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”

Read On…………………..

How should I prepare for competency based questions?
It is all about preparation. You need to do some investigating if you are not clear about the competencies involved, or you do not have a job spec, or your recruitment consultant cannot give you this information (they should be able to help if they are a good consultant ). Do a search on the jobs board for similar roles and check out what employers look for in the requirements section. Once you have established at least 5 -8 competencies, stop and think through examples of when you have delivered on them in the past. Your examples don’t always have to be work related, but it you are stuck, there is no harm throwing in a personal or hobbies related example. It is worth practicing with a professional interviewer in advance. EG A recruitment consultant or a career advisor

The link below is an excellent site that provides you sample questions, how to structure your answers, how to approach your interview and sample questions & answers

http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/compet/skillquest.htm

Examples of competencies include the following

Adaptable
Administration
Ambitious
Attention to Detail
Analytical
Building Relationship
Communication
Competitive
Conflict Resolution
Creativity Customer Oriented
Decision Making
Delegation
Detail Oriented
Energy
Financially Motivated
Flexibility
Initiative
Influencing
Interpersonal Skills
Innovation
Leadership
Listening
Motivating Others
Negotiation
Organised
Persuasive
Planning
Presentation
Project Management
Problem Solving
Results Orientated
Supportive
Sales
Time Management
Goal Setting
Strategic Planning
Managing Stress
Teamwork
Resilience
Value Oriented
Writing
People Management
Self Management

Further probing questions!!

What exactly did you do? What was your specific role in this? What challenges did you come across? Why precisely did you do that? Why exactly did you make that decision?How did you approach it?How did you feel? Whose decision was it? What exactly was the outcome? What feedback did you receive? What would you do differently next time

Mairead Griffin, Career Coach, 01-2160880, mairead@careermentors.ie

What do I do if I cannot afford my mortgage repayments?

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

Read more…….

What do I do if I cannot afford my rent?

You may qualify for a Rent Supplement if you live in private rented accommodation and are unable to meet the cost of your rent. You must be in receipt of either a Social Welfare payment or Supplementary Welfare Allowance (SWA) payment in order to receive this Supplement.
Community Welfare Officers (CWO’s) in local Health Centres have guidelines on what is considered reasonable accommodation for your family size.

If your rent is above the maximum ‘cap’ or limit for your family size the Health Board can refuse to pay any rent supplement. Each HSE district has its own maximum rent levels and different levels apply to single people, couples and couples/lone parents with children.

If you apply for a Rent Supplement you will be referred to your local authority for an ‘assessment of housing needs’. You may not qualify for a rent supplement until a housing assessment has been completed by the local authority.
Some of the most common reasons that people do not qualify for a rent supplement are:

- The rent is too high
- Your income is too high
- One member of the household is working full-time (over 30 hours
per week or more)

Rent / Mortgage Interest Supplement

Taking up part-time employment can effect your Rent/Mortgage supplement. Income is assessed in the following way:

The first €75 of ‘additional household income’ is disregarded.
Additional household income over €75 is disregarded at 25% of its value
There is no upper limit on the amount that can be disregarded.

For more information on this contact http://www.inou.ie or http://www.welfare.ie

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

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

Read More

What does it take to be a successful solicitor? What skills are transferable?

•Analytical, enquiring mind with the ability to draw detail from masses of info
•Clear verbal, listening & written communication skills, to gather info and relay it elsewhere
•Aptitude to solve problems in a practical way that helps a client
•An ability and interest in generating new business
•Objective decision making skills, ability to be clear about what needs to be done
•Patience, organisational skills, strong attention to detail
•Work to strict deadlines
•Analytical and research skills

- Useful Legal Links
http://lawsociety.ie
http://thelawyer.com
http://totallylegal.com
http://legalsupportnetwork.co.uk
http://lawgazettejobs.co.uk/content_static/home.asp . ( Gazette, UK Law Society)
http://jobs.ac.uk/jobs/
http://lawcareers.net/ImmediateVacancies.aspx -
http://enllegal.co.uk
http://totaljobs.com
http://simplylawjobs.com
http://britishinformation.com/legal-jobs/
http://www.g2legal.co.uk/salary_survey.cfm for UK positions and UK salary survey

- Irish Legal Recruiters
HRM
The Legal Panel
Laurence Simons
Redtree.ie ( new agency )
Brightwater

- UK Legal Recruiters
Laurence Simmons
Robert Half International
Taylor Root
Noble legal
GMK
Garfield Robbins International
EJ Legal

- Largest UK Law firms
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Linklaters LLP
Slaughter and May
Allen & Overy LLP
Clifford Chance
Herbert Smith LLP
Ashurst LLP
Lovells LLP
Macfarlances LLP
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flon ( UK ) LLP
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Travers Smith LLP
Weil, Gotshal & Manges
White & Case LLP
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Latham & Watkins
Mayer Brown International LLP
SJ Berwin LLP
Shearman & Sterling LLP
Addleshaw Goddard LLP
Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP
DLA Piper UK LLP
Denton Wilde Sapte LLP
Jones Day
Simmons & Simmons
Covington & Burling LLP
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP
Hogan & Hartson
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
Sidley Austin LLP
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
Vinson & Elkins RLLP

- Irish Law Firms
McCann Fitzgerald
Mayson Hayes Curran
LK Shields
Ivor Fitzpatrick
Dillon Eustace
Beauchamps
BCM Hanby Wallace
Arthur Cox
A+L Goodbody
William Fry
Binchys
Eugene F Collins
Maples & Caulder
Lavelle Coleman
O’Rourke Reid
Noel Smyth & Partners
Smith Foy
Whitney Moore & Keller
Hughes & Liddy
Keane
Landwell
Hayes McGrath
Crowley Millar
Daniel Spring
Brian O’Donnell & Partners
Brophy Solicitors
Corrigan & Corrigan
Ellis & Ellis
Gartlan Furey

Hope this helps any solicitors out there who are job searching!

Thanks
Mairead
Career Coach & Outplacement Specialist
http://www.careermentors.ie
01-2160880

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

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?

Read more………

Do I have the employment statistics of recent graduates?

Will I have to pursue further education to qualify further and make myself employable?

Do I have the time that’s needed to do coursework, attend lectures and study for exams?

Does my employer provide study leave?

Would my employer support me financially? What happens if I leave my job or get made redundant?

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

Read More………..

- I was thinking of bending the truth on my salary as I really need the extra cash

Always be honest about your current salary. Your P45 will outline your previous earnings so you are only going to be found out! It will mean you start employment on a negative note and this dishonesty could even cost you your job during your probation period.

- I was told I should give a salary range. Is this the right thing to do if asked?

If asked and pressed on the salary issue, ask if there is a salary range on the role. Always emphasise that the role is the most important thing and whilst salary is secondary, it is still important so you can sustain yourself. Do some market research on your role and experience and review some salary surveys so you can be confident when discussing your requirements.

- I was asked by an employer “what do you feel I should be paying for this role?” How do I respond to that?
If you have your research done, you will have no problem answering this question

If you would like to share your salary related experiences, please post to the Group. I am sure HR professionals within the Group have also encountered issues in this area!!

Hope this helps

Regards
Mairead Griffin FCIPD
Career Coach & Outplacement Consultant
CAREER MENTORS

Website: http://www.careermentors.ie
Address: 30 Upper Pembroke Street, Dublin 2
Phone: 01-2160880
Mobile : 0876312900

Email: mairead@careermentors.ie
Blog: http://www.careermentors.ie/blog
Linkedin http://www.ie.linkedin.com/in/careermentors
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/careermentors
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/careermentors

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!!

Read More….

Sample Action Words
( Sorry about the long list! IIt’s impossible to do a table of action words on linkedin! )

Uncovered
Created
Generated
Scheduled
Strengthened
Planned
Accomplished
Implemented
Presented
Tracked
Achieved
Processed
Administered
Produced
Launched
Analysed
Increased
Maintained
Utilised
Transferred
Approved
Influenced
Managed
Transformed
Budgeted
Innovated
Proposed
Motivated
Translated
Built
Verified
Installed
Provided
Negotiated
Completed
Purchased
Introduced
Recommended
Organised
Established
Devised
Delivered
Consolidated
Demonstrated
Controlled
Devised
Researched
Spearheaded
Coordinated
Revised
Structured
Expanded
Forecasted
Succeeded
Earned
Founded
Eliminated
Accelerated
Streamlined
Participated
Improved
Reduced
Maintained
Led
Revamped
Accelerated
Enhanced
Forged
Traded
Promoted
Delegated
Invented
Trained
Superseded

For bespoke CV Advice.....

For bespoke CV Advice.....

Read More……

Job market updates & announcements
Career change
Drafting impactful CVs
Recruiting from a Internal HR perspective
Maximising the use of recruitment consultancies
Online & offline job searching
Upskilling, training & education
Latest recruiting technologies
Redundancies and entitlements
Social media for job searching
Networking – online, offline, events etc
Latest recruiting technologies
Job market challenges & more……..

The Group Owner, Mairead Griffin, a leading Career Coach and Outplacement Consultant from ‘Career Mentors’ ( http://www.careermentors.ie ) will offer practical, neutral, honest and ‘up to date’ career advice to members. The Group aims to engage, unite and support HR, Business Management, Career Consultants, Jobseekers and Recruiters, so all stakeholders in the recruitment cycle can benefit from each others insights.

Id like to invite you all to join and perhaps suggest membership to any of your connections who are actively seeking employment. You can “share” a Group with your connections using the”share group” link on the top left of the Groups main page!!
Mairead Griffin FCIPD
Career Coach & Outplacement Consultant
http://www.careermentors.ie

http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2430760&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr

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

Read More….

Q & A without STAR
Describe a situation where you had to address an issue with an individual you managed?

I had one employee who wasn’t getting on well with the customers or her colleagues. I met her and told her that things were going to have to change.I felt I was assertive and she respected my opinions. She took on board my opinions as her manager, and things improved from there. I was very happy with the outcome.
—————————————————————————————————————–

Q&A using Star

Describe a situation where you had to address an issue with an individual you managed?

Situation:
As Customer Service Manager ,I managed a team of 15 staff who were responsible for all aspects of customer care. At the beginning of a quarter, I received a 2 complaints from customers regarding one of the team members. This individual also attendance problems, both of which were impacting on the business and team morale

Task
As her manager I was tasked with addressing the situation in a professional and transparent manner, so customer complaints relating to this individual stopped and all staff were positive and engaged in their relative teams
.
Action
I invited the employee to meet with me at a scheduled time and date. I outlined the purpose of the meeting in advance. In preparation for the meeting I drafted a history of her performance and attendance. At the meeting I asked if there were any problems or areas where she felt that she needed further training. I reitterated her responsibilities and the service standards of our organisation . I also provided her with a copy of our employee handbook to outline our attendance policy which had already been provided at induction. I highlighted the consequences of her actions should they continue. At the meeting we agreed improved standards and we set a timeframe of 2 weeks to review progress.

Result
The individuals attendance improved to 98% from 79% for the year, thereby reducing the impact on service delivery and the costs involved. Our customer satisfaction survey at the end of the quarter showed 90% satisfaction, an improvement of 10% on the previous quarter. Overall team morale improved and the team became more productive and engaged.

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.

Read More

Q. Will I be told in advance to whom the agency will send my CV?
A. Unless you’ve instructed the agency otherwise, the agency is required by law to seek job-seekers permission prior to sending their CV to an employer. (For further information on your rights see www.dataprotection.ie).

Q. Will my references be checked?
A. Usually it will be the employer that checks references however, some agencies may do so on behalf of the employer. Either way they are obliged to seek the candidates permission first.

Q. Can I only register with one agency at any time?
A. No. Candidates may register with as many agencies as they wish. Indeed as there are no charges to candidates it is recommended that job-seekers register with several appropriate agencies.

Q. Do all agencies provide the same service?
A. No. While all agencies seek to find people jobs, some agencies deal with specific sectors, (eg Office/Secretarial, Hotel/Catering etc), while others are generalists agencies and operate on a localised basis (i.e. finding local jobs for people).

Q. Can I increase my chances by applying for the same job with two different agencies?
A. No. In fat you can decrease your chances as employers may see this as an error on your part (CV arriving twice) or it could lead to disputes between employer and the agencies. To avoid this problem NRF agencies are obliged to check with you if you have already applied for a job for which they believe you are suitable.

Q. Can I expect a response/feedback about my interview with a potential employer?
A. Good business practice indicates that you should receive feedback however, it is dependent on the agency receiving feedback from the employer.

Q I want to make a complaint about an agency. What should I do?

Either contact the MD of the agency or if it is a serious complain outside for the NRF code of conduct, contact the director@nrf.ie

(Courtesy of the National Recruitment Federation)

For more information on job searching and guidance on job searching contact:

Mairead Griffin, Career Coach, Career Mentors, http://www.careermentors.ie or mairead@careermentors.ie
Phone 01-2160880