Career Advice Blog

Archive for the ‘Redundancy support’ Category

Do you have a fear of interviews? You are not alone. Interviews for many people can be highly stressful, intimidating and downright nerve racking.

In today’s competitive job market interviews come in all shapes and ‘sizes’ from telephone interviews to full blown day (or longer) assessment centres.

There are strategies for all types of interview. The focus of this article is on the importance of having the right mindset plus some effective strategies to help you ‘nail’ that interview and show why you are the best candidate for the job.

Interview myth 1 – “You won’t get the job because there are far more experienced candidates than you”.  I have heard this comment from clients countless times then helped them turn this round to achieve interview success. Invariably this is your perception rather than reality!

Core belief – “If you have been invited to an interview you must have a good chance of success”. Winning at interviews involves having a positive mindset. Although we all know situations where a candidate is already earmarked for the job, you must believe you have a fighting chance of getting get the job or at least create a positive impact for the future.

A recent senior level client is a wonderful example on these two points. Whilst I have respected their anonymity, they have agreed to share their thoughts to benefit others.

Self belief – If you have self doubts and focus your thoughts on your lack of ability or experience, which could be perceived as more limited, it could become the focus of the interview. This is exactly what happened in a previous interview.

“My self doubt took over and I was set on course to planting the seed of doubt in the interviewers’ minds before they even have had a chance to really get to know me”.

Passion – I coached the client to prepare them for a similar level interview some months later and really worked on their mindset and approach, especially as they felt that there were candidates with more specific experience who had been short listed.

“This time I was prepared and proactive. I approached the interview confidently by realising and focusing on the transferable skills, qualities and experience that I did have and how my abilities, previous achievements and passion would make the difference in the role.

Practicing answers to likely interview questions and your feedback on my style and content of answers was really helpful and relevant. Many of these came up, so I felt ready and confident”.

The client was successful and got the job! This was another fantastic example of what I passionately believe and have proven with hundreds of similar successes i.e. passion, desire and a positive attitude can win the day against more experienced candidates.

The 12 P’s for Winning at Interviews

Plan and prepare. Research the organisation, job role and questions you wish to ask

Use positive mindset strategies for overcoming self doubt and nerves.

Be punctual, you may only get one chance.

Presentation – First impressions count. Smile, firm handshake, eye contact, good posture, dress for success and display positive body language.

Be enthusiastic, use tone of voice effectively and build rapport. Be yourself, sell yourself, and bring out your personality.

Be polite and personable. Listen, check understanding and ask for clarification if necessary.

Be professional and only volunteer positive information. Answer questions confidently, concisely and honestly, don’t waffle. Never be critical of a previous employer or boss.

Give specific examples to show competency and bring out your passion.

Tactically use ‘3rd party endorsement’ e.g. ‘people say / my boss says’.

Ask relevant questions. Never discuss salary or benefits unless asked.

Follow-up with a short polite email confirming your interest.

Practice!!!!

If you want to know more about how to win at interviews, visit our Career & Personal Development website.

Firstly some key considerations ……………

Q/ What is the purpose of a CV?

This seems like a simple and obvious question but amazing how many people of all levels and at all stages of their careers fail to grasp this!

A/ To get you to an interview. Forget anything else, as this is your primary objective

Q/ How long has your CV got to create the right impact with a recruiter or potential employer to get on the yes pile?

A/ A trained eye will take around 20 seconds to scan your CV. You therefore need to create an immediate impact and show initiative; otherwise they might not read past the first half page!

Key tips for ‘Killer CV’s’

1) Focus with the end in mind to get you on the ‘yes’ pile for the interview i.e. try to see things through the eyes of the reader/’buyer’. Make it easy and interesting for them to read your CV

2) Presentation is key. The aim is 2 pages of quality information. Use the space wisely with plenty of white space for ease of reading and bullet points to keep it short and specific, avoiding cluttered text

3) Start with a profile and bring your CV to life by bringing out your personality, work ethic and career objective, as (apart from your covering letter or email) this is your one chance to really sell yourself and create a positive impression

4) Write the CV in the 3rd person (not I) e.g. self motivated rather than I am self motivated

5) Focus on what you have achieved and contributed rather than what you have done. This is what employers want and shows initiative

6) Think carefully about your specific career achievements. Highlight achievements that you have gained recognition for, also aspects of importance to you that may have gone unnoticed

7) Flesh out your key skills, attributes and experience; relate these to your job roles or as a separate heading to stand out

If you have had a long career, concentrate on the last 10-15 years. Most employers aren’t too bothered about what happened before this

9) Highlight relevant work related training, qualifications and memberships of professional bodies

10) Highlight anything else that will put you in good light or shows that you have developed or demonstrated skills outside of the workplace e.g. voluntary work, outside interests and projects

11) It is not essential to highlight interests, however it is always useful to show that you have a life outside of work and it maybe that one of your interest could be a talking point at the interview especially if unusual or beneficial e.g. you like to keep fit

To find out more about CV’s and job search strategies visit our Career & Personal Development website

Finding a job, especially the ‘right’ job for you, can be almost a full time occupation, particularly in a difficult employment market. So how to you get yourself ahead of the pack to stand a greater chance of success?

The following tips should put you in good stead:

1/ Treat your job search as a campaign – Be clear about your purpose and focused

2/ Develop a targeted plan as you would with any project and build in review dates

3/ Utilise all 4 key job search methods:

Applying to advertised vacancies – Online, via trade journals, newspapers (national, regional, local)

Utilising Recruitment Agencies – Either specialist agencies for your chosen sector or national or local agencies in your high street

Direct Speculative Applications – Targeted applications to companies or organisations who are not currently advertising vacancies (or vacancies that are not of interest to you) that particularly appeal to you based on what they do, their ethos or location.

To stand any chance of success your applications should always be personalised to the Manager in charge of the department or function that is of interest to you. Dear Sir/Madam or speculative applications to unnamed people in HR are highly likely to end up in the bin!

In a downturn, good personalised, targeted applications have a much greater chance of success of getting you to an interview, as employers will be looking to save money on recruitment costs and especially recruitment agency fees.

Personal & Social Networking – This is often the most successful route to market, especially in a downturn, when employers are reluctant to pay agency fees and may even have ‘bounties’ in place to entice staff to introduce friends and known contacts, which could still save them significant money against hefty employment agency fees.

4/ Awareness of you as a product – what you have to offer a potential employer, your value added, USP’s (unique selling points), skills, attributes, attitude, knowledge, experience

5.  Awareness of what you want from a job/employer – your career values and needs

6.  Develop a winning CV and job application approach

7.  Look for the right job that matches your values and skills

8.  Show initiative, research, personalise your applications

9.  Persistence pays – don’t give up

10. Review your strategy as you would with any project plan as no point in firing blanks!

If you want to know more about how to be successful with your job search campaign visit our Career & Personal Development website

What are your values and why are they so important?

Our values are the things which we hold dear and we all have a set of values. However, our values often change over time but we rarely audit them.

Values when we are young may not be our values when we are 40 and have the responsibility of a family, or as result of other factors and situations that shape our lives. Yet without understanding them it is almost impossible to find real meaning and fulfilment, which is especially important when it comes to finding the right job or career.

Your career values and needs are also inextricably linked to your personal life values and needs. Getting to know yourself will help work out what is going to make you want to stay in a job, career or organisation, move into a new one or even want to become your own boss!

People traditionally left their jobs because of a clear gap in their skills between their skill set and the organisational requirements, whether through redundancy or other reasons.

In today’s employment market, skills are not necessarily the issue. You might leave your job because you are unhappy or unfulfilled. You might feel you are a ‘square peg in a round hole’. This could be as a result of a mismatch with your skill set but far more likely because your values are out of synch with the organisation, job or career that you are in i.e. nothing to do with your ability to do the job.

For many people this is most unsettling and can cause self doubt, which could make you a prime candidate for redundancy if the organisation is restructuring.

Being clear about and knowing what is important to you will be a great guide to you as you move forward or change direction as it will also:

• Keep you on track and motivated
• Help with decision making and provide a sense or purpose
• Add to your sense of fulfilment

Examples of Values & Needs

As a result of your family situation (either young family or caring for elderly parents or relatives) you may have come to the decision that work-life balance is now of the utmost importance to you. This could become more important and turn from a value into a real need.

You may really value the opportunity to be able to work flexibly, possibly even 1 day a week from home.

Equally, you may value being able to give something back to the community and do voluntary work part of the week. This value may determine that you change career into the Not for Profit or Public sectors.

Other typical examples of Career Values & Needs

• Feeling needed and appreciated
• Choosing where you want to work
• Making your own decisions
• Developing new skills and experience
• Managing others

The list goes on but it is not something that most of us a good at working out on our own. It is definitely best to seek help from a Career Coach to really help you flesh out what is important to you to enable you to move forward with confidence to find the right job or career.

If you want to know more about how career values can help you find a fulfilling job or career, visit our Career & Personal Development website