CVs and Interviews

Interview Tips – Common interview mistakes

White Lies – It may be tempting but it does not work. Certainly you can gloss things up but outright lying does not pay. “If you tell the truth, you never have to remember anything.” – Mark Twain

Negativity towards current company or boss – This paints a poor picture and employers don’t like to hear it. They can trick you into taking this road. Your interview is not the time to criticise previous employers or managers

No manners – What dictates rude or manners – bit subjective. Play with caution at interview and remain professional. Remember to be polite to everyone you meet on the day.

General complaining – Again interviewer do look on this kindly. Remember your interview is a short window to sell yourself. Complaining will not support this.

Discussing work colleagues – Quite often you will be asked about previous examples of conflict, how you deal with it and how you deal with other workers. This is not an opportunity to let loose on a rampage of character assassinations. Hold back on all that built up anger until you get back to the office!!

Poor preparation – Analyse the job, the job description and your CV before interview.

Nerves – Yes it is ok to be nervous and most people are BUT some hide it better than others. There are exercises to improve confidence and proper preparation will boost this anyway. You can fake confidence.

Poor first impression – Very difficult to come back from this.

Lack of company knowledge – A definite no-no. This says I am not interested or I don’t know what I want.

Neen Interview help? Interviews & Job Interviews

Choosing a professional CV writer in Ireland
I have noticed a surge in companies and individuals offering CV writing services over the last number of months. This increase in choice for jobseekers can cause confusion BUT it in my mind dilutes the level of service in the market and feedback from jobseekers supports this. There are some individuals offering CV services who have no more right than the man on the moon. There are also many individuals offering CV services that many have the ability but lack the interest as this move to CV writing is out of necessity and not desire. To help jobseekers I have outlined a couple of criteria to help you choose a CV writer.

Let me start by making a few assumptions about you and your business:

- You are either about to begin your job search or you are in the middle of it with poor results.
- You’re not trying to get a professional CV on the cheap.
- You’re looking for an experienced professional and your friend or neighbour won’t do.
- You care enough about your career that you are willing to invest money to get the job done right.

Below are some CV tips and information to consider when choosing a CV writer

Cost – I will put this top of the list BUT believe me if you focus here you may end up with a poor standard document. Perhaps a generic computer generated one. Yes cost should be a consideration BUT remember the cheapest isn’t always the worst and the dearest isn’t always the best. Certainly ask for a price to do the work and build it into you final decision making process. By the way the cost of CV writing in Ireland has a wide range – EUR90.00 – EUR395.00. The EUR90.00 would probably be a Graduate CV and the EUR395.00 for an Executive CV.

Geography – This should not be a consideration as CV’s can be written via the phone and email. This means that you can even get a CV designed in the US although I wouldn’t advice it as CV’s vary slightly in different regions. Do you need to meet the CV writer – NO!
What qualifies the writer? – This makes me laugh. Everyone you meet would claim to be an expert including family and friends. Unfortunately reality would disagree with this. I know of skilled professionals writing CV’s who have come from bizarre backgrounds but generally speaking Recruitment/HR backgrounds are quite common. The other important fact is that your writer MUST have extensive experience in cold face of business sifting and selecting CV’s.

Reputation – The first thing I do if I am seeking a service in Google the web. Well why not go further and Google your CV writer. Quite often serious CV writers will comment on other sites, write posts for other sites and comment in national media. This indicates that someone is confident about what they do BUT also interested in what they do. This would be my No.1 criteria. Quite often reputation comes with a price but you may be surprised.

What others say – Take references on websites with a pinch of salt (although all the references on my site are legitimate). The other way is to get a CV writer referral from your own network. Again beware as CV’s that worked over the last decade would not necessarily work in today’s tough market.

A professional CV Writing Service supporting jobseekers across Ireland Armagh, Carlow, Cavan, Cork,Clare, Derry, Donegal, Fermanagh, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Leitrim, Limerick, Westmeath, Longford, Mayo, Meath, Louth Monaghan, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Tipperary, Tyrone, Waterford, Wexford, Wicklow, Antrim, Down, Dublin. If you just want some CV Writing Tips & Help.

Below are 10 Super Interview tips I read on another website. Take these on board and you will impress at interview says the writer. They certainly provide 10 good tips for interview but I wouldn’t say they were the 10 most important.



1. You should market your skills and experience. You must do this in a positive way, but do not be cocky or aggressive.
2. Before interview research the company. It will identify if the company is for you and let the employer see that you are interested.
3. Prepare answers for the popular interview questions before interview. Practice saying the answers out loud or role play.
4. Ensure that you dress for success.
5. Identify what questions you need to ask and bring a list of your own questions with you to interview. You should also bring a few extra CV’s.
6. Listen and focus and focus at interview. Many jobseekers talk far too much at interviews.
7. Prepare to be asked to describe your weaknesses as strengths.
8. Ensure that you make eye contact with your interviewer.
9. Never volunteer your personal views about a subject unless you are asked by the interviewer.
10. Try to establish rapport with your interviewer. BE YOURSELF!

Ensure that you take these points on board as they will enhance your performance at interview. For other tips for interview read interview tips skills. Other information includes interview questions and answers and how to handle competency based interviews.

OK – I highly recommend that jobseekers invest in a professional CV. Your CV has 30 seconds to make an impact and maybe even less in a competitive market. If you want to successfully generate interviews your CV has to make an impact. I also realise that not everyone can afford professional help and this site provides loads of free advice with CV Tips & Interview Tips.

I would be interested to get the views of our readers. The site is still young but there is about 80-100 readers per day. I would like your views - How do you find the site? How do you find the information? Has it helped you and your job hunting? Please feel free to leave a comment and we will post all comments both positive and negative.

More CV Writing Tips & Help, Cover Letter Tips and Interview Skills, Tips & Techniques

CV Examples Ireland

Many jobseekers visit onlines sites to support their efforts to produce a CV for job hunting. The question often remains – Are these free CV examples worthwhile?

If you Google the tem “CV Examples” you will find unlimited pages. CV Examples & CV Templates gives a view. Potentially biased but a view all the same.

Interview Coaching – Difficult interview questions

I regularly work with jobseekers preparing them for interviews. The most common request is about interview questions and what questions will be asked at interview. Unfortunately it is impossible to predict what questions you will be asked at interview. If you want possible questions then Google “interview questions” and you will find page after page full of possible questions. With a focused approach to preparation you should be able to answer all questions posed. This aside I have outlined some questions that do arise more frequently at interview. I have also outlined an approach to answer these questions.

What salary do you want?
Money is important but more often than not often it is not the key motivation for most jobseekers. I recommend evasion tactics when answering the above questions. Avoid answering it or answer the question with a question. Responses may include; “What would a role like this pay within your organisation?” or “My current salary is 30k and I am negotiable depending on the role and the location”. Answering the he salary question like poker and you should try to make the employer make the first move. Answering the above question may price you out of the job but worse still you could do yourself out of a few thousand euros by pitching yourself below the employers figure.

Why should we employ you?
This is not an opportunity to waffle but instead it is the client asking you to summarise how you meet the requirements of the job. The secret to successfully navigating this question requires an understanding of what the employer is looking for and how you match these requirements. Let’s not complicate this – job descriptions tell you what the employer wants. All you have to do is summarise how you meet these needs BUT add some meat to the answer by providing examples and quantitative data to back up your points.

Why do you want to work for us?
The interviewer is investigating if you have put any thought into the job hunt and if you have done any research on the organisation. Another way to look at this question is does you know what they want and does our role and company meet those needs. This is an important question and it is the interviewer trying to identify if you have a scattergun approach to job hunting. Again, proper preparation ensuring that you understanding yourself and how the client meets your needs will help master this question.

What are your weaknesses?
Possibly the most feared interview question and it stops most interviewees in their tracks. The key to answering this question is not to focus on your personal traits. The interviewer is seeking to find out if you have self awareness but more importantly if you act on potential development needs. Answering “no” to this question will not impress. A suggested reply would be something like “I continually strive to improve my presentation skills and recently joined toastmasters and volunteer to present at our monthly sales meetings”

What are your career goals?
This is often an interview filler question with no real purpose for interviewers except maybe make them look more skilled that they actually are. This aside you should answer effectively. Focus on short to medium term goals. These will vary from one jobseeker to another but a short term goal common to any jobseeker would be to secure a challenging job. I guess that is why you are at the interview.

Need interview preparation coaching? Contact Interview Coach Ireland

CV Writing – CV Preparation & Advice

There are many reasons why jobseekers fail when searching for a new job and quite often it is because their CV is not working. The CV is an important tool for job hunting and if you get this wrong you will miss out on interviews and fail to land that dream job. It is surprising how little time and energy jobseekers invest in creating their CV. This article will explore why most CV’s fail and how you can change your CV to make a bigger impact with employers.

CV content for success

It is estimated that 90% of CV’s fail because they have a lack of focus. A CV is all about the reader and not you. A CV is a marketing document which should focus on the employer. It will contain information about your skills, experience, education BUT the relevance of this information and where it will be located on the CV can change. Identify the employer needs and then tailor your marketing document (CV) to meet those needs. Concentrate on relevant education, training and work duties and responsibilities.

CV’s – Format & Layout

I believe that CV’s are like newspapers. The front page sells the paper and the first page of a CV sells the jobseeker. If information does not make the front page then it is not important to that reader. Some employers do not take the time to read beyond the first page. Like a paper your CV has about 20 seconds to make an impact. I have written one CV with Hobbies & Interests near the top of the first page. Traditional CV writers would frown at this but my argument was that this was very relevant information for that particular application. A CV is a fluid document. You should stay clear of rigid advice about how to structure your CV. I often read that Education should be at the top of the first page of a CV. What if you do not have the exact qualifications BUT very relevant experience? Follow that advice and you can kiss an interview goodbye.

Personally I do not like CV’s that try to use gimmicks or fancy paper to stand out. This is a tactic many jobseekers try but fail with. You need to remember the rule in property – magnolia sells houses. Jobseekers can create and excellent CV that makes impact without being flash. Flash can turn off potential employers. Keep it simple and consider some of these key points; ensure that you have enough white space on your CV, ensure that you use bullet points and ensure uniformity of font size.

Conclusion

A great CV will get you over the first hurdle of the recruitment process and enable you the opportunity to sell yourself at interview. It will also do much more that that. Great CV’s wet the appetite of employers. They create a positive impression and expectation which can give an edge even before you have met the employer. Little things like this are often the difference between success and failure.

If you need a professional CV contact CV WRITING SERVICE IRELAND

The job market has changed dramatically over the last decade particularly in the area of recruitment and selection. Traditionally employers relied on a basic interview and a couple of bland references to recruit and select staff often hiring the applicant with the best interviewing skills rather that the best skills and ability to perform the job. It has been accepted that these methods do not work and increasingly employers have become more scientific in their approach to hiring new staff. There has been a dramatic increase in the use of competency based interviews also know as behavioural interviews or structured interviews. This article will give you an insight into competency based interviews and the best approach to prepare for such interviews.

What is a competency based interview?

Competency Interviews also go by the names Behavioural Interviews or Structured Interviews. These interviews will consist of targeted questions that require interviewees to describe specific situations or task. Competency Interviews function on the basis that the best indication of future behaviour in past behaviour. Normally interviewee will be assessed against a number of competencies for example “presenting and communicating”. A typical question could be “……”

STAR Technique

The most popular technique to answer competency interview questions is the STAR technique.

S/T – Represents Situation or Task. This is the opening information where interviewees describe the event. It is important to describe the situation ….

A – Represents Action. This is the meat of your example with details about what action you took and how you behaved. Try to avoid sweeping statements and provide detail. Probably the most common slip up at this stage is using “We” instead of “I” when describing events. This dilutes your contribution.

R – Represents Results. This is where you outline the outcomes or results of the situation. An opportunity to sell yourself by highlighting positive outcomes.

Preparation is the key to success at competency interviews

Preparation is the key for success at any interview but especially competency interviews. When you get invited to interview you need to clarify what forms of assessment you are facing. If this is a competency interview enquire what competencies will be assessed. Some organisations provide this information but some will not. In this case you will have to try and predict what will be used. It is essential to have identified situations and tasks to support the competencies. The most common complaint about competency interviews I get is how difficult it is to think of examples when the spotlight is on at interviews. Prepare these beforehand. Work you your story telling focusing on your language and attention to detail.

Leading Interview Coach in Ireland