Your CV Needs More Than Just Words

In the world of project controls, your CV is more than just a list of duties—it’s a reflection of your ability to deliver results. Too often, planning engineers fill their resumes with a long list of responsibilities, but hiring managers don’t just want to read what you claim to do; they want to see proof that you can do it well.

Most planners often write the following duties:

• Develop a cost and resource-loaded baseline
• Prepare schedule updates
• Prepare progress reports
• Communicate progress issues
• Create progress presentations
• Perform delay analysis and prepare Extension of Time claims
• Develop and follow-up recovery measures

Sounds familiar? Almost everyone writes the above duties. However, It is quite common for companies to receive hundreds, if not thousands, of job applications.

If you want to stand out, you need to back up your claims with evidence. Here’s how you can transform your CV from a generic list of tasks into a compelling showcase of your expertise.

1. Do the Work First—Then List It

It’s easy to write “Developed detailed project schedules” or “Performed delay analysis” in your CV, but have you truly mastered these skills? If you haven’t built a strong portfolio of real-world examples, your CV is just empty words. Instead of just listing duties, take the time to prepare actual reports and develop dashboards that demonstrate your expertise then attach the same to your CV.

To maintain confidentiality, consider anonymizing the data in your reports while preserving the structure, methodology, and key insights.

2. Share Your Power BI Dashboard

A well-structured Power BI dashboard is a game-changer in project controls. If you’ve built dashboards that visualize project progress, risks, or earned value performance, why not showcase them? Include a link to your interactive Power BI dashboard in your CV so potential employers can see the depth of your analysis. This proves your technical capability but also makes your CV stand out.

The best part? Power BI lets you publish the dashboard to a web link, allowing reviewers to access and perform interactive progress analysis without prior Power BI knowledge or software installation.

3. People Pay Attention to Value, Not Just Words

When hiring managers review CVs, they are looking for candidates who can bring immediate value. By attaching sample reports, delay analysis, and claims documents, you provide tangible proof of your expertise. These documents showcase your understanding of construction claims that employers actively seek. Hiring managers are busy. They don’t have time to guess statements or interview everyone. But when they see a well-structured report or a dynamic dashboard, they immediately recognize your value. The more you showcase your actual work, the more credibility you build.

4. Back Up Your Words with Evidence

In project controls, trust is built on facts and data. Your Planning Engineer's CV should be no different. Every skill or achievement you claim should be supported by evidence:

• Have you developed cost and resource-loaded baseline schedules? Share the XER file as a downloadable link.
• Are you following the best practices of making schedule changes and maintaining the schedule? Attach your master schedule changes log.
• Have you improved reporting processes? Share a sample report that highlights your analytical skills.
• Have you successfully handled claims? Provide a well-structured claim document that demonstrates your forensic delay analysis.
• Have you prepared high-quality progress presentations to your clients? Attach them to your CV.

If you are concerned about confidentiality, anonymize the data in your reports while keeping the structure, methodology, and insights intact. This allows you to present real work without breaching confidentiality agreements. Your CV should not just tell a story—it should show it. In project controls, data-driven decisions are everything so prove that you can walk the talk. Share your dashboards, reports, and real-world examples. Doing so will not only help you land interviews but also establish your reputation as a results-driven planning engineer. Presenting a portfolio instead of a CV is not a new concept - it’s common among artists and architects. However, in a highly analytical field like project controls, having a portfolio has become essential for standing out.

The next time you update your CV, ask yourself: Am I just listing skills, or am I proving them?

Regards,

Osama Saad, MBA, PMP, PSP, CCP, PMI-SP