Interview Techniques

  • People will tell you to research the company, the technology and the industry. This is all-important! But most importantly, you must prepare yourself.
  • Be ready to talk through your resume in detail, including the reasons for each of your career moves.
  • Be ready to offer examples to back up ALL your answers.
  • Put your answers into context. Not only does it make for a more entertaining interview, it also gives you credibility.
  • Be self-aware! No one is perfect. We all have our challenges and areas for improvement. Don’t be scared of showing them. Self-awareness means you are halfway towards self-improvement.
  • Be prepared, with real answers, for those questions about weaknesses. Avoid saying that you think your weaknesses could also be a strength. Too cliché! Use this question as an opportunity to put yourself out there – warts and all. People like working with real people.
  • Close the meeting strongly. Don’t just ask for the job! This can be tacky and turn your interviewer off.
  • Use the close as an opportunity to summarise your understanding of the role, match yourself back to the summary and then register your interest. Make sure they know you have thought it through and compared their company and business to others. Tell them you are keen. You would be amazed how many people don’t get jobs because someone else ‘wanted it more’.
  • Ask if they think you have missed anything or if they have any specific question marks over your suitability – this gives you the opportunity to handle any objections before you leave the room.

 

 

Good luck! For more help, contact us to discuss some of our personal coaching packages.

 

 

Writing your Resume

  • Your resume is one of the most important documents you will ever write. It is pivotal to your career and is the key tool used to ascertain suitability. It is crucial that you make it a masterpiece.
  • There are many views on how you should present the ‘perfect’ resume. Some say to keep it 2 pages, others say 4. Some say list all of the jobs you have had and some say list the last 10 years. There is no exact science. Your resume is a sales document. It needs to sell you, your skills, your abilities and your achievements.
  • Keep it simple.
  • Start with your personal details. There is nothing worse than having to travel through a resume to find a phone number or email address. You need the reader to be able to contact you easily.
  • Next, a profile is a good idea. This is probably the hardest part. The profile should not be a summary of your career history but rather a paragraph describing you, your working style and some of your values. This is your chance to differentiate. Written well, your profile should give the reader a feel for your best-fit work culture and the style of operator you are.
  • The easiest way to achieve a good profile is to firstly note down words that describe you in a personal and work capacity. Include words that you feel align with your values. Do the same describing your skills and strengths. These are your keywords. Use these keywords as the basis for your profile.
    For example, if I was doing this exercise some of my keywords might be: proactive, articulate, accountable, direct, results oriented, creative, entrepreneurial, integrity.
    My profile might read something like: I am an entrepreneurial and articulate professional with a proven track record of success. I am an inclusive and focused leader and I work best in outcome-driven teams where people are made accountable and empowered to do their job. I pride myself on my integrity and my ability to work cohesively with colleagues and clients.
  • The next step is to list your education and training. Don’t list every minute detail — dates, institutions and qualifications are all you need. You can say that transcripts are available on request for any diplomas, certificates or degrees if you have them.
  • If you have any certifications, list these here too and if you have completed more than four business-related courses, say ‘various sales or business courses including’ – and list four. You can either append the others in an Appendix or you can say ‘full list is available upon request’.
  • Now it’s time to outline your experience. Begin with your current or most recent position. If you choose, you can include a quick sentence describing your employer’s business, but don’t make it too long. Then list Responsibilities in bullet point form, followed most importantly by Achievements, also in bullet point form.
  • You are done. Congratulations! You can now tweak your resume, according to the role you are applying for, by changing terminology or the focus of the achievements as appropriate. And make sure you are clear which resume has been sent for which application – things could get embarrassing otherwise.