subject: Project Manager Resume – Make Yours Jump Off The Desk [print this page] Because there is so much competition for jobs, recruiters have become very good at "scanning". Scanning involves looking over a resume as quick as possible to look for keywords of interest such as "Project Manager", "PMP" or "Prince2" for example. While this is done manually, it's often done with software as well.
With that in mind, you're probably thinking how will I get all the experience I have as a project manager into a format that will show up in the "scan"?
Here are a few things I do in my resume to ensure I get the recruiters call!
Use Project Management Keywords
Just like a search engine recruiters use keywords to "search" your resume. If you're missing words the recruiter is looking for, they will just move on. "How do you know what key words" I hear you ask? Well, check the job description you're replying to and throw in keywords it mentions. Be sure to throw some industry keywords in there as well.
The light use of colour
As we're not going for a graphic designer's job, there's no need to go crazy with colour. Too much heavy colour or brilliant colour is going to look too hard on the eye. Use blues or greys to highlighting sections or headings in your resume.
My Name, Role and Company
I put my name, company and my current role right up on the top of the resume. I put it in huge bold text so there is no confusion about who I am, where I currently work and what I currently do.
Career Achievements
Don't make a recruiter work hard to see what you're all about. Give it to them right on the first page. Use big dollar or resource numbers. It helps a recruiter to use a large easy to read font like Arial size 12 and list your crowning achievements.
Use Clear Section Divisions
Don't let text run all over the place, use section headers to break up the text. As mentioned earlier use some light colours to bring this to life.
Readability
Each line must be very easy to read. You might work in an environment that requires technical writing or detailed business writing but recruiters are trying to find out about your skill and experience they are no trying to see how many big words you can spin.
I've found all these help make my resume flow better and makeiteasyforarecruitertoscan your resume.
Project Manager Resume Make Yours Jump Off The Desk
