Whether you are an engineer, marketing professional, construction manager or, of course, a project manager, project management skills can be applied to a whole range of roles and industries.
Understandably so, as these skills can be extremely beneficial in any workplace.
That is why it is important that you highlight relevant project management skills on your CV.
In the guide below, we’ll share some of the top project management skills you should include in your application to boost your chances of landing an interview.
Contents
Essential project management skills
Let’s start by looking at the essential project management skills that are always going to stand you in good stead. These include:
- Planning – e.g. “Organised consultations with multiple key stakeholders to meticulously plan and agree on project budgets
- Scheduling – e.g. “Created a monthly schedule outlining the content that needed to be produced and sent this to the relevant contractors with deadlines and detailed briefs”
- Risk management – e.g. “Reviewed project briefs to identify potential risks and introduced measures to mitigate or solve problems before they can impact the project”
- Time management – e.g. “Set manageable goals for each stage of the project, including a detailed list of activities and tasks, to ensure that all projects were complete on time”
- Teamwork – e.g. “Arranged in-depth research and data analysis to provide useful insights to the marketing team, helping them to transform this data into actionable ideas”
- Leadership – e.g. “Oversaw a workforce of 50 construction workers and engineers during a 6-month project”
- Decision making – e.g. “Assisted the hiring manager in shortlisting applicants and deciding which contractors to select for the upcoming project”
- Communication – e.g. “Pitched a £1m project to the board using compelling, persuasive and powerful language and digital media to give an in-depth look at the brief”
- Problem solving – e.g. “Worked closely with the tech team to resolve a backlog of 100 issues and bugs within the software in preparation for its launch date”
- Deadline management – e.g. “Managed 3 projects of over £35,000 at once and every deadline was met or exceeded”
Leadership skills
A big part of being a leader is managing projects, budgets, employees and more, so there are lots of important leadership skills you need to showcase on your CV, including:
- Delegation – e.g. “Delegated smaller tasks to junior landscapers to free up the expert’s time to focus on critical design features”
- Collaboration – e.g. “Collaborated with the development team to run tests and find the root cause of a major bug to get the project back on track”
- Negotiation – e.g. “Helped to negotiate terms and budgets for an innovative new security app”
- Training – e.g. “Implemented and oversaw a ServiceDesk Plus training program for new team members to teach them how to use this platform to reach specific goals”
- Conflict resolution – e.g. “Arranged a meeting with key stakeholders to discuss why deadlines had been missed and find an amicable solution that worked for everyone involved”
- Performance management – e.g. “Developed and introduced a monthly 360-degree performance review strategy to support career development and offer feedback to individuals”
- Supervision – e.g. “Supervised a team of 20 in all construction activities whilst working on a huge commercial project site”
- Motivation – e.g. “Innovative and motivated IT project manager with 10 years experience working for huge brands including Sage and Atotech Ltd.”
- Compliance – e.g. “Ensured all employees complied with stringent health and safety regulations whilst meeting with vendors in the wake of Covid-19”
- Adaptability – e.g. “After last-minute budget cuts, modified the materials and suppliers used to slash the cost of resources by 40%”
Planning skills
Planning is an important part of making sure any project runs smoothly and there are several related skills you need to highlight, these might include the following:
- Organisation – e.g. “Highly organised and confident project manager with 15+ years experience in the construction industry”
- Budgeting – e.g. “Partnered with the tech team to set budgets for new automation initiatives, saving the company £10,000 a year in the long term
- Forecasting – e.g. “Used Syft to monitor cash flow and create data-driven financial forecasts
- Goal setting – e.g. “Regularly met with project stakeholders to clarify and assess project goals and scope, determining whether deadlines and budgets are on track
- Resource planning – e.g. “Generated a detailed resource plan to identify, arrange and secure the resources required to complete each project”
- Presentation – e.g. “As ERP project manager, confidently presented plans, tasks and budgets to stakeholders and contractors to finalise strategies and timelines”
- Creativity – e.g. “Strategic project manager with 12 years of experience delivering creative marketing campaigns for agencies in the cosmetic industry
- Strategic thinking – e.g. “Successfully developed and introduced a 3-year improvement plan to streamline project management strategies moving forward”
- Analytical Skills – e.g. “Collected and analysed data such as budget, resources and task progression, to generate detailed reports and improve performance by an average of 25%”
- Trendspotting – e.g. “Reviewed data from the last five projects to better understand project trends and implement new strategies, tools or contractors where necessary”
Technical skills
There are lots of tools that can be used throughout the project lifecycle, ranging from the basics to industry-specific platforms. Which skills you choose will depend on your industry and experience. Here are some ideas to inspire you:
- Timesheets – e.g. “Analysed time sheets from Asana to create data-backed projections for future timelines, cutting out the guesswork”
- PowerPoint – e.g. “Improved project delivery and organisational productivity through clear, concise and engaging PowerPoint presentations”
- Task management – e.g. “Used Zoho Projects to deploy automation and save time on routine tasks, improving productivity by up to 33% in the first year”
- Video conferencing – e.g. “Engaged in Microsoft Teams calls with managers and their teams to gather regular updates when unable to visit the site in person”
- Agile software – e.g. “Employed Jira to keep stakeholders up to date and ensure the whole team was on the same page at every stage”
- Data analysis – e.g. “Strategic data project coordinator proficient in using Oracle, Google Analytics and MS Access for data analysis”
- Bookkeeping software – e.g. “Introduced Xero to all regional offices to make budgeting, data entry and generating reports easier throughout the project lifecycle”
- Excel spreadsheets – e.g. “Tracked progress across 5 different active campaigns using Excel spreadsheets to stay on top of tasks, assignees, duration and budgets”
- Project roadmap – e.g. “Used Gantt charts to organise tasks and create visual descriptions of the project timeline, including the start and end dates of each stage”
- Change management – e.g. “Used Freshservice to mitigate risks and maintain cohesion across departments during a large business restructure, simultaneously improving change rollout efficiency”
What are project management skills?
Project management skills are those traits that allow you to take an idea, activity or project and see it through from start to finish. The broader term ‘project management’ encapsulates planning, budgeting, problem-solving and a whole host of other key skills that help you to execute tasks and achieve your goals.
Leadership skills are also a big part of this as many professionals managing projects or overseeing these activities will be working with a team.
Why are project management skills important?
Project management skills are vital across a range of positions and industries. This is because all organisations need productive employees who can manage their workload and complete the tasks assigned to them.
This allows the business to run as efficiently as possible and ensures that every objective and task is completed on time and within the set budget.
Recruiters want to see these important skills because they demonstrate your ability to schedule, prioritise and complete different tasks, no matter how big or small.
How to include project management skills on your CV
If you have a broad range of project management skills, you need to know how best to showcase these on your CV. Here we share some of our top tips.
In your CV profile
Your key skills section is the easiest way to set out your most important skills, but this doesn’t give you the opportunity to go into much detail.
That’s where your personal profile comes in.
This section should give a brief but engaging overview of who you are and your most impressive skills and experience. This includes your top project management skills and achievements in relation to the role.
In your jobs
Your employment section is your chance to really go into detail. Start with a quick introduction, followed by a bullet-pointed list of your most important and impressive responsibilities and achievements.
To make this section really stand out, highlight keywords from the job description and use these where relevant. This will prove you’ve got the right skills for the job and that you took the time to tailor your application.
What to avoid
Last but not least, it’s also helpful to know what to avoid when highlighting your project management skills on your CV.
For one thing, you should never lie or even exaggerate on your application as you will be found out. It’s also important that you don’t use too many cheesy or overused cliches.
Finally, don’t try