🔥 This powerful and smart tweak to your resume will fix your career
Why should every project manager strive to become a senior-level PM as soon as possible?
Therefore, if you are an ambitious project manager, you’ll find the information below EXTREMELY valuable. By the end of this mini-email course, you’ll learn the most efficient way to become a Senior Project Manager. What is the Best Approach to Career Development?I’ve been managing IT projects for over 12 years, and for about 10 years, I’ve been training and mentoring other project managers. Here’s what I discovered. All successful project managers had one thing in common: All of them intentionally built their resumes. They worked to craft a resume they aspire to. But I’m not talking about your ordinary resume, which most people in the world have. There’s a specific way a project manager can describe their experience. If my goal were to boost your career and I had only 8 hours with you… …I would spend those hours writing you an Achievements-Based Resume! That’s because any career advancement starts with one and the same action: You apply to a job opening with your resume. You rely on pure luck if you don’t have a resume that grabs the recruiter’s attention from the first glance. So, let me explain how you can tweak your resume to get a senior project manager role. And what’s even more important, it will help you transform from a self-doubting, self-educated manager into a world-class professional PM. Let’s break it down. Why is Running Multiple Projects Harmful?Let’s identify why so many project managers get stuck in their careers running multiple projects. Why do they need help to make the next career breakthrough? Most project managers start by re-inventing project management. They collect bits and pieces of information from their hands-on experience and colleagues. Then, they absorb all the theory from books, online courses, and certifications. However, this only leads to information overload without an opportunity to implement those new skills. All PMs must position themselves as professionals, experts, and inspiring leaders from day one. But unfortunately, they feel like impostors because they learned everything online from unreliable sources. This leads us to the most common and most harmful conclusion: “I just need more practical experience to become a Senior Project Manager.” That’s where many PMs get stuck leading multiple small projects for 5+ years. The fact is leading small projects using simplified project management approaches doesn’t provide the required skills to become a proficient senior project manager. Moreover, at some point, it’s almost impossible to transfer all your small projects to other PMs so that you can start a big and complex one. You end up in the trap you created yourself. The only reasonable option is to change companies and start from scratch as a Senior PM, but this comes with even more challenges. You Apply, But Recruiters Don’t RespondMost people think about their resumes only when they have already lost their job. This creates a vicious cycle of impostor syndrome: You are in dire need of income, you quickly update your resume, you undervalue your achievements, you sell yourself short, you feel that’s all you deserve, you are unsatisfied with your job, you quit… cycle restarts. But here’s the real problem: Unfortunately, most project managers just coast along. They don’t intentionally build their knowledge and skills. Instead, they assume their current projects provide them with all the required experience. So, it looks like this: You pull available chunks of information from your experience, skills, and certifications into your resume. But you limit yourself to only things that naturally happen in your career. You do it HOPING that you can find the required skills and experience in those buckets. You HOPE you can match the requirements of a job description. Unfortunately, that’s what EVERYONE else does. And you get lost in the crowd. What do Recruiters Actually See?Let’s compare these two candidates for a Senior Project Manager role. Candidate A:
Candidate B:
It’s not a joke! That’s precisely what recruiters see. Most project managers put their responsibilities in the experience section. But without additional explanation, these are buzzwords that have little meaning. As a result, recruiters can’t really assess your skills and compare them to those of other candidates. Instead, they start comparing years of experience, company names, and the number of grammar mistakes in your resume. You can only hope that recruiters will stumble on your resume. That’s because you compete with hundreds of other candidates who look the same as you on paper. But there’s a better way! You can stand out from the crowd of applicants. You can position yourself as an exceptional candidate to such a degree that recruiters can’t compare you to other typical candidates! How to Become an Exceptional CandidateSo, instead of describing your experience as typical responsibilities, you need to reframe it as achievements. In other words, create an Achievements-Based Resume. But there’s art and science in how you write achievements! A well-written achievement:
Why does this approach work better than traditional resumes?When you nail and write your achievements correctly, you address the needs of recruiters and hiring managers who will read your resume. You’ll help them make a safe and smart choice by selecting you for an interview. This approach addresses what recruiters report themselves. Check this out:
The True Reason This Approach Works So Well!Additionally, this approach will work for you because 99.9% of people will not spend time and energy rewriting their current resumes. Their impostor syndrome will stand in the way. You may feel like Jenna did: “It was always a challenge for me to even look at my resume, and I don’t even want to mention how I felt editing it or rewriting it… It was always like a torture. But think about it! Once you write the Achievements-Based Resume, it will serve you for the rest of your career. You’ll spend a few hours now, but it will pay dividends for many years to come. All you need is a framework to convert your responsibilities into achievements. After that, it’s a matter of writing. You may think you are not a good writer. You don’t have the required marketing or copywriting skills. But don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. In the following emails, I’ll share powerful techniques to help you write an irresistible resume. So, the results are well worth the effort: “While writing my achievements, I found out how much I had learned, created, and achieved. The last few years were so much more than I thought!” - Jenna Your HomeworkSo, to become a senior project manager and get a fulfilling career where you can apply all your knowledge and skills, you must do your homework. I’ve created a list of easy-to-implement ideas that generate additional value in any project management environment. I hope it will help you recollect your key achievements. Step #1: Click here to download the 40 Ways to Generate Additional Value. Step #2: Identify at least three achievements you made in your current job. You don’t need to think about how to express them; simply list the accomplishments you are proud of. The ones that generated additional value for your company, clients, or team members. Step #3: Reply to this email and tell me about your most outstanding achievement—the one you always tell stories about to your friends and colleagues. In the next email, I’ll explain how to convert your boring responsibilities into powerful achievements that speak volumes about you. But do your homework now. I am looking forward to hearing from you!
P.S. If you have read this far, you do want to become a senior project manager or you want a fulfilling career. However, your transformation can only start with an action. Just absorbing information won’t help you. That’s why you should do the homework! Commit yourself to start the journey to becoming a Senior PM and get the fulfilling career you deserve. |