How to write a project manager CV

Pick two projects you can explain. A list of ten names with no scope is harder to trust.

Sasha Bennett is fictional. The release in the example is invented.

1. Say what kind of project

Software, an office move, a process change. The tools and the people are different. Do not write a generic “stakeholder management” line for all of them.

2. Write scope as a decision

What was in, what moved out, and who agreed. “Delivered the project” does not say what the project was.

3. Make a risk specific

The thing that could slip, the sign you would see, and what you did. A red square on a slide is not a risk.

Before and after

Before

Managed stakeholders and delivered on time and on budget.

After

Moved a feature out of scope when the test failed twice, and recorded the new date before the steering note went out.

Before

Maintained the RAID log and ran weekly meetings.

After

Closed an action only when the evidence was in the ticket, and sent the list the same day.

Checklist

  • Each project has a scope, not only a name.
  • Dates that slipped are explained.
  • Certifications are ones you passed.
  • No private argument is quoted.
  • The document is a CV, with no photo or date of birth.

A finished example

Sasha Bennett is fictional.

Sasha Bennett

Glasgow · sasha.bennett@example.com

Eligible to work in the UK · office and remote

Personal statement

Project manager with six years delivering internal software changes. I write the scope, the owner and the date in one place, and I raise a risk when the date moves. Looking for a team that keeps one plan, not three slides.

Experience

Project manager

Kiln Systems (fictional) · April 2021 – present

  • Run projects from a written brief to release, with a single list of decisions and who made them.
  • In a made-up sample release, moved a feature out of scope when the test failed twice, and recorded the new date before the steering note went out.
  • Chase owners on the actions from the last meeting, and close an action only when the evidence is in the ticket.
  • Write a risk as the thing that could slip, the sign we would see, and what we will do, not as a colour on a slide.

Project coordinator

Civic Digital (fictional) · January 2019 – March 2021

  • Kept the plan, the RAID log and the meeting notes in the same folder, and sent the actions the same day.
  • Booked the people the plan named, and flagged a dependency when a supplier date moved.

Education

  • PRINCE2 Foundation, 2020
  • BA, 2018

Skills

  • Scope written in one place
  • RAID logs with an owner and a date
  • Meeting actions closed against evidence
  • Stakeholder notes that say what changed
  • Release plans a developer can follow

Use it on your own CV

FAQ

How many projects should I include?

Two that you can walk through are better than ten titles. Put the closest match to the advert first.

Should I name the method?

Name PRINCE2, Agile or another method only if you used it on the work, not only in a classroom.

What belongs in a personal statement?

The kind of project, the artefact you keep (one plan, a decision log) and the sort of team you want. Four to six lines.

Where is the example CV?

The project manager CV example uses the same fictional person.

Free job-ready CV checklist

A one-page checklist for any role. No name, and no account.