Stepping up to the plate on a full-time basis
Q: I have been working as office manager in a company for the past three months – without actually getting the stripes. The situation was that the previous office manager took ill and they recruited me on a temporary basis to take over the job. Initially, there was some resentment among the other three people […]
Directions to TACU, Ballinrobe
TACU is a local venue we use here in Ballinrobe, Co. Mayo, for various group sessions. Directions Coming from Castlebar or Claremorris You have to drive right around the town of Ballinrobe, and come back down the Main Street. As you come down Main Street, you will have St Mary’s Church, Bank of Ireland, AIB […]
Eight tips for job interviews
[checklist] Think and talk through beforehand what you’d like to say, but avoid any temptation to learn answers off by rote. Rehearsed answers will lack passion and authenticity, and create a new pressure for you on the day as you try to remember what you’ve learned. Trust that your natural flow will click in and […]
LinkedIn plays major role in modern-day job-hunting
Over 175 million professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities. Ten years ago, the main sources of hunting for potential employees were jobsites and newspapers, but LinkedIn is changing the face of job-seeking. Most HR departments, all agencies and more and more employers use LinkedIn in their hunt to source potential employees. Here […]
Career Column
Q: I did a job interview last week. Two of the interview panel were fine, but one of them was downright rude. If he wasn’t looking out the window, he was tapping his biro on the desk. I’m pretty sure I caught him suppressing a yawn at some stage. I nearly asked him if he […]
Career Column
Q: I submitted an application for a position three weeks ago, and have heard nothing back yet. The closing date was two weeks ago. Should I get onto them to see what is happening. Maybe I have just been discarded? It was a marketing job with a hotel chain. (ED, email) A: Every case […]
Seven job-searching tips that might make the difference
Be active. It never fails to surprise us the amount of people who are simply not doing enough on the job-searching front. We are not advocating wild and unfocused activity, but, yes, we do feel you should be doing something every day to advance your campaign to get a job. [checklist] Treat it like a […]
Focus on the past will bring future competency-based success
Q: I have been called for a competency-based interview – and I haven’t a clue what that is. How might I prepare for this? (DH, email). A: I suspect from your email that the employers haven’t sent you an outline of how they will run the interview – sometimes such a spec sheet accompanies the […]
Learning the ropes for job interviews
Job interviews are not unlike boxing matches: you can have all the plans and strategies you want, all the shapes and all the moves, the slides to the side and the dummies, but you have to remember that there is somebody else in the ring too. “I was doing grand,” moaned the vanquished pugilist, “until […]
Brief Encounters of the Quick Fire Hiring Kind
One of the latest techniques to hit the job market is the speed interview. Much like speed-dating, they allow employers to screen a large number of candidates quickly. If the interview is successful, candidates are usually offered the option of attending a more traditional full-length interview. Unsurprisingly, speed interviews are becoming increasingly popular with employers who are […]