Project Recruitment: Back up the claims on your CV

On the face of it, it would seem that demand for Project Management professionals in the South East has returned to growth, but a detailed look at the underlying figures suggest that compared to earlier this year, demand has dropped back slightly and salaries are still continuing on a downward trend.  Job demand in London is actually below last year’s levels and there are precious few signs that the private sector is keen, or able to take up the slack in advance of public sector cuts.

On a more positive note, the national demand for Project Management personnel is definitely on the up, and while confidence in an imminent recovery in the project management sector is viewed as tentative at best, here at Wellingtone we saw employer demand increasing (slightly) in May. Yet even in those sectors with the greatest job demand, salaries at best stayed steady or in most cases fell back.  The average salary for May was £31,871, compared to £33,220 in April. (Reed Index May 2010) 

Many employers are still feeling hamstrung by stringent budget constraints, but encouragingly our conversations with our clients confirm that most now see the need to recruit talented project staff, particularly at senior levels, as essential in helping their businesses to grow in this coming year. 

Clearly the job market will continue to remain tough for some time yet, but for those candidates with the right mix of technical skill and experience, there is opportunity to be had.  Yet in more than 8 out of every 10 applications we receive, the applicant seems to have made little effort to effectively communicate why they have applied for a particular role, or demonstrate that they have understood the role definition and state why they consider themselves a suitable candidate for it. Very few CVs come to us clearly focused on the role they are intended for, and if there is a cover note, it usually contains little more than a cursory “I have seen advert no XXX and wish to apply”

If you have received a number of rejections, or worse still had no response at all to your CV, it will be difficult to maintain the motivation to write endless individual applications. You may have to cope with some rejections along the way, but it’s always good to be open to some alternative roles or projects.  The key to success is to be open minded and flexible, and keep copies of the jobs you’ve applied for so that you can discuss the role with confidence, the last thing you want to do is  come across as a serial applier, clicking to apply to anything with Project Management in the title, however tempting that might seem.

However, a final word of caution when targeting your CVs to the job advertisement, a recent employers survey concluded that more than 40% of people have at some point lied or made slight exaggerations on their CV!

While this isn’t surprising with unemployment rates reaching the highest level for many years, undoubtedly some job applicants are embellishing their CVs in an attempt to  secure a job in this competitive market, but in our experience the most common feedback from employers as the cause of an applicant failing to secure the role, (and often at second stage) is that when probed deeply to determine whether an applicant has the relevant level of skill and experience, the applicant was unable to confidently back up the claims made by the CV with examples and evidence.

As with all things, make sure you understand the role you are applying for, think about skills and experience the role will needs and prepare some appropriate examples from your career to talk about that will strike a chord with the interviewer, there is nothing worse than walking away on the day thinking “I wish I had told them about that”.

In this highly competitive marketplace, presentation, preparation and quality will ultimately reap the rewards and secure you the offer you want.

Tags: cv, Project Management Recruitment, Project Recruitment, Recruitment Market, second interview