Hidden Depths: Not All Skills Show Up on a Resume

  PM Network  

There's often more to project team members than meets the eye. In an era of ultra-lean teams, uncovering the skills that don’t make their way onto a résumé gives project managers some much-needed backup.

“I’ve certainly found that there were times when there wasn’t the budget for something and it was necessary to get creative,” says Barbara A. Fuller, PMP, head of Process and Project Solutions, a project management coaching and consulting firm in Somerset, New Jersey, USA.

A team member who’s active in the local theater troupe might be the ideal person to deliver a training program on short notice. Someone with a flair for design could be just the one to help craft a compelling project presentation.

“Whether they are a leader in their community or the captain of a cricket team, people can contribute a lot more than just the skills that are listed on their résumé—and often more than was anticipated when they were recruited,” says Shailendra Kadre, PMP, a Bangalore, India-based senior program manager with financial software firm Yodlee.

Even a person’s upbringing can translate into work competencies. “People with large joint families may handle group dynamics better and their social quotient may be higher than those from nuclear families,” he says. “The…

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