Search Results for 'Liam Horan'

When going for a job interview, the tendency is to look to what you have done in the past – but you might only be telling half the story they need to hear, writes Liam Horan, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers.

Q: I run my own business but want a change. I went for a job interview last week. Despite my best efforts at convincing the panel that I will unplug myself from the business, I believe I failed to convince them. They kept coming back to how I would juggle both even though I made it clear I have a management structure in place that allows me to step away. And I am really keen to step away! Should I have told them I am selling the business, even though I am not? What do you think? (DC, email).

Q: I am going for an interview for a job in my local county council. I’m told I should know stuff about what the council does but, to be honest, I haven’t much of a clue. I’m not politically minded, more of a ‘live and let live’ type woman. Where do I even start? (ER, email).

Recorded video interviews are becoming more popular, and, in fact, public jobs.ie has recently started using this method for some screening interviews, writes Liam Horan, Career Coach, Sli Nua Careers.

Q: They’ve asked me to do a ten-minute presentation at the start of the interview, but the instruction amount to just one word: ‘Challenges’. What’s a woman meant to do with the likes of that? Hemingway wouldn’t manage to cobble together something from that title. Any tips would be appreciated. (IK, email).

Former world championship cross country silver medalist Catherina McKiernan and Mayo GAA All Star Colm Boyle are two of the sports stars to speak on Achieving Success in Sport – What does it take? - a free, public seminar taking place in Breaffy House Hotel on Wednesday, November 13th starting at 7:30 pm.

Q: The closing date was today. Last night, after much procrastination, I finally opened the application form and started to fill it out. And I failed. Between competencies, experience, and exact number of months worked in jobs I held 20 years ago, and lots more besides, I just couldn't get my head around it at all. Is this a common experience? I hate missing out on this job opportunity but I had no alternative. (AC, email).

Q: “I haven’t done an interview in years. How do they even work these days? The last time I did an interview, I was asked to describe my greatest weakness. I hadn’t a clue what to say – and it’s not that I’m short of weaknesses to choose from. It just struck me as a daft question. How can a weakness be ‘great’ in the first place? And why would you want to share a weakness when you’re trying to get the job. Is that kind of question still being asked these days.” – (DG, email).

Q: There’s a company I’d really like to work for – two jobs that interest me have recently been advertised there. They even have the same closing date. Should I go for one or would it be a good idea to apply for both? (EC, email).

Q: I work in a small, tightly-knit sector where everybody knows everybody else. Companies are very jealous of each other’s successes. I recently went for a job interview with one of our main rivals and was amazed the panel spent so long trying to get me to talk down my current employers. For obvious reasons (i.e. because I’m trying to leave), I couldn’t talk my employers up too much, but I didn’t feel at all comfortable badmouthing them and declined to do so. Should I have entered into the spirit of it because that’s what they wanted me to do? (AC, email).