Keeping topical and those of you who follow my blog will know I do like to bring food into the equation given any excuse. All the news of burgers and ready meals containing horsemeat got me thinking about the fundamentals of not labelling correctly and misleading others to buy products. This can happen with CVs, as with food products you are required to state what goes into the product – by putting emphasis on one key ingredient and not addressing other areas you too could be falsely packaging yourself and as we’ve seen, you will eventually get caught out.

Most people have had some exposure to project management at work, however describing yourself as a project manager when you are in fact a business manager who has managed a project or two is not an accurate description of yourself. The same goes for those with titles other than project manager who actually are dedicated to managing projects and nothing else.

In the latter circumstance then clearly labelling yourself as a project manager is vital should you be looking to take on PM roles moving forward and knowing how some HR staff do tend to just read a job title before dismissing CVs it is important to be clear in your profile. Never change your job title given for each role as this will be picked up later down the line but your profile is a fantastic opportunity to tell the hiring manager what you actually do and name yourself PM.

The issue with the former situation is that too much emphasis on only a small part of your job can mislead others into thinking you are something you are not. Now I know you may be perfectly capable of managing projects having managed a few over the years but there is a big difference to a PM with a vast portfolio of delivered projects under their wing. The key is to be honest and strike a balance – look at the uproar of the burgers and ready meals, people feel miss sold a product which clearly described itself of one thing but contained something else too. This is where the issue really lays, without jumping too deep into the politics of it horsemeat has been eaten for years in countries such as France. There is no issue in regards to safety but there is an ethical factor in regards to those not wanting to eat an animal seen as a pet.

As with hiring managers they want to buy a XYZ then they realise they have been presented with an XYY – naturally they are going to be a little put off to say the least. If you are honest and up front about your experience and skill-set then the hiring manager can make a decision whether to see you or not, in fact they may actually like that you have operational BAU (business as usual) experience to add to the mix.

So think on, be true to who you are as a professional and the right role will be found.