How would you present a failure to complete a project on-time / on-budget in an interview/resume?
Example Scenario: (some ranting may appear here)
I am currently working in a project which (in my opinion) will exceed either the budget or time constraints set in the project contract. The manager of the project is responsible for purchasing/arranging for certain equipment and services which he/she has not done so. The team has suggested several avenues to resolve the problem but the manager refuses to listen to them and insists on using his/her original solution. The team is frustrated with the manager and as a result have been going on abnormally frequent leave and medical leave. The team is now literally not doing any work (since they cannot continue without the said prerequisite). The manager's superior wants this current manager in the position as it is the manager's first project and the superior wants the manager to learn how to manage a project. It was also implied that the team is likely to leave the company for better prospects)
In scenarios like what is written above, how would you present it in the resume / interview? I feel the scenario is different from the case where you are fired as telling the whole story seems to blame management.
The same way I'd present any
The same way I'd present any other project:
I'd list what my responsibilities were and how well I did them. It's entirely possible for you to have a lot of accomplishments on a project that failed (as long as you are not in charge of it).
If the environment truly is impossible (which I don't believe it is), then it could be a story of how you overcame adversity and succeeded anyway. If it's a failure that you contributed to, then you can describe it as a situation where you learned something and what you would do to prevent it from happening again.
Your description makes it sound like the team just doesn't like how the manager proposed moving forward (the "original solution" you mention as an alternative to him lining up some equipment or services), so they stopped working. If that's the case, the team is contrinbiting to the failure (going on frequent leave) and "literally not doing any work." It's time for the team to start acting like professionals.
Thanks
Thanks Tom for your view.
When I mentioned "literally not doing any work.", I do not mean they are protesting/ reducing their effort. In fact, those that do go to work will make best use of their time by doing what is called "Sharpening the Saw" - improving their skills for future projects. What I mean is that there is no project related work for them that can be done until the said pre-requisite equipment/service is provided.
It is good to know that whatever the situation, the experience can be learnt from / be a success story.
Are you the PM, his boss or on the team?
Sounds like in itself the project is not going to get onto anyones list of acheivements, and a project as such is not a responsibility - so actually does this even get onto the CV? Specific things within the project might be achievements, but it sounds like it would be hard to make anything sound good about it, although if you can see a marginal beneift from actons you take (we lost 1 million rather than 5 million), then that is an achievement, especially if the million was seen as lost before you were invovled (not before you took action as you still kinda lost a million then).
This sounds like it would only get mentioned when you get the "tell me about a time when it all went wrong" type question. In that case, give the facts, why you think it went wrong, what you did (or tried to do) to correct it, and what you feel you have learnt from this situaton and would aim to do differently next time. Also, how you might be able to head this sort of situation off at the pass and stop a project from ever getting into this situation - this might be the best lesson, so long as you don't come across as a panicy control head.