Project managers are integral to the conceptualisation, carriage, coordination, and completion of company projects. Hiring the wrong project manager can be a worse nightmare than having no project manager. Only a qualified, organised, and ethical individual can fill the big shoes of this role. Due to time crunches, big companies with a lot on their plates might not have the time for extensive job advertising, filtration, and interviews. Hiring a misfit might derail the department or company and cause a loss of reputation and money. Entrusting the task of hiring the right person to project management recruitment agencies is the best move you can make.
As recruitment is the sole focus of the company, there is a slim possibility they will get sidetracked with other tasks. The agents will use the choicest tricks in the recruiters’ playbook to fetch your company a candidate with a glowing CV and a good work ethic. Here is a glimpse at how the agents weigh prospective candidates.
Character Assessment
There are individuals with mile-long lists of skills and an arsenal of qualifications. As crucial as skills and qualifications are, they are not everything. The ideal candidate should come with both credentials and character. Recruitment agents are good detectives and decent psychoanalysts. When interviewing a candidate, they make inferences about their personality by observing their body language (eye contact, shiftiness, facial expressions, etc.) and their tone and style of communication.
Leadership Skills
The candidate should demonstrate strong leadership qualities as project management involves decision-making and delegation. Project management recruitment agencies pose close- and open-ended questions, both situational and factual, to the interviewees. Their responses attest to their knowledge of project management and critical thinking faculties. It is impossible to guide and lead people without knowledge, and flawed thinking disrupts progress and causes hindrances instead of ironing out complications.
Recruitment agents will also evaluate the candidate’s responses to questions on group work and personal/collective responsibility. They will prefer applicants who are neither too docile nor too domineering.
Writing Skills
A project manager does not need to be Mark Twain or William Shakespeare, but they need to have decent writing skills. As much work-related communication occurs on mobile applications and over emails, the right candidate should be articulate, precise, and transparent. Miscommunication can lead to poor execution, finger-pointing, and frustration. An effective communicator will instruct and inspire teammates to give their best and complete the project with little to no complaints.
Technological Literacy
The pandemic brought technology for workplaces front and centre and proved that software and apps are indispensable to business operations. Individuals in positions of responsibility within companies need not be tech wizards but should know to leverage technology to accelerate and optimise work and communication. A project manager with working knowledge of the prospective employer’s tool suite (Google, Microsoft, and others) will be an asset to the company. Recruiting agents will assess a person’s technological literacy through tasks or LinkedIn profiles, CV formats, and application emails. Anyone will appreciate immaculate formatting and suitable file formats over a chaotic Frankenstein monster of an email or CV.
Wrapping It Up
Project management recruitment agencies are dab hands at seeking and finding great talent for companies of various ages, sizes, and industries. While the ultimate decision of who to hire rests with the employers, the agents ensure that no time or money is squandered on unserious, duplicitous, or inexperienced persons. Find the right project manager through a recruitment agency and get ready for success.
