Showing the knowledge in all circumstances. Our weekly column from various Irish newspapers
Q: I’ve always heard that you should impress the interviewers with your level of knowledge about the company. But how can you do that if they don’t ask the right question? Will it not look contrived? (MK, email). A: The whole interview scenario has an element of contrivance about it. You must first of all […]
Thinking ahead pays interview dividends (our weekly column from various Irish newspapers)
Q: I did an interview recently with a panel of four people. It was a fairly structured affair, with each of the interviewers having their own sections to cover and questions to ask. Midway through the interview, the chairperson handed over to a man I shall call Mr Murphy (for that was his name – […]
Try sales – ‘tis nobler than you thought (our weekly column from various Irish newspapers)
Career development has many parallels with the world of sales. So it is important to first of all check your perception of sales. Does the word make your skin crawl or fill you with warmth, or does it sit somewhere in between? To many, sales is a dirty word. They equate it with deceptive people, […]
Too much caution is not a good idea (our weekly column from various Irish newspapers)
Q: I saw you recently advising a sales manager to ‘have ideas’ when he goes for interviews. I once gave a lot of good ideas in an interview – and then I didn’t get the job, and they stole my ideas. I was livid, but there was nothing I could have done. Nowadays I play […]
Audio and video can develop an interview star (our weekly career column from various Irish newspapers)
Practice makes perfect – or perhaps this should be upgraded to the even more clichéd perfect practice makes perfect – and when it comes to job interviews, you may have missed the boat if the first time you articulate your thoughts is in the actual interview itself. With the advances in technology, there really is […]
Have a go, you might grow on them. Our weekly column from various Irish newspapers
Q: The job spec for a position I am interested in says three years’ professional experience required. Technically speaking, I don’t have any professional experience. But I have done a great deal of similar work (ground keeping) on a voluntary basis for my sports club. I’ve been at it for 20 years or more. I […]
Making sense of your mixum-gatherum career, our weekly column from various newspapers around Ireland
Q: You’ve written on a number of occasions about portfolio careers. I think I may fall into that category. I work as an office manager for a medium-sized manufacturing firm three days a week, and the other two days I divide my time between playing in a band and doing some graphic design on a […]
Self-campaign your way to dream job, our weekly column from various Irish newspapers
Job-searching is the new frontier, I believe. Think of six graduates coming out of college with the same qualification, more or less, give or take a grade here and there. They all have CVs of broadly similar quality. See all six on the starting-line, waiting for the gun, and then the race begins to see […]
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: […]
Tapping into your personal and professional networks, our weekly column from various newspapers around Ireland
Q: I read a great deal about ‘tapping into your personal and professional networks.’ I know what that means – but I don’t know how to go about it. Can you give me some pointers? I am heavily involved in a number of community and sporting organisations, and I have worked for more or less […]