JobsFair.ie

In the current economic climate, it is likely that candidates will have less options - in terms of jobs - than they have had in recent years. That makes it even more critical that you are offered more of the jobs that you apply to, or even more importantly offered the only job you have applied to.

Even in a downturn there will be job opportunities – only less of them.

Having said that, no matter what’s happening in the Economy, there are 3 key factors to getting the job you want :- Preparation, preparation, preparation.

The first thing to do is to identify those companies (or the industries) that you believe to be strong and would like to work for and concentrate your efforts on those. Our advice is to be careful about moving and only move to industries/companies capable of weathering – or even prospering during – the current storm.

Always be mindful of the brand and stability, the career prospects and the opportunity to progress within each organisation. If it’s a good Company but there are unlikely to be prospects for progression, be aware that you will be on the move probably in another 2 to 3 years.

Next step is preparing an effective CV

There are a number of arguments for and against the short CV and the longer CV. In my experience, the most successful CVs tend to be about 3 pages long. However, to coin a phrase, length is not important, what is vitally important is the content.

You must sit down and analyse your career, write down every single thing you have done, identify the key successes and experience that any prospective employer is likely to be looking for and ensure that is what is contained in your CV.

Don’t be afraid to adjust your CV for each application from your bank of successes and experience you have had; remember that each job usually has slightly different requirements and you must ensure that, if you meet these requirements, they are properly and effectively highlighted in your CV. Make it easy for them to want to see you!!!

Where possible ask someone you respect and who has knowledge of interviewing and recruitment to look over your CV. Most people are amazed how differently others can look on their experience. People don’t realise that they do things as a matter of course assuming that everyone else does the same - not the case and if you fail to put a crucial piece of experience in your CV you may not get called for interview.

Preparing for that Interview

Assuming your CV has done its job and your application has been successful, the next stage is the interview. But don’t rest on your laurels!

People are often amazed by the ability of public speakers to get up and apparently make a superb off-the-cuff speech. The vast majority don’t, they spend hours preparing and practising so that on the day it looks natural and relaxed.

The same investment should be made in preparing for interviews!

People spend hours practising their golf or tennis but when it comes to interview they spend little or no time. Your whole future depends upon whether you get the job you want but if you don’t get past the first interview you won’t get the job!

Focus on the fact that that move not only enhances your career but may also give you a substantial increase in salary, a new car. etc. At the interview it is up to you to project the image of the person that the company is looking for both in terms of experience and personality. As part of your preparation you should try and put yourself in the shoes of the interviewer – what is he or she looking for?

Listen to the questions that are being asked and answer them and make sure that you get an opportunity to communicate any elements of your own experience that you think are important. This all sounds easy and obvious, but unless you are one of the very few naturally successful interviewees, you’ll only be able to do it if you practice.

To help you with this, here are my top 20 interview questions. They cover off most topics that will be covered in interview, even if the words used are different.

TOP 20 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. TELL ME ABOUT YOURSELF.

2. WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE NEXT STEP IN YOUR CAREER ?

3. WHERE DO YOU SEE YOURSELF IN FIVE YEARS TIME ?

4. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE YOUR GREATEST STRENGTHS TO BE?

5. WHAT DO YOU REGARD AS YOUR GREATEST WEAKNESS ?

6. WHAT IS YOUR GREATEST ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE ?

7. WHAT ONE THING WOULD YOU CHANGE ABOUT YOUR PRESENT JOB/CIRCUMSTANCES ?

8. WHAT HAS BEEN THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT IN YOUR CAREER TO DATE ?

9. WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT TO YOU: MONEY, STATUS OR RECOGNITION

10. WHO HAS BEEN YOUR GREATEST MENTOR ?

11. HOW DO YOU TYPICALLY BEHAVE IN TIMES OF CRISIS ?  EXAMPLES ?

12. DESCRIBE YOUR MANAGEMENT STYLE

13. DO YOU PREFER TO WORK ON YOUR OWN OR WITH OTHERS?

14. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING/PERSON THAT MADE YOU VERY ANNOYED ?

15. WHY HAVE YOU APPLIED FOR THIS PARTICULAR POSITION ?

16. WHY DO YOU THINK YOU’RE THE RIGHT PERSON FOR THIS JOB ?

17. WHAT SKILLS DO YOU HAVE TO OFFER ?

18. WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE COMPANY/INDUSTRY ?

19. WHY DO YOU WISH TO LEAVE YOUR CURRENT POSITION ?

20. DESCRIBE YOUR FIRST WEEK / MONTH IN THE JOB IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL.

If you can answer all of the above questions well, you’re well on the way to securing the job that YOU want! So INVEST time preparing your answers so that when you’re asked the questions, the answers just seem to trip off the end of your tongue :- PREPARATION, PREPARATION, PREPARATION!!

Again, YOU have to make it easy for potential employers to want to employ you.

At the end of the day remember this one thing :-

It’s not the best candidate who gets the job, it’s the best interviewee!

David Allan
Director
The People Group

www.peoplegroup.ie