I don't have any commercial links with The Hub, but I'm interested to see the results of their survey. In the meantime, what things do you think are important for recruiters? Saving Changes...
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Ian NobleParents And Children TogetherReading, United Kingdom
I suppose this will depend a lot on the employer and the types of projects (and hence project managers) they have.
For me when recruiting "generic" project managers I look in a few areas:
1. General planning and project control experience and skills.
2. Drive and problem solving. I am looking for Project Managers who do not like to be beaten when issues and problems come up. Successful project managers have a good drive to make the project a success.
3. Good interpersonal skills. Can relate to and communicate well with all levels in the organisation.
4. Ability to cope with ambiguity. This is especially important for those projects that are not yet well defined or scoped.
There is probably lots more, but these would be my main areas. Saving Changes...
Teresa WhelanPMO Principal Consultant - Program Manager| ALON Inc.Arlington, Va, United States
I would add to Proven Experience as a PM with a track record of successfully managing jobs, the following attributes:
Flexibility and Adaptability - able to applly PM Best Practices ina way that works. Rigid and inflexible use of PM tools or any tools seldom work.
Understanding that PMI offers some best practices and not "rules" for people to hide behind.
Ability to listen to users while still doing the role of a PM.
I would also agree with Ian. In addition Leadership is a must, drive Projects forward, make things happen. Managing business expectations and specifically sponsors and project board. Saving Changes...
Is this specific to UK jobs? Not sure what the organizational corporate style of European companies are as oppose to USA, but where I'm from its very relative to what industry you working in and the maturity level of the employer. Most companies want to see an impressive track record of successful projects and at least some cross-functional team leadership.
Most employers here are looking for PM's with specialized backgrounds that cater to their industry or project needs. Saving Changes...
Dax, certainly here in the USA, recruiters are looking to fill just in time spots so more specific skillsets are called out to get the right kind of potential candidates quickly into advertized jobs. Certainly, if they want a general PMs there would be a huge response of potential candidates; the time to market for projects is short; so is the recruiting process. Certainly, they want a successful track record of project and references to go along with them. The problem all over lately are a few things: People with the right skillsets have stopped looking, few jobs and good candidates aren't available because they are already on jobs or current contracts, & companies are just not hiring.
Naomi gave a great answer based on what I see in the job market now -- recruiters want a very close match to their client's job posting.
I see employers open and close job posting within days in the US market. They can quickly get a large number of resumes from talented people, and can hire more experienced people to do the same job at salaries or hourly rates below what they paid five years ago.
In this environment, I see recruiters demanding that candidates have specific industry or technology experience. They look for candidates who have already lead similar projects, or who have experience in the industry.
Recruiters do not have the time to evaluate leadership skills or the quality of deliverables. The hiring companies care about these things, but recruiters (whether they work for the hiring company or not) have an incentive to quickly find candidates that closely match the job requirements. In this job market, they can do so very quickly, so they demand a very close match.
I hope that employers are looking for good communication skills, ability to motivate, and so on. I do not expect any recruiter to look at a candidate that deeply, though. They are looking for demonstrated experience and a solid resume. Their job is to match candidates to the positions, not to ensure the long-term success of every employee.
I do see more companies hiring now, but there are enough good people still out of work that recruiters can be very choosy.
If a woman has to choose between catching a fly ball and saving an infant's life, she will choose to save the infant's life without even considering if there is a man on base.
