Tourism & hospitality sector opportunities in 2016

By Sabina Trench, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers Tourism Ireland is predicting a bumper year in 2016 – they predict 8.2million overseas visitors to Ireland this year, spending an estimated €4.2billion. This amounts to growth of between 4 and 5 per cent, which is very significant. Earlier this month, the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF) announced that 69 […]

Familiarity doesn’t have to breed contempt

By Liam Horan, Career Coach & Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Q: I am going for interview in the company where I currently work – I’m bothered by the fact that I will know all three members of the interview panel very well. I’d classify them as friends, really. I fear I will be very self-conscious on […]

Never take a speech for granted

By Liam Horan, Sli Nua Careers Never take a speech for granted. We’ve all done it, but we shouldn’t. It is a bitter, painful lesson to learn. I have seen the best of singers decline to sing solo in a singsong* – “you’ll give us one there Mary, no bother to you” –  because something […]

Business card for teacher subbing – good or bad idea?

Pic source www.pixabay.com by Liam Horan, Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Q: I am a teacher looking for subbing work. I was thinking about printing a business card to hand out when I go to schools. I thought it might help me to stand out. What do you think? Thanks (DR, email). DEIRDRE MAY, LIMERICK: […]

How to close the interview with the right question

by Liam Horan, Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Q: What kind of questions should I put to the interview panel when they ask me “do you have any questions for us?” at the end of the interview. This comes up all the time and I find it flummoxes me. There are questions I would like […]

Cover letter – should we use it or lose it?

by Liam Horan, Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Q:  I am applying for a job. I’ve done up my CV. Do I really need to put a cover letter in with it? And, if I do, what tips have you got? (DC, email). A: We asked three of our career coaches to give their thoughts […]

Job forms can take a lot of application

By Mary O’Brien-Killeen, Career Coach & Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Job application forms are the bane of many a career coach’s life. In theory, they should be absolutely simple to complete – a few questions, inviting you to highlight key competencies and strengths, appropriate blank spaces left to capture all the information, what could go wrong? Lots. The […]

Tips on changing a toxic culture

By Mary O’Brien-Killeen, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers Q: Last week, you wrote about culture in a company. I work in a company where the culture can only be described as toxic. People are stressed all the time and ready to snap at the drop of a hat. Some key people in the operation are […]

How a company shapes its culture

By Fintan Dunne, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers Q: I read and hear a lot about the ‘culture’ of an organisation – but I don’t really know what it means. I run my own business – we have six people employed. It’s a retail business. What is the right culture for us – and how […]

How the best job interview candidate prepared

Interesting question here for Liam – his answer might help you prepare for future interviews. “Can you talk about the best prepared candidate you ever came across – by this, I mean the candidate who was best prepared for an upcoming interview.” Liam Horan, Managing Director, Sli Nua Careers Ltd, talks to on Community Radio Castlebar, […]