G ET T HAT J OB !

The Book of Crucial Info

to help you on your way (Last updated: Jan. 4 , 2011)
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By Fidelma Wallace and Liam Horan Expert Authors, Sli Nua Careers

There are more people than ever looking for those valuable jobs. So what are you going to do to get noticed? How are you going to stand out as someone who can bring value? This book helps you do just that. But it should do more than that. It should also get you thinking, really thinking, about how you are approaching your job search. Ultimately, the answers lie within you. This book can only help you to find those answers.
Fidelma Wallace & Liam Horan are Careers Consultants with www.SliNuaCareers.com
Main Street, Headford, Co. Galway Tel: 094 95 42965 / 087 9185 867 / 086 8219 863

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things to remember when

Writing Your CV
1. Know your strengths. Really know them. Write them down. Ask your family and friends. Sometimes we dont realise our strengths. Take time to identify yours. 2. Know your competencies. Competency-based interviews are all the rage these days. Know what yours are: what skills and competencies have you built up from education and / or work. 3. Know what area you would like to work in. This might sound an obvious statement, but a great deal of people are vague about their aspirations. Get specific. Find out what rocks your boat. And tailor your CV accordingly. 4. Know the value youll bring to an organisation. If you are an engineer and you think you can save money for your potential employers, make sure you put that in your CV. It can come under your key competencies. Just make sure you know what you can bring to them: ultimately the employer cares more for what you can bring to them than what you brought to your last place of employment. You must bring value. 5. List your voluntary activity, particularly anything that may be relevant in your area of work (i.e. a trainee Solicitor should mention the voluntary work he/she did for the Student Legal Services in college). Being a willing volunteer tells a lot about you as a person. Use it to your advantage. 6. List your hobbies. These people have to work with you, day in, day out: let them know you are an interesting, wide-ranging person. Dont over-play your hobbies, but dont hide them either. 7. If youve won awards, list them. They show you are an achiever, someone who commits to a project. Those are transferrable attributes. 8. Dont list vague traits be specific. If you claim youre a hard worker or highly-motivated, prove your assertion with real examples. You will do more of this in the Job Interview. 9. Double-check the spelling. Make sure you use capital letters where appropriate. Get someone to look over your CV if you feel youre weak in this area. In fact, get someone to look over your CV, full stop. 10. Know your CV. Become familiar with it. A good CV will set the tone for the job interview. 11. Go for early impact. Some employers just glance at CVs. Make sure when they glance at yours, they see more than your Primary School education details. 12. Tailor your CV for the very position youre targeting. Your CV can be tweaked from job to job tweak it so that it best sells you for the next position. Dont treat your CV as a work of art that cant be amended.

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reasons why you should

Fly During An Interview

1. When youve got your CV right, the interview will flow from there. A well-written CV will lure the interviewer down certain roads that suit you - control your CV, influence the interview. 2. Nerves are good. Great sportspeople are regularly so consumed by nerves before major events that they can barely talk. Learn that nerves are inevitable: and focus instead on what youre going to be asked to do. Youre going to be asked to talk about yourself (a subject you know well), your background (ditto), your education (ditto), and what value you can bring to the employer (ditto). Therefore, like the great sportsperson, your nerves should dissipate once you get rolling in the interview. The subject matter is familiar to you so you have nothing to fear. 3. They dont want you to fail either. Contrary to popular opinion, interviewers (with the very rare exception) take no delight in seeing a candidate fall apart, and will generally do anything to avoid this happening. They can make a decision on the best candidate without reducing the rest to tears. By and large, they will help you along and make it as easy as possible for you. Its like a Best Man at a wedding: everyone wants him to do well. 4. Take it one question at a time. Treat every question as an opportunity to sell yourself. Dont force it, but dont pass up opportunities to talk yourself up either. Most people are not arrogant, and therefore even if they talk themselves up a bit more than usual, they will still not come across as arrogant or conceited. 5. Do the preparation work. Get friends to do mock interviews with you. Even just one question. Driving in the car, articulate answers. Best not do that on the bus or train, though, for obvious reasons. Ideally, do yourself the favour of an Interview Training Session. Professional expertise can really bring out the best in you. 6. Relax. Dont imbue the interview with too great a significance. Its just one job. There will be more. Even in this environment, there will be more. Focus not on getting the job, but on doing the best you can do. Treat each interview almost as a rehearsal for the next one: never let any one interview become too big in your mind. Fine-tune your interview performance over and over. Eventually, hopefully sooner rather than later, you will do enough to get the job. 7. Back to nerves they dont notice your nerves as much as you do. We are our own worst critics in this area. Plus to be nervous is to be human. Dont worry about it. Its only natural. 8. Yes, yes, yes a firm handshake is advisable. But, please, dont wait to hear the crack of knuckle. 9. The interview is not jut about you its about what you can bring to the company. So, first of all, decide what the company is looking for. Write down the words that describe their requirements. Then, and only then, see how you fit the bill. If you decide they need a good communicator, and you feel youre a good communicator, then youve got to tell them that and youve also got to back it up with concrete examples that prove youre a good communicator. Prove it with examples from your previous work, or from your personal life or hobbies. But until you prove it with an example, they cant really be sure its true. 10. Paint pictures. If youre a school-teacher who takes the time to bring the students on extra-curricular trips, paint that picture tell the interviewer about the recent trip to the theatre to see a play. Name the play. Name the theatre. Let the interviewer gain a strong visual sense of you with that group in that theatre. When you achieve that, you have embedded something valuable in the interviewers mind.

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reasons why

Mock Interviews are so valuable for you

1. Friends wont give you the feedback you really need. They know you too well and so make allowances based on the fact that they know the real you. They also tend to cushion the blow rather than make telling observations. 2. You cant beat the experience of going through the interview procedure before the real thing. Have key elements critiqued such as how you entered the room, what level of eye-contact you made, how well you articulated your answers, what level of enthusiasm you showed. 3. They can build your confidence. Many people believe they are very bad at interviews, whereas they are often much better than that. We can be our own harshest critics. The Mock Interview can bring a welcome boost to your self-esteem at a crucial juncture before the real thing. 4. Even the whole process of getting on the glad rags is helpful. Maybe that suit you havent worn in a while is a bit tight now better discover that on the day of the Mock Interview than an hour before the real thing. 5. Preparation is the key. Mock Interviews are the nearest you can get to the Interview itself. A good Mock Interviewer will make you feel like you are going for the job itself. 6. People get much more valuable feedback from a Mock Interview situation than they do from actual Interviews. Many companies dont give detailed feedback either they havent the time, or they are cautious about articulating why you didnt get the job. So, demand as much feedback as possible from your Mock Interviewer: that feedback is gold dust for you. 7. Observations a Mock Interviewer may make: you talk too fast, you talk too slow, you dont sell yourself well enough, you dont show enough enthusiasm, you show too much enthusiasm (i.e. not credible to be that up for a job, you talked too little, you talked too much, you didnt know enough about the company, you didnt make your past experience relevant to this position, etc. The list is endless.

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things to bear in mind when

Writing A Cover Letter

1. It should be brief. If your CV is doing its job properly, there is no need to re-hash the information all over again in the Cover Letter. 2. It should provide relevant information your contact details, plus the job for which youre applying. Be courteous, but it is rarely necessary to write more than four sentences. 3. I didnt have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote a long one Mark Twain nailed it in one. The more you write, beyond a certain minimum amount of detail, the more you run the danger of your key message being lost. 4. Double-check spellings, names, and the like. 5. Something we are compelled to flag here: the amount of people who write their own name without a first capital letter amazes us. an other should be AN Other. And theres only one thing worse than down-playing your own name in that way and thats down-playing the name of the person to whom you are writing in the hope of securing gainful employment.

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things you should note when

Going On The Job Trail

1. Jobs pop up everywhere and anywhere these days. Familiarise yourself with these locations. 2. Newspapers are still popular places for job ads. 3. Online sites are another key area. We have a list of such sites just ask us for it. 4. Jobs even get advertised in the noticeboard of your local supermarket keep an eye out there. 5. Recruitment Agencies impress, impress, impress. That smiling Recruitment Agent you meet might well have a leg-in to a dozen jobs in your sphere right now. Make sure they see the best of you: some people treat the trip to the Recruitment Agency almost as a necessary evil. You should view it much differently. Recruitment Agents are decision-makers too. Approach that meeting as you would a job interview dress well, have your answers thought through, illustrate what value you can bring to an employer. 6. Head-hunters exist too dont sit waiting at home waiting for one, but if one does come knocking on your door, immediately fall into your selling myself mode. 7. If youve decided there are specific companies where youd like to work, get thee to their websites. Youd be surprised what youd see there theres often a job sitting there for months and months that theyve struggled to fill. Can you do the needful? 8. Dont write vague, non-specific letters to companies. Dont say that I am willing to work in any role you might have in mind for me. That is akin to asking the company to make a career decision for you. Instead, study that company and see where you might be able to bring value and target that area. Theyll respect someone who writes to say I believe I can help you greatly with your Asian markets, due to my knowledge of that region, and my command of three of its main languages. 9. When writing to companies, get the name of THE person in your area. Dont just send of a letter to the HR Manager. Find out who is the key person in the very section you want to work, and write to that person. How? By researching their site. By googling. By ringing the local Chamber of Commerce. By talking to people already in the company. Whatever it takes. 10. A week after sending a speculative email or letter to a company, follow up with a phonecall. 11. Lots of jobs never get advertised instead people create their own position with a well-written letter carrying a carefully-constructed approach. Employers generally react positively to someone being clever and creative in their efforts to get a job. 12. You can learn a lot about a company on LinkedIn. See whos moving up, try to enter their network without being a stalker. Companies like when you know stuff about them (nearly everyone has this niggling thing called The Ego), and are rarely impressed when someone professes ignorance.

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random thoughts about

Random Job Things

1. Look to your network. The girl who plays beside you on the hockey team does she know people in your industry? Let people know what you work at, and what you want to work at. In social or sporting situations, people have the guard down. If you play on the same team, its likely the sense of fraternity will inspire them to put a word in for you somewhere. Maybe best not to go looking for referrals the day your own goal costs the team the title 2. Everyone can help. Dont exclude people just because they dont appear to be influential. There are stories about the crusty-looking janitor actually turning out to be the owner. Develop the habit of talking to everyone as if they are real people (which, in fact, they are). 3. Employers like when someone is prepared to stand out from the crowd. Were not saying turn up for the interview in a Big Bird costume, but 4. Network, network, network. Everywhere you can. Make sure people remember you. 5. Join professional bodies, business clubs, and anywhere else thatll help to get your name and face out there. 6. Get in the habit of dressing well and not just for interviews. Youd never know when youd bump into somebody who can help. 7. Do certain things for free, trusting that they will stand to you in the long run. If you want to be a journalist, build a portfolio based on unpaid contributions to your local newspaper or magazine. Train a local sports team if your chosen career is as a PE Teacher. 8. The first time an employer might hear your voice is on your voicemail. So always have a clear, professional-sounding voicemail, without going over the top. Equally, always answer the phone clearly and in a professional manner youd never know when the call might come.

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1. Join LinkedIn. 2. Did you hear us? Join LinkedIn. 3. Did we mention join LinkedIn.

ways you can get ahead of the posse

While Still In college

4. Think twice before putting stuff up on Facebook that could come back to haunt you. Our 2010 survey revealed that a worryingly high number of employers check out Facebook BEFORE employing people. Theyll never admit that in public, but its a fact. Facebook is for life. Be circumspect. 5. Get relevant work experience. Dont always look for payment (but dont turn it down either, if it comes your way). First and foremost, think of the benefit it will be on your CV. 6. Impress people with your enthusiasm with an innocence-of-youth approach, you can get to key people in companies. A lot of employers have developed a cynicism about students. Back in our day Its an evolutionary thing. Be the one student who gives them a chance to say you know what, a young person like that would make you feel good about the country again. Be the one who impresses. Be the one theyll talk about in 20 years time: I remember the first email she sent me he said Dear Ms AN Other, I think I can bring value to your company and if you give me ten minutes of your time, I will show you how. Of course, it goes without saying that if you make a promise like that, you must arrive with something good in the tank.

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thoughts wed like to plant in your mind about

Your Personal Brand

1. You may change jobs but you are still the same person. What are you doing to ensure that your personal brand (and, yes, we dislike the term too, but we cant find a better one) travels with you? 2. We recommend a personal website in your name www.ANOther.ie or .com. Here you can provide some detail on who you are, where you work, your interests, your achievements, etc. Its a place where people can get a sense of you. Its almost like an online CV. It does more than give info about you it also transmits the message that you take your career seriously. 3. Facebook posts about great nights out might be innocent at the time but they can come back to haunt you. Be careful what you put up there. Its a public forum, even though it sometimes feels like a private conversation between friends. 4. LinkedIn is an excellent forum for displaying your worth, and it is subtle and under-stated, rather than being in your face. 5. Bear in mind that you are a brand. Always keep an eye on promoting your own name too. Successful people move from company to company, or project to project, but continue to transmit a sense of themselves to the public. Keep a little bit for yourself. Itll stand to you in the long run.

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things you should do straightaway on

LinkedIn.com
1. Join. For free, to start. And free (or basic as they call it) should do for the rest of your days on LinkedIn.com. See here to get some info on what LinkedIn.com is all about: http://press.linkedin.com/faq 2. Build your profile. Tack in where youve worked and what you did. Make sure to use a photo. 3. Add your Twitter account, if you have one. And try to post Tweets that enhance your career profile. 4. Connect with people you know. In the early stages, this will take a bit of time as you sift through Connections of Connections as is the case with Facebook. But once you achieve some critical mass, it will become easier until one day, hopefully a long way off just yet, you are back to slim pickings again. But, by then, you will have dozens or maybe even hundreds of useful Connections. 5. Get Connections to recommend you in whatever way they can - even someone for whom you worked on a summer job. Get in the habit of asking people to recommend you. No job too small. 6. Join groups in your area of interest. For example, as Im writing this here, I did a search for Civil Engineer groups a total of 67 came up. Look through to see what one is of interest/relevance to you. 7. Search for jobs. Again, it couldnt be easier LinkedIn is remarkably user-friendly. 8. Respond to questions that people ask, if you can (and if your answer is useful). This is another way of building your profile. 9. Do a little bit every day or two. Build your profile bit by bit. Ditto with your network: build it bit by bit, and, more importantly, build your network before you need it.

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cornerstones of

The Sli Nua Careers Approach

1. We seek to draw out of you the best attributes you have we dont try to impose a magic solution or a silver bullet upon you. The answers lie within you. Our job is to draw them out. 2. When youve got your interview game-plan in place, the language finds you. It is not about rehearsing answers: it is about orientating yourself properly in the build-up to the interview, and trusting that, thus orientated, you will produce the answers and insights that will help you get that job. 3. We dont have a one-size-fits-all solution everyone is different, everyone has their own strong points, and we just work with those. 4. Our approach can be adapted by your for any job you go for in the future we show you how to prepare properly for an interview, and that preparation will stand to you forever 5. We take a keen interest in your career on an ongoing basis if you succeed, we succeed. We regularly alert clients to possible job opportunities, for example, or make introductions that we feel can benefit them

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Sli Nua Careers helps Job Seekers get jobs, by assisting you in the following areas:

Interview Training Mock Interviews CV Preparation Personal Branding Career Direction

Media Enquiries & Interviews: Liam Horan, 094 95 42965

If you take your career seriously, so will we

This book is updated on a regular basis. At any given time, you can get the most up-to-date version, free of charge, by emailing GetThatJob@SliNuaCareers.com. Feel free to pass that address onto your friends too. Fidelma Wallace & Liam Horan are Careers Consultants with www.SliNuaCareers.com
Main Street, Headford, Co. Galway Tel: 094 95 42965 / 087 9185 867 / 086 8219 863 Follow us on Facebook: Sli Nua Careers or http://on.fb.me/9eBy9w

Tweets: @SliNuaCareers Directions to Sli Nua Careers, Main Street, Headford, Co. Galway: http://bit.ly/ac1mBK (Sessions are by appointment only see above for contact details)

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