Monthly Archives: December 2012

Careers Advice, CV Writing, Friday Snippet, Job Applications, Project management CV, project management resume

Making your CV as good as food

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Just making my lunch I stood away to admire what I was about to eat and it made me think about CVs – before you ask, I don’t eat, sleep and live CVs but I am always thinking about new ways to bring a professional document to the forefront of a recruiter/employers mind.

So, my comparison comes down to how you draw-in a potential employer. Often hiring managers have little time to review CVs and lunchtime proves to be a good time to run through a short-list, it will have to be good to gain uninterrupted attention!

Your CV is next to be reviewed, have you thought about what your USP (unique selling point) is? Have you made a sandwich of all your skills and experience which would spur a hunger to want to try it? Your CV can work just like this, looking attractive from a distance and containing all the ingredients to satisfy the palette requirement that day. The sandwich looks so good, anyone being shown it would want to take a closer look.

Life is about choice and some jobs require more or different meat, some require a great deal of salad with the right amount of mayo whereas mustard is key for other roles (or rolls). This is why it is important to make sure that you have a truthful CV which showcases your actual skills and abilities in an attractive and easy to identify way. By producing a well written piece which clearly contextualises your skills rather than a dull list which tells the reader nothing, you are starting to make the document interesting.

Put yourself in the hiring managers’ shoes – busy and needs to create a shortlist for interviews. Is he/she going to pick a CV which out of hundreds looks the same and doesn’t tell him how you work or what your true skills are or will he/she pick a CV which shines above the rest because it intrigues him/her by ticking the boxes of requirements AND says so much more? Do not be fooled that a lengthy CV will do this either – no one wants to be over-faced by a large meal right! Keep it to a size which will say all the right things in a clear and concise way.

guest blogger, Interviews, Motivation, Project Management Careers Advice, Project Management Interviews

How to Reduce Anxiety During Your Job Interview – Guest Post

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Sometimes getting that great job could hit the fan. Hurdles like anxiety occurring during a job interview can make it difficult to land that job that you like. Job interviews are indeed anxiety-inducing but not impossible to overcome. Facing strangers that can make or break your chance to get the job is nerve wracking. Never fear though, there are tips that you can use to reduce anxiety before you get into that interview.

Visualize yourself getting the job done

Visualize yourself able to overcome the anxiety of the job interview. Look for a quiet spot and try to visualize that you have successfully hurdled the interview. Basically this is tapping the power of positive thinking at work. Visualizing is getting your brain to behave accordingly to what you desire to achieve. Athletes are using this technique in order to improve their performance in a game. But, this technique can certainly be used as well in any other aspects of our life. Visualization helps you enhance your determination to reach your goals no matter how hard the going may be.

Keep yourself healthy

Make sure that you keep yourself healthy and ready prior to a job interview. Sleep well, eat well and get enough exercise. If you are well rested, you are able to focus on the task at hand effortlessly. A rested mind can easily thwart increasing levels of stress which can lead to anxiety. Getting enough exercise prior to the interview will give you high levels of adrenaline which boosts energy. More energy may coax the body to produce more dopamine which keeps stress levels at bay. Eating well is another way of keeping stress at a distance. Avoid drinking too much of those alcoholic beverages as well as cigarette smoking.  These vices only expose you to substances that ruin the chemical balance of your body and make you more vulnerable to stress and anxiety.

Relaxation techniques

It is possible that stress levels would rise minutes before the interview. In cases like this, it is important that you know how to calm your nerves. Breathing is great in keeping yourself calm. Breathe in using your nose and breathe out using your mouth. Repeat this processes until you feel more relaxed.  Whenever you feel that your nervousness is creeping into your system, just breathe deeply. Deep breathing clears up your brain from any cobwebs of negative thinking. Thus, you become more relaxed and more capable of thinking logically during the interview.

Think before you answer

You are actually allowed to think before you answer a question before an interview. It is okay for you to pause for a few moments to compose your thoughts. You can even tell the interviewer that the question is quite interesting and ask if you can be given a few seconds to think what to say. If you dread the fact that you could go blank as the interview is in progress, write some notes while the interviewer is talking. Writing something takes the focus off or away from you. You can refer to notes after the question has been delivered.

Letting anxious energy go

Anxious energy can leak out without the interviewer noticing it. Try to do something that can release anxious energy. Wiggling your toes is a good way of releasing tension. Smile and project a happy aura even if you feel that you are too nervous to do it.  Smiling helps drive away that anxious energy away from you while at the same time welcoming those positive vibes into your system.

Do not buckle down

Sometimes interviewers tests how well you respond to pressure. You need to know that every applicant is subjected to same treatment. If they try to ruffle your feathers, do not buckle down instead think and act positively because you might fall into the trap and spiral into a negative thinking situation that you are not the right fit for the job.

A job interview comes with a proviso that what you show is the best reflection of your personality. Anxiety can ruin it but with the right attitude you can easily ace it and get that dream job you want.

About the Author:

Ryan Rivera used to suffer from panic attacks for seven years.  He now dedicates his life helping those who suffer from stress, anxiety, panic attacks and depression through his writings.  You can read more of his articles at Calm Clinic.

 

 

 

 

 

News, Project Management Job Boards, project management recruitment, Recruitment

Project Management Job Boards

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Looking for a new job can be frustrating, and understanding where to look can become wearisome as using the large generic job boards can make you feel like a little fish in a large pond. However there are a number of profession specific websites available and Project Management is not lacking in this area. Here are a few job boards worth paying some attention to in your job hunting endeavours:

  • Project Manager jobs.co.uk – another dedicated job board for PPM professionals, there’s a lot of “partners” and therefore adverts and sales going on with this website however it does also boast a blend of direct employer roles and recruiter adverts.
  • The Guardian – OK so this isn’t a dedicated PM job board however it does attract a great deal of project management positions and unlike a lot of the larger generic job boards you can search on direct employer roles; definitely worth keeping an eye on this one.
  • Exec-appointments – another non-dedicated jobs website however for the higher earners, this website is a must.

 Specialist PM recruitment jobs boards

 

  • Arras People – dedicated PPM recruitment agency with a wealth of experience in recruiting at all levels in the project management field, the job board is easy to use; adverts are full of information about the role, they clearly state “wants/needs” and are kept fresh. There’s also a repository of information for PPM professionals to delve into, which is very thorough. You can sign up for jobs by email and also follow them on twitter for new job alerts.
  • Programme Recruitment – another dedicated PPM recruitment agency. The roles on the job board can be filtered to specific categories, this feature I like. However the adverts themselves are a little limited in content, you don’t get a feel for the types of projects the roles are aimed at which can prove frustrating for candidates applying as there’s no way to know if your experience is relevant. The board is kept fresh and every visit seems to yields a new position or two – a well maintained job board is essential for the users.
  • Wellingtone – A three pronged business offering consultancy, software solutions and recruitment in the PPM domain. The job board is easy to view however you do have to click into each role to get an idea of whether it is relevant unlike other job boards. There is a search facility which is useful. The adverts look like job descriptions supplied by the employer (some very lengthy, others are purely one line stating xx years in BA role required), disappointing for a specialist agency but you get to see what the employer has set out (even though JDs can often be out of date / not a true picture of the role).

Do you have any experiences you can share with using the above job boards or another job board you would like to throw into the mix?

 

Friday Snippet, News, Observations, Recycling

On the rubbish tip

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I was out walking with the dog recently when I walked past a skip which was crammed with rubbish, I noticed at the top of the pile was a rather sad looking teddy bear, wet through and looking a little worse for wear. It struck a chord with me as I felt sorry for him – I could imagine him in his original glory and wondered how he’d gotten to be in such a sorry state. I took a photo of him (see below) and posted it to facebook and had a fair few comments about how sad it was etc. which got me thinking about other things we once cherished and eventually discarded as rubbish.

One of those things I used to love and then hated was my Blackberry Storm – it started out like a fantastic user friendly and reliable piece of technology and soon became dated, clunky and to be fair – thrown about in frustration. It was soon superseded by an iPhone which was like a dream come true in comparison – which gets discarded as every new model is released. The same goes for laptops and old tablets etc but we can argue that we do not have an affinity to a piece of technology whereas a teddy bear is something we use as soothers for children and sometimes as declarations of love in relationships. However, I know a fair few people out there who almost have a relationship with their Smartphone and feel like their limbs have been severed if they get separated from them.

Taking it back to the workplace – sometimes it is good to revisit systems and processes we have previously used as going back to basics is an effective way to re-evaluate how we work. That trusty old excel spreadsheet which got superseded by a shiny new software package etc. not all old, seemingly outdated things are ready for the rubbish heap yet. After all if it worked once before then there may be something there which could work for a new initiative moving forward. So please don’t throw out your teddy bears – recycle them!