Competency Based Interviews are also known as “Structured Interviews” or “Behavioural Interviews”. An interviewer will be looking to assess how capable you are in the competencies that have been identified as part of the job. It is common for Competency Based Interviews to be combined with CV led interviews

What exactly is a competency?
It’s a skill, knowledge or behaviour eg Teamwork, Detail Orientation, Analytical

Why use a competency based interview?
It is a fair, consistent and objective way of assessing candidates. Everyone is asked the same questions, and rated in the same way. It removes room for human error

What type of organisations use competency based interviews?
Generally large blue-chip multinationals, graduate recruitment days, semi states & public sector. Small to Medium sizedenterprises are using competency based interviews more and more. Iin the UK this type of interview is standard. Irrespective of whether or not an interview is competency based or not, the preparation required will really help you think on your feet at a CV led interview

What approach should be used for these interviews?
Always use the 1st person and the STAR interview Technique. We will discuss this in more detail under “STAR Interview Techniques”

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What do I do if I cannot afford my mortgage repayments?
The most important thing is that you’re open and honest with your bank before you get to the point of financial despair. It is critical that you protect your future credit rating as much as possible. You should speak to your lender before your bills mount up. Before approaching your bank read the Irish Mortgage Federations Code of Practice on Mortgage Arrears on the http://www.ibf.ie website. Ensure you have all the facts and entitlements in advance of meeting your bank

Option 1
Request a payment holiday whereby you will not have to make any repayments of capital or interest. This is what you should ask for first.
 

Option 2
Ask to be moved to interest only until you are back on your financial feet

Option 3
The Mortgage Interest Supplement. provides short term support to help you pay your mortgage interest repayments. You will only get assistance with the interest portion of your mortgage repayments.

What is the process?

To apply, fill in a Mortgage Interest Supplement Form . Part of the form will need to be filled in by your lending agency. You will also need to fill in another form called the Supplementary Welfare Allowance Form – this form is used to gather additional details relevant to your application for Mortgage Interest Supplement. The Community Welfare Officer or local Citizens Information Service will help you complete these forms

When you apply for Mortgage Interest Supplement the Community Welfare Officer will assess your means. This will show the Community Welfare Officer how much of the mortgage interest you can pay. A means test examines all your sources of income. However, some income is not taken into account in the calculation of your means. You may qualify for Mortgage Interest Supplement if your income is below a certain amount and you meet the other conditions. Check out http://www.welfare.ie for more details

http://www.careermentors.ie, Mairead Griffin, Career Coach & Outplacement Specialist

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Todays market is particularly challenging for solicitors with the recently qualified faced the decision of how to move forward in their careers. Many are chosing to return to college, others moving abroad, whilst others are using their transferable skills to find alternative employment. It is worth contacting the law society to get more advice. They have a career specialist who has specifically been employed to work with recently qualifieds.

Enclosed are some uselful links, recommended agencies in both Ireland and the UK and lists of the main law firms in Ireland in the UK

http://www.careermentors.ie , Career Coaching & Outplacement Specialists

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Networking is a crucial element of job hunting because many jobs are never advertised. Employers prefer to interview and hire people referred to them by friends, family, or current employees. In a job market where employers have limited budgets to advertise roles, they are more actively using their networks to identify potential recruits.

I came across this article on networking for jobsearching – think it’s well worth a read.

http://www.johnleescareers.com/Documents/Networking.pdf

Mairead Griffin
Career Coach & Outplacement Specialist
http://www.careermentors.ie

Why am I pursuing this course – is it to make myself more employable, I’m interested in the topic, I want to be financially better off? It’s vital that you are clear what you want to get out of further education

Is the course recognised by the affiliated body?

Do myself or my friends know of anyone who has completed this course?

Will I be able to support myself financially while pursuing a course?

Can you pay for the course in installments?

Should I complete a short / night course before investing in a full qualification – one in four students typically drop out of college so it’s important everything is considered

What are the job prospects on completion?

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From the outset whether you are dealing with an agency or directly with an organisation, salary, benefits and where you pitch yourself can be the difference between getting to interview stage or not. Here are some tips

Where should I pitch myself?

Salary is a critical element of the whole job searching process. Firstly, there is little value in today’s market having high demands on salary as cost saving is key for any organisation. Many companies are managing to employ high qualified staff without battling over salary. Be sensible from the outset. Very few employers will give more than 10% of an increase on a current basic. If you are prepared to move for the same or a lower salary, then make sure your recruitment consultant is clear of this. Otherwise they will eliminate and not call you about certain roles as they search through their databases. Benefits also need to be taken into account and your consultant should always be submitting your salary & benefits to employers. EG Some organisations do not have a bonus system while your current employer may pay a bonus of 20%. This is a 5K difference at a 35k level. If you are looking for a 10% increase, will a new employer offer you a base of €43,500?? That level of an increase maybe difficult to get in todays market, so if salary is a key motivator in your transition, don’t waste your time, or any potential employer’s time.

I feel I am underpaid and as I have had to take a paycut recently, I would like to get back up to market rate.

Quite often employees feel undervalued by their current / previous employers and see a job change or career move as the opportunity to get them back to the level they feel they deserve. Most employers take your current salary and benchamarking into consideration and are unlikely to make decisions based on your current employer’s salary structures

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How can I sell myself on paper??

When drafting a CV it’s important that every sentence starts with a stong, impactful action word. Descriptive verbs at the beginning of a sentence provide additional impact and a stronger impression on potential employers.

Thinking of these action words can be difficult and quite often jobseekers end up with CVs with bullet points that are repetitive and non-impactful

Example
Which looks better?

For my final year in college I surveyed a group of employers to find out their opinions of the job market. This involved interviewing employers both formally and informally. We used a database system and were awarded a 2:1 for the project

OR
Planned and devised a survey of employer’s attitudes to the current jobs market as part of my final year project. Interviewed 40 teachers and assembled, analysed and interpreted data over a period of 2 weeks using a SQL database system. Completed the project 4 weeks ahead of schedule and was awarded a 2:1 Grade

Below are some action words that should help in making your CV more impressive and enticing!!

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“Jobseekers Ireland” is a new, Group here on LinkedIn that has 110 members in 48 hours! It provides a platform for Jobseekers, Business Management, HR, Recruiters & Career Advisors to share experiences and informed advice in areas such as…….

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STAR INTERVIEW TECHNIQUE

Structuring your interview answers using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) interview technique will give you confidence and clarity when answering your interview questions. Following its form will result in your answers being high quality, comprehensive and detailed with fact. This technique will also help you avoid deviating from the question and keep your answers structured. Always use the first person when answering your questions!! STAR is particularly important to use during competency based interviews.

What is STAR?

SITUATION :A background to the situation you were involved in
TASK : Describe the tasks that were involved in the situation
ACTION : What did you personally actually end up doing and how did you
go about it
RESULT : What was the result of your actions

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National Recruitment Federation

Q. Will I definitely get a response to my CV when I send it into a Recruitment Agency?

A. It is good business practice for an agency to respond to all CV’s they receive. However, given the vast volume of CV’s received by some agencies and shortage of time, we recommend that job-seekers should follow up themselves if they have not received an acknowledgement.

Q. Will I be interviewed by the agency?
A. If the agency feels that your skills/experience are suited to particular positions available then you should be called for interview.

Q. How should I treat the interview with the agency?
A. Job-seekers should treat the interview with the agency as their first interview as the agency will shortlist candidates to be put forward to employers for interview based on their CV and interview with the agency.

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