Tips on speculating to accumulate
When sending out CVs speculatively, do the following: [checklist] Ring the organisation, and, by some means, get the name of the key person. If you are put through to the person in question, tell them briefly who you are and what you are about, and undertake to send on a follow-up letter. Don’t wait too […]
Deirdre May heads our new Limerick office
Deirdre May, a Limerick woman who forged a highly-successful career in sales and marketing, has been appointed by a leading career training company to establish its first Limerick office. “Demand for our CV preparation and interviewing training services is such that opening a Limerick-based office was the logical next step to meet the needs of […]
Essential attributes that power your CV
This week, in our on-going series on how you might construct a CV that truly sells you, we come to your hobbies, interests and community involvement.. “So what if I won the captain’s prize at 15 years of age,” a candidate might say, “sure it’s a job in IT I’m going for, not a place […]
Shine the light on the parts that matter
Today we push on with our step-by-step guide to building a winning CV. You may recall from the past few weeks that we have covered Personal Profile; Key Achievements, Skills & Attributes; and Referee Description (if you’d like those three columns emailed to you, simply email getthatjob@slinuacareers.com with ‘columns x 3’ in the subject line. […]
Using written references in a powerful way
This week we continue our series showing you how to build your CV step by step. Over the past fortnight, we’ve covered the Personal Profile and Key Achievements, Skills & Attributes sections. This week, we move onto the third part of what will hopefully be your new-look CV – and it involves the unexpected, and […]
Meeting the employer’s needs is a key achievement
Following on from last week’s column, where I dealt with the Personal Profile section at the outset of your CV, I will now move onto what I would suggest as your next section: Key Achievements, Skills & Attributes (or variations thereof.) To recap, the Personal Profile offers an introductory overview of who you are. It […]
Personalising your profile for job-hunting success
Q: On a number of occasions, you have mentioned including a Personal Profile at the start of a CV. I am not quite clear on what form that should take. In my current CV, I give my contact details and then move onto my work experience. What value would a Personal Profile add, and, more […]
Get real by teasing out the job in question
Q: I am going for a job interview next week that could prove tricky. It’s a new position within our organisation – we’re a charity – and while they have outlined a job spec, there are still a million and one unanswered questions in terms of how the job will pan out. Is it permissible […]
Down time can have its upsides, our weekly column from various Irish newspapers
Q: I have been employed on and off in various short-term contracts over the past few years. At the moment, I am on my longest period of unemployment, stretching back to September last. There isn’t much on the horizon right now. What can I do to make beneficial use of the time? (DF, email) A: […]
Four interview questions you are likely to encounter
1. “Tell me a little about yourself?” Once the initial pleasantries have been exchanged the interviewee can expect this invitation to introduce themselves in a positive light. This affords the interviewer the opportunity to analyse you as an individual through what you say about yourself and how you say it. As the old adage says, […]