Interview Skills Training Ireland

Many job interviews still fall into the traditional style. They are CV and job specification led. This makes it very important to know your CV inside out. I hear many of you saying that this all sounds a bit obvious. I agree, but I have yet to meet a job seeker who has mastered this point. Below I will help you understand and master 3 CV related interview questions.

Can you talk me through your CV?

Most job seekers struggle with this question. Where do I start? What do I talk about? How long to I talk for? Do I mention all my work experience/training? TIP!! Insert the words “relevant information” into the question. ANSWER “Can you talk me through the relevant information on your CV?” This action immediate cuts out a lot of the irrelevant information. It also helps redirect your focus towards the hiring manager and away from yourself.

Tell me about your current (or last) role?

TIP!! Talk about this role in terms of the job you are applying for. This requires a deep understanding of the job specification. Most job seekers outline the role in terms of how they see it. They give little consideration to the requirements outlined in the advertised job. Focus on relevant experience and achievements. Talk less about, or even ignore, irrelevant tasks and experience.

Why did you leave (or join) a company?

You have to prepare the story about how your career and personal development progressed to date. You must be able to explain the reasons for study choices and career moves (this includes redundancy). TIP!! Spend time perfecting this during preparation. A pause, a stumble or an uncomfortable moment can put a question mark over your application.

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My 2nd video in the series. Enjoy!!

Hope you enjoyed the video. Please post any other advice or comments below.

Facebook is the most popular social networking site in Ireland with approx 2 million users. Having said this, very few users are tapping into Facebook’s potential to assist with job search. Most people associate Facebook with pleasure and are reluctant to bring job search into this online world of fun. I believe it is possible to utilise Facebook for job search without sacrificing the fun. I have outlined some simple ideas to help you enhance your job search (without killing your FUN!!!!).

CREATE A SHINING FACEBOOK PROFILE 

Clean up your profile – Take time to give your profile a spring clean. Examine your privacy settings to control access to your data.

Redirect traffic to your professional sites – Ensure you paste the URL link for your LinkedIn profile on your Facebook profile. For those with personal websites the same applies. This can redirect your friends into your professional world.

Help recruiters find you – Add your work history and education to your Facebook profile. You should consider making this information available to everyone via the privacy settings. This enables social savvy recruiters search and find you on Facebook.

GET MORE FRIENDS!

Ramp up your efforts to grow the number of friends you have on Facebook. The more friends you have online the wider your reach. You can hunt out friends via the search facility or reviewing the “people you may know” prompts. You may also consider reviewing the friends list of your current friends.

COMMUNICATE (via STATUS UPDATES)

Subtle Approach – Many people are uncomfortable asking for help. Try the subtle approach. Post updates that spell it out without actually saying it – “just back from a tough interview today” or “met a recruiter in town this morning”.

Direct Approach – You can also use the direct approach to ask for help – “Just letting you know that I am searching for an accounts assistant role in the Dublin City”.

Avoid spamming – Friends want to help you but they can’t help if they don’t know you need it. Friends can be forgetful – remind them!! Friends won’t like spam – avoid bombarding your them!!

Inject Humour – I love humour!! Promote your job search with a slice of humour. This will allow you to post often without the perception of spamming.

Showcase your skills/expertise – You can use the status update to showcase your skills or expertise. Share the link for a new website you designed or a useful article you wrote. Be careful of spamming.

Ask for advice – Asking for advice can help your job search. Questions like “Do you know anyone working in Google?”, “Do you know an agency that specialises in marketing?”, “Do you know where I can find some information about retail management?”.

COMMUNICATE  (via MESSAGE)

Some Facebook users shy away from the spotlight and don’t utilise status updates. Facebook internal messages facilitates private 1-1 communications with your friends. Ask for help, seek advice, or share useful links.

LIKE MORE COMPANY PAGES

Target companies you want to work for. You can access additional company information, increase your visibility, or communicate with the firm. Target companies that may assist your job search. Start with Measurability!!

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Below I have outlined 8 ways LinkedIn can help you land an advertised job

Contacting a recruiter – When you see a job advertised through a recruitment agency, LinkedIn can help. You can use LinkedIn to check out, and even get in touch with, the recruiter. You may have mutual connections on LinkedIn, and communication through these mutual connections can warm your initial approach. You may be a member of similar groups on LinkedIn and this can offer an alternative way to contact the recruiter about the job.

Find employees working for the company – When a job is advertised directly by a company, then LinkedIn could help too. Use the search function on LinkedIn to locate employees working with the company. Your quality connections on LinkedIn can enhance your reach. I believe it’s better to have your CV handed to the HR/Hiring Manager by a current employee rather than sending in a cold application.

More focused applications – LinkedIn can help give the edge to your CV or cover letter. Using your network, or accessing professional knowledge on LinkedIn can offer inside information about a company department, their challenges or plans. This information can help you tailor your CV and cover letter to catch the eye of the hiring manager.

Create a CV with a twist – If you are going to stick with a traditional CV, then paste your LinkedIn Profile URL to your CV. Remember to customise your URL – www.linkedin.com/in/paulmullan. This link can draw the hiring manager to your LinkedIn profile. For me, a sharp LinkedIn Profile can offer much more information than a CV.

Find a hiring manager – If you don’t meet the exact criteria for an advertised job, but feel you have something to offer, try to avoid the “send CV to HR” channel. Use LinkedIn to find the details (name/contact) of the Department Manager. Make a direct sales call or email your application to the manager directly.

Substitute for your CV – Try using your LinkedIn Profile as an alternative to your CV. I accept that this can be a risky strategy BUT not if your job search is void of positive results. I believe a strong LinkedIn Profile offers much more information than a CV and that hiring managers will probably spend longer reviewing a LinkedIn profile. This can help differentiate your application and land an interview.

A key selling point – Some organisations value LinkedIn knowledge for certain roles. Strong knowledge of LinkedIn can be viewed positively and lack of knowledge can be viewed negatively. Some examples include – Sales, Marketing, and Recruitment positions. Using LinkedIn as part of your application strategy for these roles could add weight to your application.

Researching a company – LinkedIn Groups and LinkedIn connections can provide valuable information (insight, facts, and opinions) to help you stand out at interview. LinkedIn can help you access information nuggets to give you an edge and to highlight that you went the extra mile with your interview preparation.

Researching an interviewer – Recruiters, and HR professionals, are checking you out online. So why not reverse this. Search for interviewers on LinkedIn. This can provide a valuable insight to the interviewer, and could enhance your interview performance. You can access useful information like – previous work history, previous study, group memberships, and even interests. This information can help you build rapport at interview.

Please post any additional advice in the comments below ….

LinkedIn Training Workshop for Job Seekers/Employees on 6th November @ Bewleys Hotel Dublin

“Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you were born to stand out?” When I saw the above quote, it sure caught my eye – amazing words!! I browsed to find it was from the movie – “What a Girl Wants”. I haven’t seen the movie, which is a surprise, as I thought I had to endure every romcom . This statement is very true when it comes to job search – very evident when I surf LinkedIn. Many LinkedIn users choose to “fit in”, it’s safer and less offensive.

There are key ingredients to setting up a basic profile (100% complete profile, customised LinkedIn URL, recommendations, using applications, posting updates etc), but users can go beyond this. Quite often the obvious is ignored. Below I look at the 3-2-1 of LinkedIn. 3 simple tips to stand out, 2 simple tips to keep standing out, and 1 not so simple BUT essential tip.

3 SIMPLE TIPS TO STAND OUT

Headline – I am very surprised that more people don’t use this. My headline reads “Career ~ Outplacement ~ Personal Branding Consultant. Inspiring Creativity, Increasing Visibility & Generating Career Smiles” A catchy headline can help draw people to view your profile. I’ve been using “headlines” to draw readers to read my blogs, since 2007. The same principle applies to attract people to read your LinkedIn profile. Be creative and have some fun

Summary – It is important to have a summary. It is more important to get “you” across in your summary. Inject some personality. Bland will lose the reader. I use the word “I” in my summary to help soften this section. Write from the heart, as this will help you connect to the reader.

Experience – I still read profiles with no (or little) content. These profiles are missing a perfect sales opportunity. I won some outplacement work, a few months back, when a potential client read Eng/Pharma recruitment experience on myLinkedIn profile. If you lack content in your Experience Section, you should add some. Remember – Don’t bore the reader. Focus on facts, figures and achievements. Excite the reader.

2 SIMPLE TIPS TO KEEP STANDING OUT

Ongoing Profile Maintenance – Ensure you continually review and update your LinkedIn profile. Add anything new that will enhance your profile – a new project, achievement or training. For example – I recently added that I spoke at the National College of Ireland Career Bootcamp in August. Your connections are notified when you amend your profile. Curiosity killed the cat, and curiosity draws them in to have a look.

Seek Feedback – You should always seek to improve your LinkedIn Profile. It is important to seek feedback. Ask people (friends, clients or customers) to review your profile. I continually do this. I ask clients to review my LinkedIn profile, summary and headline. I ask the questions – “Do I get me and my personality across?” and “Would my profile make you pick up the phone?”

1 NOT SO SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT

Attract Viewers – A nice profile with no viewers is like dressing up in a new dress and sitting in, or like a website with no traffic. YOU NEED TO ATTRACT VIEWERS TO YOUR PROFILE!! What are you doing to attract viewers to your profile? Some viewers may stumble across your profile BUT don’t leave it to chance. Help them find you by becoming the “Pied Piper of LinkedIn”.

LinkedIn Training Workshop for Job Seekers/Employees on 6th November @ Bewleys Hotel Dublin

Most LinkedIn tips and advice are geared towards jobseekers between jobs. LinkedIn can be a valuable tool to support jobseekers in active employment too. This post examines how current employees can use LinkedIn to source a new job.

Get over your fear and start using LinkedIn – Using LinkedIn does not automatically mean you are job hunting. Many business and professions use LinkedIn for other reasons.

Create a strong LinkedIn Profile – A LinkedIn profile is your own personal sales brochure. Some compare it to an online CV but I think it offers more. Build a full and up-to-date profile ensuring impact content and achievements, keywords and recommendations.

Your Headline/Status updates – Many job hunters between jobs use this to tell the world they are actively seeking employment. Use your headline to indicate what you do and who you do it for. Avoid putting information about your job hunt on your status.

Manage your account settings – Adjust settings so that your connections are not informed when make changes to your profile or status. If they can see you are connecting with recruiters it might give the game away. Use the settings to indicate that they are interested in career opportunities and that you accept messages from other members. Help recruiters/opportunities get in touch.

Ensure your profile is keyword rich – In US 85% of recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent and Ireland is following fast. Identify the keywords that recruiters may use to search for your skills.

Join relevant groups – Join groups in your specific field or industry. Recruiters and potential hiring managers will be monitoring. Contribute to the groups by posting meaningfully comments. This will help increase visibility and draw potential opportunities to your profile. Remember that everyone can read your comments so don’t give the game away.

Expand your network – The more people you connect to the more you expand your reach. Remember it is about quality and not numbers. Actively hunt down and build relationships with relevant recruiters through your group membership.

Comment on Blogs/Forums – When you comment on an industry forum or blog it is important to post your Linkedin URL. This can draw people to view your profile.

Email signature – Place your Linkedin URL on your email signature. When you send emails you are opening yourself up to potential viewers. Use your personal email and depending on your role you may be able to add to your work email.

LinkedIn Training – Individual & Group

Linkedin Group – Measurability Careers & Jobs Club