7 Tips for Creating A Stellar Project Manager CV

As a Project Manager, writing a comprehensive, yet succinct CV can be tricky. You don’t want to fall into the 10-page novella category, nor do you want to leave out highly relevant details and hinder your chances of an interview. The ideal CV is two pages long and in those two pages you will need to demonstrate your ability to lead staff, control budgets, mitigate risks and discuss accomplishments. While every project manager’s CV will be unique, there are certain universal metrics which all hiring managers will want to see.

1.Budget and Cost Control

Cost and budget control is vital when it comes to projects being delivered on time and within budget. Make sure you include in your CV what methodologies or techniques you use to manage costs as well as details pertaining to size of budget, cost effective vendor relationships, and optimal allocation of spending.

2.Leadership

Your main role is to lead teams into delivering a project successfully, so strong leadership skills are a given for your work. Detail the teams you manage and show how you drive your team towards success by discussing your leadership methodologies, team meetings, performance reviews, etc.

3.Risk Management

Projects are faced with a number of risk factors that could hinder their success. A successful project manager should be able to discuss examples of how they are able to spot potential risks before being faced with them, controlling risks and managing expectations at the same time.

4.Organisational Skills

Having great organisation skills is a must in your line of work. It’s very important to demonstrate your ability to plan and arrange activities in your CV. If you give real-life examples of this, you’ll give a potential employer confidence in your abilities to manage a project in time and within budget.

5.Business Cases

Creating a case that encompasses project spending, initiation, and resource allocation is an ability which is highly sought after in project managers. Make sure that you underline the fact that you were responsible for making improvements through business case presentations and achieving milestones and you’ll have a winner.

6.Use of Methodologies

Whether you use Agile, Prince 2, Waterfall or other methodologies, potential employers want to know what your qualifications and experience in the area are. Explaining how you implement them in your projects is very important as well, so try not to just list them. This will give hiring managers a better overview of your skill and knowledge.

7.Delivery

Lastly, a project manager’s success is best measured by their results. When discussing your results and accomplishments in your CV make sure you do so with facts and figures where possible. This will quantify your value and paint a clear picture for hiring managers. Whether you implemented new software across multiple locations or project managed an infrastructure revamp, add details of quantifiable results and achievements.

Project manager CVs can be very wordy, so when planning it out make sure that you split it into easily readable sections that will make it easy for busy hiring managers to grasp your experience. Remember to keep it short and sweet (no longer than 2-3 pages) and include all the above information and you should be well on your way to landing your next role!

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