Want to communicate well? Speak your natural language
Q: I’ve done all the basic preparation for an upcoming interview – went over my CV, listed reasons why I’m suitable for the role, drawn out examples of career successes, researched the company’s mission and values. I’m focusing now on how to communicate what I’ve prepared. Any thoughts? (DA, email) A: A candidate said to […]
Collaboration means more than just working together
Q: I have an interview coming up – a competency-based one – for a management job in a bank. One of the qualities emphasised on the job spec is ‘ability to work collaboratively’. I work as part of a close-knit team in my current bank, but is collaboration the same as team work? As this […]
Factor yourself into interview research
Sometimes a candidate preparing for a job interview has got to go back to basics – and, by basics, I mean back to themselves, writes Arthur Geraghty, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers. Yes, some of the answers lie in the new company’s annual reports, strategic plans or press statements, but there is a limit to […]
A pinch of perspective will help with career lows
I recently spoke to a candidate who had an issue she described as being ‘like a pebble grating beneath a door’, writes Liam Horan, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers. The candidate in question had tried to bring about change in the section she managed, and it didn’t go as favourably as she would have liked. […]
Complacent candidates risk missing the boat
Q: I’m going for my boss’s job. It’s okay, it’s not a coup d’etat. She’s going peacefully – off into the comforting hands of retirement, three mornings a week on the golf course and a few summer weeks in Alicante. The best of luck to her. I’ve worked closely with her for six years and […]
Criticising will rub salt into the wounds
Q: They know, and I know, and they know that I know, that the last person in the job was, to put it mildly, a disaster. He came in from outside promising the sun, moon and stars, and delivered nothing. He only lasted 18 months in the job. Did he fall or was he pushed? […]
You’re the presentation – not the slideshow
Q: I’ve an interview for manager of a business incubation centre. They want me to present for ten minutes on ‘What I will achieve in the first year’ – but, and here’s the rub, they have stipulated that I can’t use PowerPoint or Prezi. Zero technology. How should I approach this? (EH, email). A: With […]
Backward step can drive you on
Q: I’m going for a job which will see me go backwards to hopefully go forwards. I’m afraid in the interview they will be wondering why I will take a cut in pay, and a reduction in responsibilities. How do I handle this? I’m a software engineer but I need to expand into a different […]
It’s not always a numbers game
When, in an interview training session, I hear a candidate start an answer with “there are five reasons…” or “I had six responsibilities…”, I know what’s coming next, writes Liam Horan, career coach, Sli Nua Careers. Can you guess? What’s coming next is confusion. Almost without exception, the candidate will get stuck after three or […]
Audio: Going for a teaching interview in your own school
So, you’ve reached a point in your teaching career where you want to climb the ranks within your current school. You’ve applied for an upcoming post and succeeded in getting an interview. How do you improve your chances of getting the job? In the link above, Liam Horan, MD, Sli Nua Careers, provides tips on […]