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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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

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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Recruitment Agencies – Do’s and Don’ts

• Find out who the best agencies are specifically for your discipline in Dublin. These arent always the biggest agencies
• Registrar with the top 3-4 maximum and work to build a rapport with your recruiter
• If possible, try and find out the specific names of recruiters that friends or colleagues have encountered. Otherwise you could go on forums and ask others who they would recommend
• The main thing is getting a Recruitment Consultant with at least 2 years experience, and understanding of your discipline, who has forged good relationships with clients in your field. Recruitment is a high turnover industry, so this can be difficult, but it is doable if you do the right research
• Always call in advance if you see a job that you are interested in. Clarify that the role is still open. When recruiters advertise roles, they generally put them up on the sites as soon as the job comes in, and then start working through their database. A lot of consultants can submit shortlists from their databases, so don’t end up considering people who apply. A good recruiter will only submit 5-6 CVs to a client.

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Career Mentors has been providing career coaching services to our Irish elite professional athletes over recent months. Our service is part of a ” Career Development” Program that is being managed by Daragh Sheridan at the High Performance Unit at the Institute. It aims to allow elite athletes prepare for their careers after sport while still competing.

We have met numerous athletes from the world of rowing, sailing, swimming and sailing. We have provided them with
1. career direction and how the skills they have acquired through sport can be transferred into the workplace

2 Together we have prepared really impactful CVs that will hopefully get them to interview stage

3. They fully prepared as to what to expect at a job interview. We have critiqued their interviewing techniques – most of which improved tenfold over the 2 sessions

4. Finally we have guided them on where to job search and how they need to be proactive to achieve results.

The athletes I have met are truly an inspiration to the average person – those with work experience can work up to 15 hours a day between training and work – typically a 60 hour week.

Another element to the program is the development of Corporate Partnerships. The IOS are actively seeking high performing businesses to partner this program and provide flexible internships for their athletes. There are significant mutual benefits to employers who hire athletes on work experience – such as branding, improved morale and the Director of the High Performance Unit of the IOS will present to organisations people managers on leadership development and managing change. It is really a win win situation for employers. A number of high profile businesses have become partners.

If there are any employers out there who would like more information, just ccontact Mairead Griffin at Career Mentors and she will go through the details – 0876312900.

Otherwise check out the Institute of Sport website www.instituteofsport.ie .

In light of the fact that this weekend has been one of the best ever for Irish Sport, I believe it is time for employersto provide them with a small return for the commitment, hard work and loyalty that goes into representing Ireland.

Thanks
Mairead
Owner, Career mentors