Do your Project Management CV & Covering Letter cut the mustard?
As we move into the second quarter of 2010, the market remains challenging for those project managers looking to secure their next role. While there are definitely some good opportunities for strong PM professionals to shine, from a recruiters perspective, I am still amazed at how little attention the vast majority of applicants still seem to be paying to the quality of their applications.
The most common problem still appears to be that many applicants continue to apply for positions with little or no attention to the content of the advert or particularly skills and competencies required. Candidates often positively tick responses to qualifying questions only for it to become clear during subsequent conversations that this is clearly not the case.
Over 80% of all the CVs we receive from applicants are not accompanied by a targeted cover note. A quick note stating that you have seen the above vacancy and would like to apply pleas find attached my CV does not count. I know how time consuming and frustrating it can be to do this for each application, but believe me those that do “bother” definitely stand out from the crowd. In my opinion “apply to anything and everything” approach to your job search will not work.
Irrespective of the type of role, your seniority and experience, or even the salary levels a logical and targeted approach to raising your application and CV to the top of the pile is required. But it seems that only a small minority of jobseekers actually understand this.
It is only natural that recruiters, faced with huge numbers of applications will favour those candidates who have clearly taken the time to demonstrate their competency and suitability for the role. Reading a well constructed covering letter generally allows recruiters to make a fairly accurate initial judgement as to whether or not they might have a good match for to the role with this candidate. Of course, as recruiters it is our job to sift through every CV we receive for each role and identify the best person. Surely it makes sense, with dozens of people applying for each role and the client requiring CVs within days (sometimes same day), to make sure your application stands out - delivering all the required information quickly and efficiently.
One of my clients recently pointed out that in her opinion successful project management is all about effective communication. She went on to say CVs and cover notes are candidates first chance to demonstrate an understanding of the requirements.
Remember, If your cover note cuts the mustard, it will encourage readers to opening up your CV. As a final note please don’t be tempted to paste your CV profile into a cover note as again this can appear as though you couldn’t be bothered in the first place.
Tags: project management covering letter, project management cv, Project Management Recruitment, Project Recruitment
