Whether you’re a woman who worked in the corporate world prior to having a child, one who simply had a reasonably good job that you genuinely enjoyed, or one who has never worked, one question is likely to come to mind sometime after you have a child:  to work or not to work?

These days, mum returning to work after baby is a necessity, in light of the rising cost of living and the skyrocketing cost of housing – regardless of whether you are paying off a mortgage or renting.  Dual incomes are all the norm, resulting in a generation of kids not knowing what it was like when the majority of families involved mum staying at home to raise kids, while dad toddled off to work.

With an increasing number of women enjoying a career life pre-children that afforded them the money, independence, mental stimulation and satisfaction, any wonder women seriously consider a return to work not only for financial reasons, but wellbeing ones as well.

The idea of enjoying parenting, as well as a satisfying life at work is fabulous to many women.

As great as the prospect of returning to work may be, mums face real obstacles!

And perhaps you’re all too aware of them yourself?  It may be with relation to your partner and their working hours.  Maybe it’s with relation to a difficulty finding childcare?

More often than not, the obstacles facing mums seeking a return to work can be overcome by mum herself.  That’s because often, the obstacles are created by the mind itself.

The facts relating to the employment sphere are a lot more conducive to helping women return to work after children.  More and more employers today recognise that women with children are likely to return to employment.  Therefore, they are aware of the added responsibilities employees with kids are likely to have.  There are the days when children are ill and need a parent at home and there are times when a mum may need to leave work early because of say a parent-teacher interview.

All of these things come part and parcel with employing mothers, and with mums representing a fair chunk of the working population, it comes as no surprise that employers are becoming more accommodating of mums and their need to tend to children when it is called for.

In preparing for your return to the workforce, here are a few tips

• First and foremost, let go of any guilt you may have surrounding your return to work:  A happy woman means a happy mum, and that results in happy children.  If you’re a woman who is happiest when she has a career life – regardless of whether it’s a casual, part time or full time one – pursue that and enjoy parenting and career life together!   With careful planning, you really can enjoy the best of both worlds and your children won’t miss out!
• Choose to pursue work that you have a real love and passion for:  You know the old saying that says something along the lines of, ‘if you love your work, it hardly feels like work at all’.  It’s absolutely true.  Work you love doing will contribute to helping you enjoy greater levels of wellbeing – and that equates to you being a happy parent as well.
• Understand that more and more employers extend consideration to parents:  Children get sick and things crop up that require your attention as a parent, and in this day and age, and increasing number of employers will accept and accommodation for this.
• Understand that as a parent, you have skills that employers will LOVE:  Think about all those times when you’ve had no choice but the master the art of multi-tasking and organisation!  These are invaluable skills you as a parent bring to the workplace.

Becoming a mum doesn’t have to mean giving up your career for good or never achieving your career goals and aspirations.  With positivity, determination and the desire to make opportunity happen, you’ll surprise yourself at just how much you really can achieve for yourself as a mum and a working woman!

Dear Lifehacker, have no relevant experience in the field in which I want to work and am having a hard time constructing a coherent plan applying for jobs. How can I convince an employer to hire me? Sincerely, No Experience, No Job

Photo by Ted Murphy

Dear No Experience,

With one exception, I don’t think I’ve ever had relevant experience for any job that I’ve worked in the past 11 years. As a result, I’ve come to believe that the experience you do have is more relevant than you may think. Past jobs have always helped inform my choices at future jobs, and none of the experience was ever useless. If you have experience in something, that may be all you need. Here are my recommendations:

Find Relevant Experience You Didn’t Realise You Had

First, figure out a way to use any experience you do have to seem more relevant to the job at hand. I once used a technical support job to get a job on a film set. It’s possible to focus on certain aspects of a position while still being honest.

Think about what you did at your past and/or current job and concentrate on the days you enjoyed the most. Chances are there’s at least one project that you worked on that has some relevance. On your resume, and in your interview, be sure to focus on that. If you can make it a good story and speak passionately about the work, it will go a long way.

Create Your Own DIY Experience

(The portfolio depicted belongs to Irene Chan, one of my life-long favourite designers.)

Get An (Unpaid) Internship

Get An In-Person Interview And Be Charming

Finally, do whatever you can to get an in-person interview. Once you’re in you need to think of your interview more like a first date. Be charming, be interesting, and be hopeful and idealistic. Smile often. Be kind. If they interviewer likes you and feels you’re a hard worker, your experience is basically irrelevant. People make hiring decisions based on their gut and pretty much ignore what’s on paper. If you can get into a room with someone and they like you, then you will have no trouble getting the job.

Cheers
Lifehacker

Got any great tips on getting a job without any relevant experience? Share ‘em in the comments!

Source: Lifehacker

As the New Year approaches it might be the right time to evaluate what you want out of your career. A job that you have been longing for that motivates and gets you out of bed each morning is something worth aspiring to.

Gordon Chen

To successfully transition into a desired career is a strategy within itself which requires some effort and preparation.  Having experimented with over 40 interviews over the last decade and successfullysecuring jobs that I have desired, I have rounded up some key steps that every job seeker should be aware of before making a move:

Step 1 – Detach Yourself from your Current Job

To move on and change jobs you need to detach yourself from your existing job. The more emotionally attached you are to your role, your environment and its traits the more difficult it is to move forward. This emotional baggage is like heavy weights on your shoulder which can paralyse you from making a decision.

The decision is either to remain in the job or to change jobs, a decision in between means you will continue to remain attached to the current job.

Before making the big decision to change jobs, it is recommended that you list the compelling reasons WHY you should change jobs (find the positive reasons) and why you should stay. If the reasons for the change outweighs the reasons against the change this should work as a tipping point to change jobs.  HOW to change jobs will then miraculously follow.

Is it a combination of boredom, lack of challenge, working environment, stress, remuneration, misaligned values, other? Take some time to assess your current situation.

Step 2 – The Destination as a Motivation

If you have made up your mind to change jobs, you will now need to know or have an idea of where you want to go that is, a destination, without a destination there is no clear action.

Do some research on where and what your next job could be. If you can find and narrow in on a job or industry that interest, challenges and excites you, this will motivate you further to make that changeinto your desired career.

Step 3 – Standout Resume and Cover Letter (First Impressions)

Given that a recruiter is likely to receive multiple resumes, your resume must stand out from the competition.

From a recruiter and employer’s perspective, the first thing that they see is your resume and cover letter therefore, you must polish off your writing skills and create a standout resume and cover letter.

A standout resume simply addresses what the employer is looking for. If the employer is looking for a checklist of 10 requirements then ensure that those key points are notably and clearly addressed n your resume.

Consider also the following:

• Customise your resume for each new role. There should not be a one resume fits all approach. Make some changes to mirror what the employer is looking for even if it may be just some minor adjustments.

• Use bullet points to address their requirements and your experiences.

• Be concise and get straight to the point.

• If you have a long working history, leave out any previous roles that are totally unrelated to the role that you will be applying for (from the employment history section of your resume). For example, if you’re applying for a Finance Analyst role, there is no reason to list your previous positions as a Teacher or a Personal Trainer. The exception would be if you are new to the industry then it helps to display your working history.

Other points to consider are preparations for the Interview and etiquettes.

Step 4 – Three Key Personality Traits (Apart from Experience)

Apart from experience, employers will more likely be interested in you if you are naturally enthusiastic about the position. If you are going to the interview, ensure that you are 100% committed (leave any doubts at home, you can cast any doubts after the interview) and ensure you bring with you three essential qualities that they are seeking for from job candidates:

A)    Aptitude – Your ability, readiness and intelligence or quickness in learning.

B)     Motivation – Your drive and enthusiasm for the position

C)     Optimism – Your confidence, ‘can do’ and positive attitude

For any given position it is likely that you will be up against competition for the role, so if you possess the above qualities more so than your competitor then you are in the lead.

Step 5 – Cast a Net

To accomplish your ideal job there is the fast way and the slower way. Using fishing as an analogy, to catch fish the fast way would be to cast a wide net into the ocean versus the slower way which involves using a single rod to cast a hook one at a time.

In relation to job hunting this mean to contact multiple recruiter’s and organisations that you have an interest in simultaneously and as many as you can. It is likely that you will be rejected several times depending on how far you are trying to reach however, your acceptances are likely to be the great catch. So expect rejections, the harder something is to catch the more satisfying it is once caught, the easier it is to catch the lower the satisfaction.

Step 6 – Timing

Timing is quite important based on the laws of supply and demand. Generally if you are looking to change jobs during tough economic conditions there will be fewer supply (jobs) with more demand (job seekers). In this case, as a job seeker you are more likely to be disadvantaged as your bargaining power is lower. For this reason, it is prudent to be aware of current economic conditions before making that move, weigh up the options in whether it is the right time to move for you.

86 per cent of job seekers don’t use social networking sites to search for jobs.

Australian job seekers continue to go online to search for jobs, but many are growing nervous about the potential career fallout from personal content on social networking sites, according to the latest survey results from global workforce solutions leader, Kelly Services.

The findings are part of the Kelly Global Workforce Index, which obtained the views of approximately 97,000 people in 30 countries, including more than 4,000 in Australia.

The survey shows 29 per cent of respondents secured their most recent position through an online job posting, the leading source of jobs. Other methods of securing employment included:

* 21 per cent through recruitment/staffing firms
* 21 per cent through ‘word-of-mouth’
* 13 per cent through direct approaches from employers
* 9 per cent through print advertisements
* 1 per cent through social media outlets.

Karen Colfer, Managing Director, Kelly Services Australia, said, “It is no surprise to see that online job boards remain the dominant channel through which people find work in Australia, however it was interesting to note just how few had actually secured roles through social media outlets.

The survey, conducted from October 2010 through January 2011, shows that while social media is being actively used by 13 per cent of respondents as a job search tool, its success rate in actually helping job seekers secure a job is low – only 1 per cent report they used social media to secure their last role.

Colfer said, “There is no doubt the use of social media as a job seeking tool will increase over time as it becomes more and more engrained in our everyday lives. Ultimately it has the power to let people target the exact job they want, and even the organisation where they want to work.

“It’s clear that social networking is changing the way that people communicate and engage in conversations about work opportunities. Like any new technology, people are learning that there are positives and negatives, and they need to be careful that they are tapping into the best elements of the Internet when their careers are involved.”

“Our advice to job seekers is to continue proactively managing their ‘digital portfolios’ using their online profiles as a as a ‘digital resume’. Social media is also a valuable search and networking tool so we certainly encourage people to engage through the medium.

Source: Dynamic Business

A common misconception is that Recruitment Consultants are Careers Counsellors.

That’s simply not true.

We can tell you typical career paths in your industry. We can give you advice about the next logical step in your career based our knowledge of the market. We can match you up to the roles we have on offer.

However, if you have no idea what you want, we can’t really help you.

Instead we suggest you read this….

How do you find a job when you don’t know where to start?

Well, we’d actually recommend that you look into careers counselling. You can do this yourself, or you can do it more formally. It can spare you a whole lot of heartache from careers you feel stuck in or a job you don’t like.

A Careers Counsellor can help you identify:

- Your strengths
- The way you like to work at work
- Where you like to work
- How you like to be managed

- Who you like working with
- Any barriers you have to achieving your goals

After you have done that we suggest that you look at industries or businesses that are growing and any study you may need to do.

Part of the process of identifying your next job could be talking to people who are employed in the areas you think may be interesting. Good questions to ask are how that person got their first job in that field, any education they recommend and what they love (or loathe) about what they do.

Many people who have changed their careers successfully have started that journey from seeing a Careers Counsellor. Then they have talked to others. From this they have gained a level of self awareness and a full understanding of the industry.

When they have started looking for their next job, this insight has helped them in the job hunt when they’ve been grilled by an interviewer who wants to understand their motivation to change. They can say with conviction: “I asked an expert, and this is why I know this new career is the right choice for me.”

What should you look for in a Careers Counsellor?

Read this site for some information on Careers Counsellors in Australia.

If you do choose a Careers Counsellor you might want to ask their experience, the journey they take you on, what you can expect at the end, and their experience in helping people in your area.

I’d also recommend you read this terrific article by Kate Southam in her blog: Cube Farmer. She writes on talk she gave to school leavers on how to find your first job.

The advice Kate has given is actually great advice for people of any age.

Visit Enigma HR for insurance and accounting jobs www.enigmahr.com.au

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Lifestyle Careers has been dedicated to helping Australian Professionals seeking a work life balance, find flexible employment and work at home jobs since July 2009. Lifestyle Careers will put the power of flexibility to work for your business.

You will find our approach refreshing, our results impressive and our pricing cost effective.

As a skilled tradesperson you can have the security of working for big or small organisations, or have the freedom of running your own business. For those with an entrepreneurial streak, starting a small business is a great way to make a living while being your own boss.

Read more about how you can qualify for a career in skilled trades.

Sales representatives

Sales reps often get a bad rap, but they’re critical to the growth and success of many businesses. For those with the gift of the gab, sales can be an extremely lucrative career.

Being a great sales rep requires a combination of hard work, great interpersonal and communication skills, market knowledge and business savvy. Sales people can come from any background, from within the ranks of a particular industry or from a sales and marketing background. If you think you’ve got the right stuff, with the ability to build relationships and provide excellent customer service, this may be the perfect career for you.

Engineers

Have you always been interested in the way things work? If you’re an innovative and practical thinker, you might like to consider a future in engineering. As an engineer, the possibilities are limitless – you could design energy efficient buildings, faster aeroplanes or a spacecraft that takes us to Mars and beyond.

Engineers use science and design to improve the way things and systems work. As an engineer you will need to be a problem-solver with the ability to think laterally to find creative solutions.

If you’re interested in being at the forefront of development in society while enjoying significant rewards, find out more about a career in engineering.

Management/Executives

If you have strong communication skills and the ability to lead and motivate others, you may want to consider progressing toward a management or executive position in your industry. Dynamic leaders are highly sought after in all sectors, and with the right training and experience you can launch into this challenging and rewarding career path.

Many employers provide in-house training programs to prepare candidates for management roles within the organisation. There is also a wide range of formal qualifications which give you the skills and knowledge to handle the challenges of managing a business or company department.

Management and executive roles will foist you with greater responsibility for the growth and success of a business, but with this comes greater financial rewards. If you have a big picture mentality, work well with people and enjoy taking initiative, stepping up into management may be a great career move for you.

Accounting and finance staff

For those with an aptitude for numbers, a career in accounting or finance can offer ample rewards and challenges. You can help keep companies on track and make better financial and strategic decisions so they can grow their bottom line.

As well as numerical ability, you’ll also need a head for fine print and legislation – think tax law and business contracts. If that doesn’t faze you, be prepared to field job offers and enjoy great remuneration.

Secretaries, PAs and office support staff

This is the job for the super-organised, super-efficient person with a system for everything.

If you want a career in office administration, you have to embrace structure and detail and be prepared to juggle phones, mail, diaries, computers, photocopiers, spreadsheets, meeting rooms … and that’s all before lunch! But at the top levels, office admin staff are very well rewarded.

Many people working in office support begin their careers as office juniors and work their way up from there. With the right general skills, you can work in almost any type of company, large or small. There are also many industry-specific office support careers to be found, such as medical secretary or legal secretary, that require a specific set of skills and knowledge.

IT staff

If you have a fascination with technology and an aptitude for logic and problem-solving, you really can’t go past a career in IT. Not scared by coding and love nothing better than a game of WoW? Then this is definitely the job for you.

Skilled IT staff are vital to the functioning of every modern business, with needs varying from IT support to cutting-edge software and web development. The range of work that you can get involved in is limited only by your imagination. This is one of the fastest moving industries around so you’ll have to keep up with the latest developments to stay on top of the game, but this is one area where there will be no shortage of jobs.

To get the right skills and get up to speed, a short course or formal qualification in IT will help you break into this in-demand profession.

Top ten most in-demand jobs in Australia in 2011

1. Skilled trades
2. Sales representatives
3. Engineers
4. Management/Executive (Management/Corporate)
5. Accounting & finance staff
6. Technicians
7. Secretaries, PAs, office support staff
8. Mechanics
9. IT staff
10. Customer service representatives & customer support

Source: CareerFAQ’s

Looking for a job – Using LinkedIn will be your goldmine!

Thinking of using LinkedIn to find a job? It is an absolute gold mine of information on jobs, and, as far as I am concerned, a real game changer in the business of online recruitment. Companies like Rio Tinto have signed deals with LinkedIn to directly target their passive pool of candidates. LinkedIn will promote Rio Tinto jobs through their network. I recently received something similar in my inbox from Hudson, a global recruiter, suggesting I might like a consulting job. While I wasn’t interested, I was interested enough in having a look at what they were offering.

LinkedIn is a game changer for job seekers as well. Using Linkedin can put the power back into the hands of candidates and out of the hands of recruitment consultants. There are plenty of ways you can be proactive, rather than reactive in your job search. Here are my 20 top LinkedIn job hunting tips, in no particular order.

1. Get a decent profile. There is no point being half-hearted. This point is my big bandwagon point for Australian professionals and job seekers.

2. Connect with people. Look up people from your past and find out where they work now. Use the connect email to invite people for coffee and find out what they are up to. Show some interest in them, and what you are looking for, job wise, will inevitably come up.

3. Join groups of interest and participate in discussions. I know of one person who did little more than this. He was approached by a recruiter about a job, based on the thoroughness of a question he answered.

4. Find a role model networker who is working in your desired area. Look to see which groups they belong to and join those.

5. Start a group around your area of interest and expertise. Invite people who can add value to join. Welcome them to the group and ask them a question directly. You can build up your knowledge of their organisation, any problems they may be facing, and approach them with a solution in mind (you).

6. Look to see who has viewed your profile, and add them to your network. If they are recruiters, see if they have jobs coming up in your area. As a carrot to see you, mention that you may have useful contacts for them.

7. Look to see where people with your background are working and what their responsibilities are. That way if you want to approach a company directly about jobs, you are making an informed and targeted approach.

8. Invite people out for coffee to find out what they do. This is a good tactic if you want to change careers. You can find out the good, bad and ugly about their jobs, and whether that might be an area of interest for you.

9. Add value to your network. Be known as someone helpful. You often have to build trust with people before you can ask them for favours. If you see someone asking a question, then answer it. Be proactive and send them an email with a link.

10. Update your status with recent information of use to your network. You’ll give people a reason to contact you if you do that.

11. Link your LinkedIn profile to your personal emails.

12. Read recruiter Stacy Donovan Zapar’s post on how to make it easy for people to connect with you.

13. Put your LinkedIn link to your Facebook profile. I have seen jobs come through friends, and Facebook is one place people tell their friends if they’re looking for staff. You want to make it easy for people to check you out.

14. Target people with big networks. That increases the pool of people you can search to make contact with if you are looking for jobs. Invite me to connect. I have over 8000 first degree connections.

15. Go along to social events that are organized via LinkedIn. There is only so much you can achieve online. Trust is better built face to face.

16. Ask a connection for an introduction. That’s kind of one of the big points of LinkedIn.

17. Ask for recommendations. A strong recommendation from a former manager carries a lot of weight. This is one big area recruiters and employers focus on when they look at your profile.

18. Find out what a job really requires. Job advertisements often have a lot of woolly wording. If you can, find a company insider to give you the insight into what the company is about, or even what the job requires. They may even pass on your resume, and save the company a recruitment fee.

19. If you’re actively looking and public about it, join the job seekers groups on LinkedIn. You’ll find heaps of great tips. Mine is InterviewIQ You can ask me a question there and I’ll answer it.

20. Hire me to optimize your profile to hit the top page of your profession when headhunters search. I can give you tailored training to network effectively and mazimize your chances of being found by employers and headhunters.

Source: InterviewIQ

Returning to work after years as a full time home manager and mum can be intimidating. What is the best way to market yourself? How do you find a job? Do employers understand the demands on a working mum? Should you update your skills?

Here are some answers to the most common questions received by CareerOne Editor, Kate Southam.

How do I present the gap on my cover letter and resume?

Cover letters should be a few paragraphs long and be used only to show how your specific skills and experience match what is being specifically asked for in the job ad. In my opinion, the cover letter is NOT the place to explain the gap in your career history. See tips and samples Cover Letters in our secton of that How to write a cover letter

Instead, use the last line of your Career Profile to explain your absence or my preference, or explain the gap as the first item in the Work History section in your resume. We have a great article providing step-by-step advice on writing a resume Resume writing Australian style, which is in our Resumes section. You will also find samples of Resumes under the link Resume Templates.

Career Profile method

It’s good to start your resume with a Career Profile. This is a long paragraph (four or five sentences) that provides the reader with a snap shot of your strengths. It can include a bit of work experience, education and some of your skills and attributes. Whether you were an IT project manager, a Chartered Accountant or an Executive Assistant before having children, using a Career Profile at the top of your resume will help to “position you” to recruiters and or employers and encourage them to read your whole resume. For example:

Career Profile

A retail sales professional with seven years’ experience in the white goods and kitchenware areas, I have worked for both a department store and an specialty kitchen ware store. I have a proven track record of exceeding sales targets, delivering excellent customer service and team work. I am returning to sales after spending four years as a full time mother and stayed up to date with the latest product offerings on the market today.

Work History method

Work History (you can also call use the heading Employment History if you prefer) should list your employment record in reverse chronological order. As well as the dates you were at home, cover off on the key skills or any community work you may have done in this time. So, for a mum returning to work it could look like this:

Home manager/full time mum – January 2006 – September 2009

Skills acquired: Excellent organisational skills, communication skills and the ability to multi task. During this time I completed both a MYOB course and a first aid certificate. I managed the books for my husband’s plumbing business and I created and managed the roster for volunteer aides at my daughter’s child care centre.

Marketing Manager – XYZ company – February 2001 – December 2005

About XYZ company: One line if the company is not well known.

Responsibilities: A few dot point lines

Key Achievements: At least three dots points detailing not what you were paid to do but how you went beyond that.

And the rest of your history in reverse date order.

Researching the job market

Use several methods simultaneously.

Don’t be shy. You cannot afford to be. Let friends and family know that you are returning to work and what sort of role you are looking for. Do a call around or email around of former colleagues and managers. Don’t ask for a job. Ask for job leads. People want to be asked questions they can say ‘yes’ to. Many companies pay staff to refer successful candidates so you are not putting anyone out by just asking people to pass on any job leads.

Search online and in newspapers making particular note of the software (eg Microsoft Office, MYOB or whatever) and other specific skills being asked for in job ads for the type of roles that interest you. Also see which recruitment companies handle which types of jobs.

Get in touch with women you have met through childcare and mother’s groups who have returned ahead of you to get their input on what they did when they returned to work. People are usually happy to pass on their advice.

Investigate joining an industry or professional group. Some organisations like the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia actively provide help to members returning to work. Other examples would be the Australian Computer Society, Public Relations Institute of Australia and the Australian Human Resources Institute but there is pretty much an association for every sector.

Read the trade press relating to your sector as well as the business pages of newspapers. Do a bit of web surfing too. Generally research what is going on out there.

The research methods double as job hunting methods so you can find work as you are re-introducing yourself to your sector.

Consider temping first as a way of building up some fresh experience without committing to a workplace. This will help understand the sort of work place culture that suits you.

Also, take a look at the Equal Opportunity for Women for Workplace Agency website. Of particular interest to you is reading up on the employers who have family friendly policies. This might help you to target ads posted on the web by these employers. You will find many big employers mentioned on this site so do take a look and read about the sort of family friendly policies they offer.

You can also visit the websites of those companies who you will interview with. Make sure you read up on their policies on training, flexibility, work place culture, values and community work. It will tell you a lot about them.

Should you do a refresher course?

The answer to this question will be revealed during your research. In addition to short courses offered by professional and industry associations, you can find courses in software like Microsoft Office or MYOB through TAFE, private colleges and learn online courses. Surf the web, look at ads in the career sections of newspapers and look online.

Temp agencies will let you go in and use their self-taught computer programs to refresh basic admin skills such as typing and how to use different types of admin software.

Some TAFEs also offer “return to work” courses. A guide to TAFE courses is available from your local newsagency or see our article Return to work courses

In Queensland, you can also contact Women at Work International- www.womenatworkinternational.com who run the Re-entry to Work Association.

The organisation also has a “Return to Work Workbook”, which they will mail out to anyone no matter where you are in Australia. Contact them via the website or phone: 07 55611 477.

Another resource is the 12 Career Information Centres dotted throughout Australia. The centres can connect you to any course or resources especially tailored to return to work mums.

If you are registered with Centrelink, then tell them you are a return to work mum so you can be referred to a Job Services agency to see if they have an up skilling option for you.

You can also look at private providers through the Career Development Association of Australia. You can go to the website and click on “Find a practitioner link” at the top of the home page.

Interviews

We have already looked at a few self marketing methods including Cover Letter and Resume writing, joining a professional association and letting your network know you are out there.

It is also important to brush up on your interview technique. Again, we have an entire Interviews section for you to visit.

Here you will find separate stories on topics including How to handle the “strength/weakness” question; and “Behavioural interviewing explained” – a story about the most popular method of interviewing, which involves you using real life examples to answer questions.

You will also read advice on how to handle “intrusive questions” such as those asking if you have children, their ages and even your age.

The most important thing you can do to prepare for the job market is research, which we have covered, and rehearse for job interviews. I recommend people rehearse at least three times before each interview. It is a fantastic way to soothe nerves, build confidence and really hear yourself promoting you!

Good luck, Kate.

Source: CareerOne