“5 project management resume tips” on CIO, February 10, 2022.
2. Impacts trump responsibilities
A traditionally formatted resume includes a list of jobs you’ve held and the responsibilities involved in each. But this paradigm doesn’t really work for project management, since a PM’s career is built from a series of discrete projects that might have widely differing deliverables. One of the near-universal pieces of advice we got from all the experts we spoke to: Structure your resume around the results you’ve delivered to internal or external clients.
Alan Zucker, founding principal at Project Management Essentials, says you should ask yourself a few questions about any engagement you include on your resume. “Describe the business impact,” he says. “How did this project benefit the sponsoring organization? Did it open new markets? Generate revenue? Reduce costs? Consolidate operations?”
Zucker adds that here too, focus is important. “Be clear and concise when describing your performance,” he says. “You want your experience to be quickly understood. Do not get lost in the weeds. Remember, most recruiters and hiring managers will not have the context to understand the details of your past projects.”