Lindsay Scott is the director of program and
project management recruitment at Arras
People in London, England.
about the project. (I wish most project managers
would think about this when writing their own
résumés.) People who read a résumé or CV would
rather learn about what kind of project manager you are than the details of the project you
managed. Every project is unique; therefore, the
chance of you having delivered something that is
exactly what an organization is looking to deliver
is very slim.
So: In your résumé, start with your company’s
name and then make it clear that projects you
managed were of a sensitive nature. But you
should be able to communicate the nature of the
projects—IT, logistics, defense, justice, etc.
Next, focus on the project management methods, processes, tools and techniques. Again, all of
these will not require the sharing of sensitive information. You can easily write about your experience
and skills in areas like stakeholder management,
risk management, planning and change management without getting into the project specifics.
Remember, this is what the majority of inter-
viewers and readers of résumés want to see any-
way. They want to understand what you know of
project management and what level you are used
to operating at. They are looking to see if your kind
of project management experience will fit with the
job being offered and the company’s culture.
I’ve recently become a PMI member. How can I
get the most out of my membership?
Aside from spending a lot of time taking in all the
resources on the website and undertaking development, you absolutely must join your local chapter
and take part in PMI chapter meetings. This is where
it all starts to come alive: being with other project
practitioners, listening and learning, networking with
people who totally get what you do for a living.
Having the opportunity to step outside your
organization and see what life is like for other
practitioners—finding out what challenges they
face and how they practice project management—
can be a breath of fresh air. It’s also a great way to
find out what your peers are doing to get the most
of their membership. Be active and you’ll soon discover the full array of membership benefits. PM
