Stand Out in the Crowd - The 4 Step Process to Building a Resume
The Management/Key Personnel section of a proposal and the resumes within are a project owners first opportunity to get to know the team and meet the qualified personnel performing on the project.
Practically every government agency and project owner request the same information for proposal resumes including relevant experience, qualifications, education, certifications and training. This is a great opportunity to start building your proposal library. For more information on how, click here to learn more!
With that said, it is easy to fall into the copy/paste trap because proposal requirements are often so similar, but it is important to avoid that. Tailoring resumes to a specific scope is important because the way key personnel are presented may swing the needle in either direction.
Determine personnel qualification requirements in submission, evaluation and specification sections of the Request for Proposal (RFP) to decide which person(s) best meets or exceeds the requirements. For more information about how to determine the RFP requirements, check out this article here!
Once key personnel have all been selected, start building and tailoring resumes by following these steps.
1. Prove Ability to Meet Minimum Requirements
Insert factual information proving minimum requirements are met, including the following:
Years of experience performing the same/similar duties
Years of experience with Offeror
Education
Professional Training
Certifications
2. Include a Qualifications Paragraph with Career Highlights
Providing a qualifications paragraph is an effective way to tell the evaluation committee why this person is perfect for the role. This is a good place to highlight the individual’s relevant experience, accomplishments and awards. Additionally, include information about specific qualifications that are relevant to the scope of work for the RFP, for example:
Management of design-build/personnel teams
Management of specific scopes
Knowledgeable of specific software
Understanding of certain specifications
Experience with relevant client types
3. Provide Specific Examples of Relevant Project Experience
There are multiple ways to highlight relevant project experience that can be effective. Meridian West quantifies project experience with concrete numbers and a dollar value range, followed by a listing of relevant projects to include the title, location, dollar value and period of performance to show similarity in scope, size and recency.
Meridian West also likes to include a snapshot of the most relevant projects in paragraph format to provide further evidence of the similarity to the project and the individual’s ability to perform.
4. Tailor the Resume to the Scope of Work (SOW) and Project Owner
There are often instances where a contractor uses different wording than the RFP, but it is the same responsibility, or software for example. Using the wording from the RFP or SOW can help evaluators understand the persons knowledge and expertise match their requirements.
It is important to understand the project owner and SOW you are proposing to, provide experience working with that owner, relevant project experience and qualifications that match their project goals. It will benefit the entire proposal to provide qualified personnel!
Use these four steps to make your key personnel resumes stand out among the crowd. Or call Meridian West to help you show just how capable your team is at managing a successful project!
