Essential Project Manager Skills [15+ Examples]

Essential Project Manager Skills 15+ Examples 15+ Essential Project Manager SkillsJuly 3, 2019 By Samuel Johns Reviewed by Mark Slack, CPRWFrom budget analysis to kollektiv oversight, as a project manager, you must prove you can balance priorities in a fast-paced environment. Read on for a look at the must-have project management skills.Build My Resume NowEffective project management requires a good balance of soft skills and hard skills. Our tips will give you the tools you need to impress yur boss or, if youre seeking a new job, the hiring manager. Below are 15 essential project manager skills to develop and hone as a professional.8 Important Soft Skills for Project ManagersSoft skills are important for project managers. Regardless of whether you have the required technical skills, if you cannot communicate effectively or stay organized, youll struggle to keep up with the demands of work.Here are eight examples of important project manager soft skills (to include in a resume or simply improve on your free time)1. LeadershipProject management has the word management in the title, so it should be unsurprising that leadership tops this particular list. Your leadership skills must be a point of focus, as you may need to guide people in person (e.g., a photographer) as well as virtually (e.g., a graphic designer).Your leadership skills must be a point of focus, as you may need to guide peopleAs a leader, you must work with every member of your team and track their progress just as you would your own. If someone isnt meeting your expectations, its your responsibility to provide feedback and address any obstacles preventing them from reaching their goal.2. Critical ThinkingFrom budget shortages to lost new hires, obstacles are inevitable. As a project manager, you need to think on your feet to find solutions. You must be able to analyze a situation and make quick decisions that will drive a project forward.Problem-solving and decision-making are two primary compo nents of critical thinking, so if youre job hunting, showcase these qualities throughout your project manager resume.Think about when youve used available resources to find a solution in a high-pressure situation.3. CommunicationAs a project manager, you will be expected to communicate with a diverse set of stakeholders. You must explain concepts thoroughly but concisely to keep everyone updated. You will report to a supervisor and clients, while also delegating work to other employees and contractors.Your communication skills will improve when you interact with colleagues both junior and senior to yourself.4. Time ManagementTime is of the essence when youre working on a deadline. Projects typically have several milestones leading up to a final due date, so you will need to track your teams progress to ensure you schliff on schedule.You also have your own set of responsibilities, so you must be comfortable balancing multiple schedules throughout a projects life cycle.You must be com fortable balancing multiple schedules throughout a projects life cycle.Your time management skills include your ability to plan and prioritize tasks around a clear timeframe.5. MentoringWhile leadership is primarily about delegation and building a cohesive unit of employees, mentorship involves coaching that unit to improve their skills and reach their goals.Consider mentoring an investment in your team your projects will become more streamlined as your employees develop under your supervision.6. OrganizationYoud be hard pressed to find an sekretariat that doesnt value organizational skills. In fact, its among the most vital project manager skills, since youll have to coordinate each members work and ensure that the project is in scope, on time, and within budget.Project managers must communicate effectively.There are a lot of moving pieces throughout the life cycle of a project, and it is your primary responsibility to keep them moving in an organized fashion.Organizing teams and p rojects includes fostering a productive office environment.7. Risk ManagementEach project has the potential for risks that can spring up at any given moment. In plus-rechnen to thinking on your feet, you must show that you can plan proactively.Even if you dont know what kind of problems might crop up, you can still implement backup plans so that you and your team can press on regardless.To reinforce your capacity to manage risk,set boundaries on the basis of careful assessment.8. NegotiationProject managers often act as the go-between for everyone involved in a project from clients to writers and designers. You must have negotiation experience, as you will often need to mediate in tricky situations.If a designer cannot meet a deadline, its your responsibility to tell the client. If the client requests something outside of the scope of the project, you must let them know its impossibleor requires a budget increase.You dont need legal experience to excel at negotiation and improve yo ur project coordinator skills. They can improve by communicating with colleagues when a lot is at stake.7 Key Technical Project Management SkillsWhile soft skills are essential for any project manager, there are several relevant technical skills that will improve your ability to manage a project. In particular, you should be familiar with agile project management and how to implement it into your operations.Agile project management encompasses multiple strategies for making your workflow as adaptable as possible. These methods break a project down into distinct tasks that can be followed through by different members of the team. Tip For job applications, your cover letter is a great place to include additional information and experience that doesnt fit onto your resume. Below are seven critical hard skills to develop so that you can impress in the interview or on your project manager cover letter.1. Cost ManagementEvery project has a specified budget that youre responsible for mana ging. This requires careful analysis of expected costs and regular check-ins to ensure youre on track to stay within budget.As a project manager, youll also need to recognize when the scope is unrealistic within the given budget. In this case, you must analyze the project needs to determine how to save on costs which could mean finding a new vendor with lower rates or cutting out a non-essential part of the process.Being agile in your decision-making is crucial to function as an effective project manager.2. Data AnalysisData analysis is a key skill for project managers.Analyzing data to increase productivity and improve your teams work is one of the top skills for project managers. This can include database management, resource management, financial analysis, and any other applications of data of which you have experience.3. KanbanKanban is a popular method of agile project management, as it streamlines the process by tracking the status of tasks. If youre unfamiliar with a Kanban b oard, take some time to understand the concept if you want to add it to your list of good project management skills.Kanban breaks down a projects tasks into three main categories. There are many ways to name these categories, but they basically classify tasks as to do, doing, and done.4. Computer SkillsKnowing your way around a computer is a key project management skill, since youll need to communicate and collaborate efficiently via email, messenger apps, and more. Basic knowledge of email and the world wide web is expected, but you should be familiar with other computer skills too.Basic knowledge of email and the internet is expected, but you should be familiar with other computer skills too.In particular, collaboration programs like Dropbox, Asana, and Slack are critical for effective project management. You may also need to demonstrate knowledge of programs, like WordPress and Adobe Creative Suite, in order to evaluate your teams progress.5. Performance TrackingEfficiency is key in successful project management. Performance tracking can reveal gaps in the workflow that prevent optimal productivity.Youll need to work closely with your team to evaluate their work from both quality and quantity standpoints. Work should meet your quality standards, but must also adhere to the schedule you have laid out.Recording your history of overseeing and assessing the work of others can be helpful to show to the hiring manager when you apply to a new job.6. Scrum ManagementAfter Kanban, scrum management is the commonest method of agile project management. Project managers typically fill the role of scrum master, who is responsible for removing obstacles in the teams way. This allows for peak productivity and a greater rate of success.As a process, scrum management shortens a large project into smaller sprints, which allows your team to remain focused on their tasks. Instead of looking ahead to one big deadline, a project is broken down into manageable portions that provid e clients with regular deliverables.7. Project Life Cycle SoftwareA projects life cycle typically falls into four distinct stages initiation, planning, execution, and resolution. Each company has its own terms for these stages and some break them down even further, so you will need to be familiar with the cycle used in your organization.Understanding the life cycle is vital for creating flow within the project. Many software applications can digitize your custom project life cycle, so hiring managers will be on the lookout to see if you are versed in any of these programs. If you are, be sure to include them in your project management skills list and specify the platforms youre most familiar with.Project Management Skills Key for Resumes Career GrowthIf youre hunting for a new job, your resume will be the key to winning an interview. These project management skills will help you curate your applications to make the most impact.If you can consistently present yourself as a skilled p rofessional, youre sure to impress hiring managers during your quest to find fulfilling work.Feeling inspired? Explore our downloadable resume templates or use our free resume builder to create your custom resume in no time.

Jobscan Why It Works - Jobscan Blog

Jobscan Why It Works - Jobscan BlogPosted on April 4, 2016November 11, 2019 by Richard Poulin Richard Poulin, resume expert, weighs in on JobscanThis is a behind-the-scenes article. It reveals how Jobscan welches created, from the very mouth of its founders James Hu and Michael Lee.You binnensee, just like them, I run a small business in the job search space. And when I discovered Jobscan, I thought it welches a great tool that is, if it did work as advertised.Copy this, paste that, clickety-click, poof Heres a few tips to get interviews. Yeah, I welches skeptical.James and I eventually got in touch, when I was researching the topic of applicant tracking ordnungsprinzips (ATS). And after getting to know him, I started digging a bit. (You cant just ask straight out if someones full of baloney after 5 minutes, right? Not a good first-date move.) And he actually had real answers. My reaction was Why isnt this on your website?I told James that Jobscan needed to let its audience know how it was built, but especially how they tested it, to make sure it worked.And since I enjoyed the topic, I figured I could interview the two founders and write this article, if they allowed me to plug my business. So, check out Resume Hacking if you need help with resume accomplishments. (Hows that for transparency?)During that discussion, I learned a lot about the story of James and Michael, and how Jobscan came about. This will have to wait for another article, whichshould be published right here in a few days.This article is really about demonstrating how/why Jobscan works.The idea dealing with resume keywordsJames created the original, nameless tool when he was looking for a job himself, and wanted to automate his own keyword-tailoring process. He felt he was wasting too much time, so he created what would become Jobscan.At first, it was only for his personal use. However, the tool served him so well that he told his friends, who told theirs, and Jobscan was born.The idea behind J obscan was simple paste your resume, paste the job ad, and Jobscan looks for similarities and differences. And it tells you what you need to change to optimize your application. This is Jobscans process. Simple, right?And thats where you might be skeptical, as I was. Is it really that simple? Can a relatively basic keyword analysis tool help you jump over such a major hurdle (the automated resume screening)?What convinced me was the testing that James and Michaelperformed on applicant tracking systems (ATS), the software that does the resume screening.One of their main problems was that they needed to study many ATS (of which there are hundreds). And ATS are full-fledged, business-grade systems. The schriftart of software that is implemented, not simply installed. In other words, they werent comparing movie editors for a vacation video.They did look for an ATS for Jobscan (to use for their own Human Resources needs), so that provided them with a first access to some ATS. But they we nt further.How do you test many applicant tracking systems?James and Michaeltapped into their network to find HR advisors whod let them test out their tool. These people were using ATS every day, as part of their jobs. So after five oclock, theyd bring chocolate and run a couple of tests. The goal was to analyze how software understood a resume. The software, in this case, was a resume parser, an important piece of the applicant tracking system. The resume parser scans your resume, looking for chosen keywords. It can also extract your name and contact info, diplomas, companies youve worked for, and so on.Heres what they did. They made slight variations of a couple of resumes, which they fed to each ATS, analyzing the results at the other end. Add an s here and there. Remove the hyphen. Add Master of Business Administration, and search for MBA. Change the format. Stuff like that.What did the machine understand? And, more importantly, when was it confused?If youve been hanging around here at Jobscan for a while, you already know about all ansicht rules you have to follow, to make sure your resume is easy to digest by the applicant tracking system. Well, for the testing phase, they were systematically breaking these rules, one at a time, monitoring results.ATS just arent that smartThey ran all sorts of tests, which, in a very non-dramatic way, confirmed what most articles were saying ATS dont work that well. So you better have good keywords.And this wasnt a single test at one company, on some system that hadnt been updated since Windows XP. These were serious tests that covered a decent amount of the top 10 ATS out there. In other words, they tested systems that are very prominent right now in the job search space, which often screen out resumes for bogus reasons.James and Michaelsoon realized the issues were fairly obvious. In other words, flaws werent buried deeply they would surface regularly. Youve been a program manager for 5 years? Youre out of luck if the recruiter is searching for program management unless the recruiter also searches for program manager.There were a few instances where their testing didnt trigger rejection, contrary to what was expected. For example, using tables (which is great for visual organization) or presenting information in the header/footer was not a problem for most ATS.But generally speaking, ATS proved to be very temperamental gatekeepers. And Jobscan was adapted to address that issue, in light of the testing performed by its founders.And it works.Ive asked James for a few examples of bentzer feedback.In what used to take me hoursto handcraft my standard resume to fit a job descriptionI can get the meat of it to match 80 to 90% in about 10 minutes. Quite a timesaver, said user Sam who is searching for technical project manager jobs.Another usertestimonial comes from George, a material planner with an MBA, who credits using Jobscan with a bump in interview requests, In the first two days after adjusting m y resume from Jobscan and placing it on LinkedIn, I received emails from three recruiters and had one interview.ATS are useful (if you work in HR)Generally speaking, the recruiters theyve discussed with were not very fond of ATS. (Thats also been my experience.) But in the world of LinkedIn and smartphones, HR pros need a tool to handle the massive amount of candidates, however imperfect that tool may be. And its not just about screening resumes. ATS also help with communication, maintaining the candidate database and so on.Another useful thing about ATS, from the employers perspective, is that the system can help to demonstrate compliance with Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) laws. Were fair because we use computers to screen out resumes.In other words, these systems are helpful, despite their flaws. And theyre not going anywhere. Ed Struzik, an International Business Machines Corp. expert on the systems, puts the proportion of large companies using them in the high 9 0% range, and says it would be very rare to find a Fortune 500 company without one. (Update New research shows that 99% of Fortune 500 use ATS.)If you want to see this in a positive light, you could accept that ATS companies arent too focused on making resume scanning smarter. And then, use that knowledge to your advantage by giving keywords extra attention.Humans will look beyond the keywordsATS will certainly get more sophisticatedover the years. But that heavily depends on developments in artificial intelligence and natural language processing, which are currently not smart enough to make the deep analysis required to really understand your resume.In the future, maybe a resume that talks about financial reporting and audit will be associated to an accountant. But for now, the word accountant better show upThat being said, humans are still making the final decision. Youll need accomplishments and measurable results to show how you stand out as a candidate and get the interview. Bu t to get your resume in front of human eyes, you must get through the first selection hoop, where keywords are critical. And you can tailor keywords on your own, of course, or use Jobscan to accelerate the process.About RichardRichard Poulin is a resume writer and absatzwirtschaft professional with 12 years of experience.He spent most of his career as a proposal manager with PwC, the largest consulting firm in the world. His role there was to help accountants and business consultants stand out in the marketplace. Thats where he learned everything about resumes.Today, hes working on a business of his own, Resume Hacking. He writes e-books to offer tailored resume advice, by profession. Richard has a bachelors degree in communication, masters degree in political science.Facebook Commentswpdevar_comment_1 span,wpdevar_comment_1 iframewidth100% important