Recently, I have been doing a lot of recruitment regarding Project Management (PM) roles on behalf of clients. Sometimes, I am required to vet the CVs to align with the job description before submission. In light of the above, I frequently come across varying mistakes which I have grouped into five. Remember, your CV is still the most important career tool – frequent update is required even when you are not looking for a job.
1. One CV – Multiple Positions
There is nothing wrong in applying for multiple PM opportunities if you believe you have the requisite skill and experience but do NOT use the same CV. Recruiters are not ready to hunt around your CV looking for a match.
Your CV is like a sales brochure advertising the product function. Imagine going through the brochure in order to find the best fit solution – I will definitely give up reading the brochure after the first three lines if I don’t find what I am looking for.
Prepare an editable CV template and tweak the CV to align with the job description (JD). Always make sure the relevant information are further up in the career history and change the language in the profile statement to match the one used in the JD.
Remember to tweak NOT to keep adding contents to prevent lengthy CV.
2. Lengthy CVs
We live in a “twitter” world – succinct and concise rules the day.
Remember the word I used – brochure NOT detailed product specification.
Perusing through CVs requires concentration which is lacking in today’s parlance. Three pages should be the maximum and always put current experience first as hiring is based on current experience NOT past glory.
Knowing what to keep in and keep out depends on the PM Job you are applying for. Always highlight the relevant contents and remove distractions.
90% of the Project Managers job is communication so this should definitely be in your wheel house.
3. Project Details
Remember sales brochure is about the product NOT the company that made the product.
You are the product.
Don’t fall prey describing the project. The relevant content should be your role and achievement in the success of the project.
4. Keyword Context
The keyword you choose demonstrates your relevancy to the job but you demonstrate your skills and experience to do the job through the context around those keywords.
JDs already contain keywords you can use but you need to add context to each of the keywords as they fit your project profile.
5. Contact details vs. Personal details
I am always shocked when personal details is a priority in most CVs I have encountered.
Your aim for the CV is to get called for a chat or an interview so you must include contact details that you can easily be reached on like your cell number and email address.
Putting religion, affiliations, marital status, etc may be a potential bias to the selection process even before they have the chance to assess your productive inputs.
Please, remove personal details and highlight your education, skills and experience.
N/B: You can now submit your CVs with us for the following Project Management Jobs here
