How to Recruit Project Managers?

Recruitment performs the essential role of bringing in the requisite human capital into the organisation and can significantly impact organisational performance. But, unfortunately, good project managers who can successfully manage very demanding projects are still a very scarce resource.

Finding and recruiting the right project managers has become an even more important challenge for many organisations today. So how do recruiters go about attracting the correct project management talent?

The starting point should understand that Knowledge, Skills and Abilities (KSA’s) are the Building Blocks of Project Manager Competencies.

A recent study analysed job advertisement data under these KSA classifications. The table below summarises the top 5 KSA’s sought after by employers.

For example, under the Knowledge category, Education (28.61%) is the most cited competency, followed by project management Certification (20.47%).

This type of understanding will help human resource managers perform the recruitment process more effectively. It identifies the required knowledge, skills and abilities and helps prepare the job advertisement accordingly to find the right person for the project.

It will also mean that firms can articulate the competencies they need more precisely and that the advertisements they make become more and more informative.

*Data source "Recruiting Project Managers". Ashan, Ho & Khan. Project Management Journal Oct 2013