Project management’s core role in increasing workplace productivity is shown in the predicted increase in its demand by 2027. According to PMI, this increase in demand quantifies 87.7 million project management role openings.
The above data shows the positive prospects of pursuing a career in project management. Despite this, we still have project managers who are still unable to land their dream jobs. With a well-crafted portfolio, these project managers can effectively showcase their expertise and increase their chances of landing the job.
In this article, we would be sharing actionable steps that explains how to create a project management portfolio that sets the project manager apart from the many other candidates and positions them as an investment to the organization, not a liability. Read till the end to learn how to create portfolios for project managers that can attract and land better jobs.
Let’s get started!
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What is a Project management portfolio?
A project management portfolio is a comprehensive and organized collection of materials that showcases a project manager’s skills, past experiences and achievements in previous work. However, this is only the surface of what a project management portfolio does.
A portfolio in project management goes as far as communicating the project manager’s brand. The portfolio includes your values, styles, and every unique aspect of yourselves that differentiates you from others. A project management portfolio subtly shapes how a recruiter perceives the project manager and increases the chances of landing a job.
From this, you can see that creating a portfolio goes beyond just throwing in the best of past projects into a place. There is an art and intentionality that should be involved in creating one. However, before we go on to laying the steps to creating a winning project management portfolio, we need to first clarify one matter; project management portfolios are not project portfolio management.
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Project portfolio management is a centralized management system that allows you, as a project manager, to collectively manage and inspect multiple projects with the aim that they align with the organization’s goal. It is an important system for effective project management, and therefore having experience in it is a plus. This, however, does not erase the need for a project management portfolio. It only points to one more thing to include in your project management portfolio. Now onto the main thing.
How to Create a Project Management Portfolio
To create a compelling project management portfolio that gives that extra push to the résumé, here are some steps that you should follow:
Identify target audience and portfolio goals
This is a crucial first step in creating a project management portfolio. Project management portfolios may be targeted to employers within a specific industry or a freelance client. It could be aimed at getting long-term job offers or a one-off gig.
Identifying the person and the goal for which the portfolio is created determines the project to include and sparks ideas on how the portfolio is to be organized.
Choose relevant projects
To do this, make a list of all the outstanding projects managed in the past. Keeping the target audience in mind, select projects from the list that are relevant to the target audience.
It is also important to ensure that the projects chosen showcase the capacity of the project manager to carry out diverse aspects of the project management role; from costing to stakeholders communication.
Gather necessary data for each project
Having decided on the projects that will go into the portfolio, the next step is to gather factual data for the projects. These data will be included in the portfolio. The information to gather includes:
- The project documentation which communicates the scope of the project and the role to play.
- Performance metrics of the project
- Testimonial from client
Highlight key skills
The next thing to note down are the key skills the project manager has. To get more ideas on skills to include, carefully analyze each project. Identify the strategies used to achieve results, the challenges faced and how they were solved. This can help uncover skills the project manager has that moved the project towards its goals.
Source: Freepik
Organize your project management portfolio
With all the necessary information for your portfolio ready, the next step is to put the various pieces together. To do this, the project manager needs to first determine if the portfolio will be digital or physical. While both portfolio formats have their advantages, a digital portfolio is a must-have as it is easily accessible and can be linked to social media profiles like LinkedIn to increase visibility.
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After this has been decided, the project manager needs to properly structure the portfolio such that it crafts a narrative that impresses the intended audience. The next section answers the question of how to organize the project management portfolio.
Key Components of a Project Management Portfolio
Here is a checklist of the different sections a professional project management portfolio should contain. These components lead the recruiter in a coordinated flow through the project manager’s professional journey.
Title page and contact details
This is a professional cover that should carry the project manager’s name and contact details. You should also Add a tagline that briefly captures the unique value the project manager promises to uphold with every client they work with.
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Table of contents
This is an organized list of the important sections within the portfolio, and it serves as a blueprint for both the project manager and the recruiter. Explicitly, it guides the project manager while they put together the various pieces of the portfolio and makes it possible for the recruiter to navigate the portfolio with ease.
Personal Statement
This is an important aspect of the project management portfolio that shares the project manager’s career goals, project management philosophy and the specific values they offer.
Project case studies
This is the section that contains the work experiences the project manager has decided to include in the portfolio. This section offers a narrative that gives insight into the project manager’s ability to deliver quality results in varying conditions.
You should include core components while crafting this section. They include:
Project Overview
This part gives a summary of the project’s context, goals and objectives. Moreso, it further helps the recruiter to understand what your project is about and hence appreciate the project manager’s role in the project.
The project manager’s role
Here, the project manager is to spell out their responsibilities in the project and the part they played in making the project successful.
Challenges faced
In this session, the project manager gets to showcase their problem-solving skills by sharing challenges they encountered in the project and how they were able to tackle them.
Solutions implemented
This talks about how the project manager met the project objectives and goals. It identifies the strategies and methods they employed in carrying out their role in the project.
Results
Here the project manager shows quantifiable data that shows the effectiveness of the strategies used for the project. This section also strengthens the project manager’s claim on their skill and unique promise.
Skill highlight
This section focuses on the project manager’s core skills. It is important that each skill mentioned or discussed here clearly points to a case study that showcases the skill in action. This way the recruiter gets to see and confirm the skills themselves.
Tools and Technologies Used
Effective project management requires the use of different project management software to increase efficiency. In creating your portfolio, you will need to list out the project management software that you have used and how proficient you are at using it.
Certifications, Education and Professional Development
This section talks about the formal education of the project manager. It includes certifications acquired and courses on project management completed. It also highlights efforts at professional development like attending workshops and seminars.
Visuals and Multimedia
To create a compelling project management portfolio, it is important to include visuals that easily communicate the project manager’s work. With 87% of marketers using videos to reduce the bounce rate of their website, the project manager can exploit video presentations to encourage engagement and stay memorable in the recruiter’s mind for a while. Use charts and graphs to effectively communicate result metrics for each project.
Feedback and Testimonials
Apart from visuals and multimedia, your portfolio should also have endorsement from third parties like colleagues and clients that testify of the project manager’s work ethics and capabilities to deliver results. Once completed, submit the portfolio to clients.
Conclusion
Creating a project management portfolio requires the careful selection of projects to include, proper organisation and the representation of relevant information by using clear visuals. With a clear messaging of the unique value offered, real case studies to prove their expertise, clear visuals to keep recruiters engaged and testimonials from third parties to increase credibility, project managers can confidently attract and close more job offers.
