“Tell me about yourself?” Do you dread being asked this job interview question? Do you even know where to start? This interview question seems to throw candidates into a spin! However, it’s still a commonly asked question that’s asked at the beginning of the interview. Tell me about yourself – it’s not an invitation to talk about your life story! It’s actually very simple when you think about the person asking the question. Think for a moment about why you are being asked this question. If you start to consider this question from the interviewer’s point of view it becomes much clearer. They ..read more

Interviewing is a skill and hopefully a skill most of us won’t have to put into practice that often. However, not having to put it into practice is also a disadvantage. When you start looking and applying for jobs, those interview skills tend to get rusty. This means you’ll probably attend a few interviews before getting back into your stride. If you haven’t had an interview for a while, it might just be worth attending a few before you get invited for the dream job! What are the pros and cons of interviewing for a job you don’t want! Normally, I wouldn’t be encouraging any of my clients to ..read more

And, decide whether you are the right team fit and personality fit… Motivational fit is one of the three essential ingredients hiring managers measure during an interview. Most hiring managers want to hire highly engaged and motivated individuals and they do this by gathering push and pull factors.  In this blog, we’ll share what push and pull factors are and how important they are to understanding your true motivation.  Why? Because these people are likely to possess other characteristics like, enthusiasm, be self-driven, ambition, and all these lead to a person being more produc ..read more

What 3 ingredients do you need to consider when preparing for a job interview?  There are three ingredients you need to consider when you are preparing for any type of interview and any interview question.  It can be overwhelming when you’re preparing for an interview and you’re trying to predict the questions that will be asked. Most candidates will say to themselves, what shall I share, what do I talk about? When there’s a better question to ask yourself; “What information do hiring managers need to make a decision I’m the right candidate for the job?” Read that question ag ..read more

How do you get the best from being unemployed? Being unemployed can be a worrying time.  You worry about paying the bills, having enough money to buy food, and whether longer-term you’ll keep a roof over your head.   In the first two years of self-employment, I must admit I found it tough.  For me, it was a big learning curve.  Despite networking like crazy across Essex, I didn’t have a contract or any clients.  I was technically unemployed and jobless!  It’s not a great place to be. What I did have was many contacts and associates to network with and ask ..read more

Why can it take so long for hiring managers to decide? Looking for a new job is time-consuming and often frustrating. Often, you’ll hear absolutely nothing back about your application. The whole process can feel incredibly slow, and all you want is to land that next job! Why does the recruitment process take so long? Having worked in HR as an in-house recruiter for many years, there were quite a few things that could get in the way or delay the process from moving forward. Lots of internal events can contribute to the time it takes to move through the hiring process. A good recruiter will a ..read more

What do you talk about from the reception to the interview room? If you dread small talk you probably find the walk to the interview room awkward and uncomfortable. However, it’s one of those situations to consider now, rather than bury your head and regret it later. Everyone knows the importance of preparing for an interview. To stand out from the other candidates you need to think about something different these days. I remember while being an in-house recruiter, interviewing approximately 6 candidates a day. I didn’t have time for lunch! It was challenging to remember each candidate by t ..read more

How to understand your worth and negotiate the best salary A lot of candidates get uncomfortable at this stage in the recruitment process. There really is no need as it’s a natural part of the process. And, having interviewed thousands of candidates, it’s a part of the process I really enjoyed.  It’s also important to get this bit right and meet your expectations.  The hiring manager wants you to feel delighted with the offer, not disappointed.  You are a successful candidate and that’s something to be really happy about.  It’s time to negotiate your salary. Factors t ..read more

Preparation is an essential part of excelling at interviews  The job interview is a process that can stimulate the nerves and tension of job-seeking individuals. In numerous cases, it is the final stage or hurdle to go through in securing a job. The first thing you need to do above all things is to prepare your updated resume. If you’re a beginner or doing this online, you can make use of an ATS resume template such as this one. This is a type of resume template that helps you get past the applicant tracking system and right at the tables of the hiring manager. A job interview can be m ..read more

The problems with transferrable skills It’s one of those words that gets thrown out there with very little explanation. So much so, candidates with little knowledge or understanding of transferable skills will not know how to use this information or talk about them during an interview. It’s a highly competitive job market right now and there are higher than usual pressures and demands placed on employees.  Hiring managers need their workforce to take on high workloads, be extremely adaptable, and get up to full speed fairly rapidly. Hiring decisions have never been more important to ge ..read more