Who do you listen to when it comes to the really big decisions?
There are always a queue of people waiting to give you what they feel is the best advice you will ever hear. They care, are paid to care or just want to have their say in your career future; but who do you actually take notice of?

So the list of candidates to potentially heed are parents, friends, teachers, lecturers, colleagues, relations, career advisors and the media (newspapers / online and TV) and that is daunting; no question about it. Your decisions are increasingly critical to your career which impacts directly your financial and domestic future and so everyone you know wants to help because they know how important your career decisions are.... wow not an easy one for you, so I ask again, who do you actually listen to?

The simple answer is everyone; the more input you can gather the better it will be in the long term of course but in listening to everyone you first need to put some fundamental filters and considerations in place before buying into their advice:

1.      What is their motivation?
2.      What is their emotional involvement?
3.      What is their level of real expertise?
4.      When did they last experience what you are now experiencing? If ever?
5.      Will it cost you money? Is it worth it? Have they helped others? Can they prove it?

The world of careers is evolving quickly but equally some of the essentials of employability are constants, you are the variable. For sure in this arena one size does not fit all and you need a bespoke approach - tailored to you and you alone. Having a plan, a vision and the ability to take the best that everyone has to offer without being side-tracked or distracted from your purpose is your responsibility.

The advice and guidance you need is out there and mostly is pretty easily available but today you need to be your own career manager, nobody can do it as well as you can. Gather that support network around you to ensure that you know everything you need to know, can do everything you need to do and so give yourself the best possible chance of being successful.

You have no doubt heard about the important interview first impressions.  From the moment when you walk in the room to meet your potential employer, you could make or break that first impression. No pressure but it is crucial! 

When you get to the talking bit try to find a connection with the interviewer to help you both to feel comfortable and also let’s not forget about them; they will want to see a smiling confident face, they want you to be perfect for the job. Give them positive clues straight away!

The more you can do to instill the right impression on your interviewer from the start, the better your chances for having a successful interview. This is not just because the first impression could colour what the person thinks of you, but it could also impact what you think of yourself, at that moment in time.

For example, if you walk into the employer's office and stick out your hand to shake (good work!), but you shake too firmly for the person (ouch!), you may make a poor first impression that you are not even aware of. Be aware of their gender, build and personal style and adjust what handshake you adopt to suit them. It is a generous and human thing to do and they will notice
 
Also:

Move confidently - shoulders back 
         
Use open relaxed body language. 

Tapping, fiddling, clenching hands, glancing round nervously, biting nails, touching face, neck or collar repeatedly and stuttering over your words are all things that the recruiter will be looking out for. It’s a performance!

When answering:

1.     Take your time

2.     Deliver what you want to say in your own time with gravitas and confidence

3.     It is not a race to get the answer out, ask for a second if you need one 
 
4.     Make eye contact even when the recruiter is writing, they will notice if you are maintaining eye contact when they raise their head

5.     Be succinct don’t say too much be precise; answer the question and use lucid stories to illustrate your points

Self-confidence and belief will get you a long way but technique and quality answers will get you the job!

More here 

We are confident that with the right connections between students, educators and industry that this model can work.

So what needs to change? Joined up thinking from educators and industry around creating genuinely informed and well managed talent pipelines pointed at the right skills shortages in the right industries and developed to be as interesting, exciting and accessible as possible to our young talent.

Sounds simple but we have a long way to go. Many employers and universities see the value in this model for the
future and their talent acquisition strategies will help them to succeed in the
long term. 

Let’s assume that you have the academic qualifications required, that you have passed the tests that they have put in front of you and that you have ticked all the boxes in the initial interview; so what is now stopping you from reaching out and taking the job that you want?

The simple answer is only two things:

1.    You and whether you genuinely believe you are the best candidate for the job and then perform accordingly - back yourself

2.   Someone else being just that bit better that you despite all of your
efforts

Obviously, the only thing you can really control from those two factors is the first one; because at the end of the day if someone is better qualified, more experienced and performs better than you on the day then they deserve the job, that's life; learn from it, understand it and move on.
 

However, you must genuinely give it your all, know that you have done the best that you can do and be content that you have not let yourself down to be able to walk away and retain your belief and confidence.

Some confidence reaffirming ideas that you should consider using:
     
Everyone else going for this job is nervous
        
Everyone else will have some things they are good at and others which they find a challenge during the day
 ·        
Tell yourself ‘I deserve to be here and I now need to give the recruiters the performance and results that they want from me to be able to give me the job; it’s in my hands’ - take control
        
Remind yourself ‘This is what I have prepared for; I am better prepared and more aware of what is to come that anyone else here’
 ·        
Also keep in mind ‘I will be authentic, relaxed and confident but when I need to ‘fake it to make it’ I now know how to and when to do so’
     
Everything that they know about you is in your CV and your performance and results today; it is up to you to make sure that they see everything you have to offer during the day
        
Interviews are just two people talking to each other 
         
In an interview both people have the same goal; for the candidate to be the right one for the job  

Be the right one!

We offer one to one coaching sessions specifically focused on where you feel currently ‘stuck’ in your career and what you want to achieve next and then we help you to identify how realistic your goals are and then work with you to develop a plan and put the skills in place to help you to achieve your goals.

Our Methods
We use traditional coaching methods and also when appropriate we can implement Emotional Intelligence 
exploration, a Personal Brand review and practical one-to-one sessions on interview preparation, CV writing and
application strategy. 
 
Who is it for?
This is useful for job seekers, people recently made redundant, students beginning the process of thinking about their career, graduates seeking elusive jobs, people wanting to carve out a career in a new industry, those returning to a career after a break and for people who simply want to do a ‘career audit’ to establish their next
move.
  
How many sessions will it take?
Of course everyone is different but in our experience it really depends on what needs fixing. A simple review session and some strategy work involving applications and a CV rewrite can take perhaps 2 or 3 sessions whereas if you are looking for a complete career change or need to review and explore your past experience and focus them into your future planning then maybe 5 or 6 sessions might be right but we will,
of course, tailor our approach to your genuine needs. The success of our work always depends on you.

Take a look at our on-line booking system for Career Coaching Clinic slots!