CV writing isn’t something that most people enjoy. In fact, it can seem like a chore. However, if you want to land your dream project management job, it is a necessity. With project management becoming an increasingly competitive field, with many opportunities in different industries, your project management CV can make all of the difference. So, where should you start?
You need to understand first what kind of CV you want then do thorough planning on what key points you want to highlight.
A good CV specializes in highlighting the owner’s potential, that can allure the recruiters, and can land you your dream job.
Putting Together a Winning Project Management CV:
The layout of the project management CV
The layout of the CV should be very simple to navigate by the recruiter. Instead of using a long paragraph, try to use proper header and footer with information being in the bulletins.
Use the space wisely, keep your CV short and concise. Try to highlight your strong points that are needed for the job. Always create your CV on MSword because it is more ATS (application tracking software) friendly.
While writing your project management CV make sure that these points are in your CV:
- You contact details.
- Your professional profile.
- Professional experience.
- Educational qualification.
- Your skill in which you are proficient enough.
- Past job experience.
These points that I just mentioned above are explained below, keep reading you will be rewarded for your patience.
Candidate profile
The profile section is a very important part of a Curriculum vitae. That section is meant for impressing the recruiters. You can highlight your project management skills and expertise and showcase them all into the profile.
What to include in a profile
- Your past designation
- Your area of expertise
- The projects you have management
- Your fundamental beliefs
- What makes you different from the other candidates.
What to exclude in a profile
- Never tell them how much of a hard worker you are. You may have more than what you bargained for.
- Your area of inexpertise.
- Any salary expectations (this creates negative feedback on you).
Skill section
Every recruiter wants to hire an employee who is not only proficient in his/her work but also have some extra skills to handle different kinds of jobs.
Highlighting your skill may segregate you from the other applicants. If you have a skill that is relevant to the kind of job you are applying for, then make sure to keep it on top of the list.
If you are not sure about your skills, you can just pick from the list I have given below:
- Project management
- Risk management
- Project governance
- Customer relationship management
- Project planning
- Project documentation
- Budget management
- Project improvement
Experience section
This section is very important as it tells about the past experience you have. The amount of experience you have under your belt is directly proportional to the value you will hold in the company. Make sure to give the semi-detailed information in this section.
If you are a fresher, then you can add your college life projects or the projects you have done as a part-timer. On the other hand, if you are already working on project management and have experience in live projects, then just give them an overview with basic information. Rest you can explain then while having a conversation.
It may happen that you have many job experiences, you do not have to list all of them. Just list those which you think will be a help in obtaining that job.
Usually, you need to give detailed information on the past 10 years job profile, before that designations are more than enough.
Educational and qualification details
Start with your school qualification to the highest qualification. Make sure to maintain order. If you have done any other extra courses, certificate courses, diploma, postgraduates, etc. List all of them into your education section.
If you have been working for a company, then the experience will help you in place of educational certificates.
But if you are a fresher or your job past experience is not related to this job then all these qualification certificates are very valuable to estimate your value.
Additional details
This section may hold all of the achievements that you have achieved as a project manager in your past companies.
You can showcase all the details in a list form with the timeline. Your awards and achievements act as a testimonial for you.
Take away
You can look professional by wearing formal apparel, but how can your documents look professional? It is easy, just make a professional Curriculum Vitae, and how can you do it? Just follow the tips (that I have really worked hard) and you will be all set to look professional on paper.
This article will present you with the improvements that you can make in your present CV.
If you have any suggestions to further improve project management CV, do comment down and let me know. I will be obliged by your efforts.
