Category Archives: Interviews

The pre interview ‘Mirror Technique’

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Use the 'Mirror Technique' to prepare for your interview

Use the 'Mirror Technique' to prepare for your interview

The pre interview ‘Mirror Technique’ is a very effective way to prepare for an up and coming interview.

We are asked every day for advice and information on how to present yourself at interview.

One of the techniques we highly recommend is to sit in front of a mirror and interview yourself.

Another option is to ask a friend or family member to interview you, but this has disadvantages – you can become self conscious, giddy or the feedback may not be too honest! -

A mirror never lies!

This is a very useful exercise for the following reasons -

  • Do you smile enough
  • How much you fidget
  • How much you use your hands and gesticulate
  • To observe your general body language which is 84% effective, or not in an interview situation
  • Are you casual or professional
  • Do you slouch
  • Do you look to the left or right
  • Are you rigid or relaxed

By playing the role of both interviewer and interviewee, you can observe how you come across to others.

This is concentrating on Body Language and in an interview situation, this is all important

Content of your interview is another matter dealt with seperately, but this ‘Mirror Technique’ focuses primarily on how you come across

In many interview training sessions, videotape is used and played back and this is a similar method to see how you sound, look and come across at an interview.

Unfortunatley, many of us do not have the relevant equipment at home to do this, but we all have access to a mirror!

Remember, when attending an interview, practice the ‘Mirror Technique’ beforehand so you are aware how you come across and have given youself the chance to improve anything you are not happy with BEFORE the actual interview.

Good luck!

First impressions last

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CV is your first impression

CV is your first impression

First impressions last and it is rare you get the second chance to get it right.

In this day and age, CV slip ups are simply not allowed.

There is no excuse for a careless or poorly presented Curriculum Vitae – (CV)

If you are serious about your next job, you must be serious about your CV.

Your CV can make the difference between you getting an interview or not.

 

 

One of the most common errors we are seeing on CV’s are spelling mistakes – simple spelling mistakes.

This gives the impression of a job seeker who is rushed, careless and does not have good attention to detail.

Your CV should be your show piece – it is your one document of your life and experience of utmost importance when changing or seeking a new job.

Your CV is a direct reflection of you

I say nowadays as we are in an age of very advanced technology, there is software available to do your CV for you – there is a basic spell check – grammar check and a multitude of sources of reference on the internet to perfect your CV – therefore there is absolutely NO excuse for spelling mistakes on a CV.

We have one here within our website specific to CV guidelines and layout -

http://www.jackiebrownmedical.ie/advice/resources.php?url=advice

Those who take care, time and pride in their CV, recognising it’s significance will be the ones who are called for interview – your CV is a future employers or a Recruitment Agents first impression of you, so remember -

FIRST IMPRESSIONS LAST

Other peoples’ opinions can be dangerous

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Other people's opinions

Other people's opinions

Other people’s opinions can be dangerous – always check it out before making a decision based on them.

We have had 2 recent episodes where our job seekers had been told by other people negative things about the Company they were applying to for a job and nearly pulled out as a result.

This is where word of mouth can be dangerous.

Check out the facts yourself first before making such a critical decision regarding your career and life balance.

Both cases were unfounded and it transpired that these were ex Medical Sales Reps who had left both Companies on a bad note and were both spreading negative feedback about these Companies down the Medical Sales Grapevine.

If you are a job seeker, you need to be very thorough in your methods and your research.

It is okay to hear negative things about the Company you are considering, but check it out – try to get a balanced non biaised opinion.

We are very thorough as Recruitment Consultants within the Medical Industry and will know whether rumours or word of mouth is true or not as we know our Client Companies very well and can therefore advise.

However, it is still imperative you seek out both sides of story and DO NOT let one person’s opinion dictate your career path.

Be Prepared

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Stop and Take Note!

Stop and Take Note!

Be Prepared! The single most fatal error when going to an interview is lack of preparation.

When attending an interview you must always prepare for all eventualities. For example, if you are a Medical Sales Rep and going for a Medical Sales job interview and you are required to do a presentation, then please cover all options!

  • Do the presentation early, have it perfect so you have at least 4/5 days to practice delivering it, and practice the timing – 10 minutes with 5 minutes for questions
  • Handouts – bring a minimum of 3 handouts of the presentation. Your interviewers may not want a copy, but it is best you have it to hand for their future reference
  • Have it saved and ready to go on your laptop!
  • Save it to a memory stick and bring the memory stick with you! They may wish to view it on their own facilities.

Do not get caught out without duplicates of your work, the last thing you need is an IT error just as you are about to go “on stage” and you have no back up. It is unprofessional and shows a lack of preparation on your part.

Remember that doing a presentation in an interview informs your interviewer of your speaking, selling and presenting skills for their company and their products.

Imagine they are your clients and they have allocated you 15 minutes of their time to hear you speak about the products you are selling. Your own laptop crashes before you even open the presentation and you haven’t got it backed up on a memory stick?

Always be prepared!

Nail that Interview

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Nail it!

Nail it!

When coming to the end of your interview, it is vital that you come out of there knowing exactly where you stand. Nail that interview!

  • See it as closing a sale
  • What happens now?
  • Where do I stand?
  • Will there be a second interview?
  • Will you call me or do I call you?
  • When will I hear feedback?

“Close the sale” to put it in Salesman terms!

There is nothing worse than walking out of an interview, getting into your car and thinking “what now?”. Instead of being unsure as to whether you impressed your interviewer, or whether you gave them all the information they needed to hear, simply ask them at the end of the interview.

Believe it or not, it is seen as assertive!

Nail that Interview!

Suits you Sir!

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Suits you Sir! Just as we wear different clothes to suit an occasion, when looking for a job it is sometimes worth considering these CV tips to suit each prospective employer or position you are applying for and to present your best assets accordingly. Consider your skills, your experience and more importantly- you!

A bad CV can be as bad as no suit at Interview. Think of how you want to look.

A bad CV can be as bad as no suit at Interview. Think of how you want to look.

For instance if you are a specific engineer you would phrase your CV to emphasise your skills to suit the role required and also give relevent examples of where your technological skills, experience or software abilities will complement the specific job required.

If you issue a generic, one size fits all CV to every client you will naturally find your CV appears to have limited if any success as a result of your CV content being limited or only partially relevant.

Having a CV for a specific type of role, either Radiologist, Nurse, Manager, Engineer, Sales Rep, Trainer or Technician means that the CV content will exlusively reflect the required role. It also means, if you have several years experience you can offer your best and most comprehensive CV without running out of  CV space room without producing an overly long CV.

Similarly having several specific letters means you can choose specifically to present your technical, personal  or management skills exclusively depending on what the Job Description calls for. This is helping the employer or agency and they will be greatful for it.

Once more this allows you to make your best possible presentation and further increases your chances of being called for interview. This of course then means you only have the issue of  deciding what you will choose to wear to  interview. After all it suits you to look and feel at your best when you have presented your best assets.

Read the requirements for a job before applying

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Meet the criteria before applying for a job

Meet the criteria before applying for a job

It is always worth reading the essential requirements for a job before applying.

All too often, CV’s are being sent to us by people totally unsuitable for the jobs they are applying for.

There are a number of reasons for this -

  1. Careless
  2. Rushed
  3. Poor attention to detail
  4. Desperate

This creates a bad impression from the outset which is not what you want to give the Recruiter who will be helping you to find your next job.

It also wastes alot of valuable time when a Recruiter gets hit with 20 unsuitable and careless CV submissions before he/she can get to the ones that are suitable.

This may also be the reason why job seekers can feel they are being ignored or not responded to as even the most fantastic Recruiter in the world – all of whom work for JBM!, will eventually lose patience with what are commonly knows as the ‘time wasters’

Applying for a job is a process which requires care, attention and time – never fall in to the trap of just sending your CV out to a multitude of jobs and sites as this will be spotted very quickly as it starts turning up at the same place more than once and will instantly give a bad impression of you

Please always ensure you meet the criteria on the job advert before applying and if you dont – dont apply

Referees and References

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Help yourself-make sure your References are contactable

Help yourself-make sure your References are contactable

Referees and references should  be considered as vital a part of your CV as your CV content and layout after all its little point in going to the trouble of producing a wonderfully laid out CV without  having consideration of  the reliability and effectiveness of your references.

One should always be assured that the referees you choose are happy to give you a reference to begin with as generally -in particular with large multinationals, they may have a policy of not providing more than a factual reference; ie the person worked here between said dates as a “fill in Job Title”

These references serve to provide little support for an applicant and can in some instances appear to be suspiciously vague or reserved as if the former employer is anxious not to incriminate themselves-which in some instances may be the case given that candidates are entitled to check references obtained or stored under the data protection act. 

As a professional, it is in your interest to obtain reliable references- ideally in advance of departure from a current employer as your referee may move on-in which case your reference is lost or may lose its veracity as a person who worked indirectly with you may only be able to provide a standard rather than glowing reference. With this in mind it is worth your while to keep in contact with your referees. Professional Social Networks such as LinkedIn can be ideal for this as members will voluntarily update their own records and are easily found on this excellent website.   

Written references are another form of reference insurance because at least you have a hard copy from your referee who may not be available when you require them due to holidays or work commitments that make them unavailable for immediate comment but will at least buy you time.

At the end of the day, references are a general assessment but the ultimate decision lies with the employer to decide to take on the candidate but if the reference concurs with the assessing employers opinions their decision making process will be moderately more assured than if they have to rely on dated, inaccurate or vague references which do more harm than good to your application.

Do your homework in advance and do not leave it until the job offer to look for your references- even if you think they will be easy to get. That may be so, but you should treat your references with as much consideration as your passport. Ensure you have a minimum of two; but better still three references, that you can call on or contact via e-mail or phone contact as you never know when you may need them and if you have them in advance  your application has a far greater chance of success.  Remember your references are up to you.