roles which means that some project professionals will be frozen out of opportunities even though they have demonstrable skills and experience to deliver the role. Traditionally when there is a drop off in permanent recruitment there is an associated upturn in contract positions, but again organisations are becoming much more selective in the number of contract roles they are creating and the criteria used for selection. Other obvious changes in the marketplace include a greater number of vacancies being withdrawn, even though the recruitment process is underway, this is often the case when delivery managers are panicking about getting a new product or service to market without gaining the correct internal approvals for the new headcount.

Some Project Professionals are facing real difficulties in overcoming the changes in the marketplace, but there are practical steps that can be taken to address them. Business as usual is not good enough, approaches should be examined and change applied as appropriate. Some simple tips include;

• Dont be tempted to apply for each and every role you see with project in the title, nobody appreciates a serial applier!
• Take time to really understand what skills you are bringing to the table conduct a personal skills audit (understand what it is youve got to offer the marketplace)
• Research the project management marketplace, take time to really understand what organisations are really looking for and how that matches your skillset
• Use both your research and skills audit to give your CV a much needed update, remembering that it has to contain your USP and give you a competitive advantage
• If rejected, always seek feedback so that you can learn from each experience
• If its a show stopper, bite the bullet and back up your experience with some professional accreditation

Ultimately, as an individual you need to be clear about what you have to offer to the marketplace! Many people make the mistake of rushing into the job application process without first taking time to consider their options. Treat it like a project, as we all know, those with a good initiation phase tend to be more successful than those that rush to forming solutions.

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