It’s important to remain calm and confident during job interviews, even when you get stuck on a question. You won’t know exactly what questions the interviewer will ask you, but there a few common ones that you can prepare for. These questions could come up in a variety of ways. Even if they're not asked, you can work the answers into anything. Here are some interview questions you may be asked.
This is a common opening question for interviews. It’s a good opportunity for the employer to find out about you, and to put you on the spot to see how you will react. The best way to answer this question is to briefly talk about education, interests in the field and work experience for two to three minutes.
The employer is giving you the freedom to introduce yourself, and you should absolutely take hold of this. However, remember to stay on topic. Do not give them your entire life story or add in unprofessional details.
2. What are your weaknesses?
Try to not kid yourself with this one. Everyone has weaknesses, just as everyone has strengths. Avoid using the cliché “perfectionist” line. Use this question to show how you are trying to improve yourself. Be honest and tell them your weakness before telling them how you’ve addressed it and how you’re trying to strengthen it. Check out our post on how to answer this question.
3. Why should you get the job?
This question is essentially an opportunity to sell yourself for the position. There will be many other candidates and of course, you want to show them you’re the best. Read up on the job description beforehand and use your experience as well as your skillset to show you’re the right fit. Tell them how you handled similar situations in your old job and how it benefited the employer or company.
4. What are your salary expectations?
This is certainly an uncomfortable question, but it’s incredibly common. It’s always a good idea to have an answer prepared so that you’re not put on the spot. The last thing you want is to say you’ll expect too little or too much.
It’s important to remember that this is only the first step to the hiring process so there is no need to try to negotiate. If you’re unsure of what salary is suitable, you can find a salary checker online as well as charts of the average salary in the country. The easiest way to answer this is “I’m looking for ….”.
5. Where do you see yourself in five years?
Use this question to show that you’re ambitious and forward-thinking. It’s important to tailor all your questions to the company and job position, but this one in particular.
For entry-level positions, tell them how you would like to see yourself progress with them. For more senior positions, use this question to explain how you would like to move the company forward. Doing your research on the company as well as their objectives will help you with this.
6. Do you have any questions?
The answer to this question is always “Yes”. Always have a question or a few prepared to ask the employer. Saying “No” may make you seem uninterested in the position or the company. However, remember to keep them relevant to the job or the company.
Landing an interview for your dream job can be incredibly exciting, but also nerve-wracking. Pre-interview nerves are completely normal and indeed, expected. It’s important to remain confident on the outside. Here are some tips on how to remain calm during interviews.
First of all, make sure to tell yourself to breath and relax. Repeat. Being anxious before an interview is inevitable and it’s important to acknowledge it. Tell yourself that it will be okay and that you will nail it.
As well as this, pay attention to your body language. Be sure to make and maintain eye contact, sit up straight and to resist the urge to fidget. Speak slowly and think about your answers. It’s absolutely okay, and in fact it’s recommended, to pause for thought.
Focus on the positives of the interview. For example, make sure to tell yourself that you were invited to the interview for a reason. The employer already likes you and can see you fitting in with the company. Even if you don’t get the job, the interview is a great experience and an opportunity to get better.
Secondly, prepare for the interview. Once you’ve prepared and practised answers for the interview, you will be able to minimise the awkward moments or impulsive answers. This being said, you won’t be able to predict every question so it’s important to not panic when something you haven’t prepared comes up.
The more you have rehearsed in advanced, the better. You will have fewer occasions of “winging it” and will feel more relaxed as a result.
Next, remember that an interview is not an interrogation. It is a conversation between you and the employer. They will be assessing your suitability for the job and the company through your skills and experience. Despite the fact that most questions will be based around this, the bond between you both is also important.
While maintaining your professionalism, it’s good to be light-hearted and compatible with the person you are speaking to. Don’t rattle off your answers word for word, but make them conversational and anecdotal. Move from point to point naturally.
It’s good to chat with the employer but be sure to keep it entirely professional. Do not give them any unnecessary personal or intimate details.
Remember that those interviewing you are humans too. Don’t think of them as their official title or as someone who wants to quiz you. Don't let them intimidate you. Chances are they are nervous too and want to make a good impression on you.
More often than not, interviewers will be aware of the anxiety or stress felt by the candidates. They will be used to one or two minor slip-ups and probably won’t think too much about it as they know that you too are only human.
Finally, take it easy on the caffeine. While some people drink coffee to perk them up, it’s not a good idea to depend on it for your interview. Drinking a couple of cups of coffee could have a negative effect on you and have you feeling even jittery than you did before.
Caffeine can make you physically shake, and can also increase your heart rate. This means that you may sweat more and no one wants to shake a sweaty palm.
Have an early night before the interview instead. This way you will be naturally rested and energised and won’t depend on coffee to get you going.
Next, check out this list of common interview mistakes to avoid!
It can feel daunting to return to work after a career break. You will need to refresh your CV as well as getting to grips with the industry again. Your interview skills may also feel a bit rusty after a break in your career. It’s important to brush up on these skills and land the job you want. Here are the top interview tips for returning to work.
Research
It’s easy to fall out of the loop in terms of industry news or process updates when you’re not working. However, you can really stand out to your employers if you do your research to show you’ve stayed on top of it, even if you haven’t.
Familiarising yourself with the industry again is actually not as difficult as you may think. The first step is to sign up to newsletters or blogs related to your job and the industry. This means that you can gain knowledge on a daily basis and be kept up to date. You could also follow employers or well-known bodies or people in the field on social media.
It’s important to research the field when it comes to any interview. You will be able to answer questions as well as demonstrating your passion for the field. Conducting your research will show your dedication to getting back to work.
CV
Unfortunately, CVs will not be relevant forever. You will need to update it all of the time. It’s essential to tailor it to every job that you apply for. This is especially relevant if you are returning to work after a career break.
You could start to refresh your CV by adjusting the font and layout. This will help you to brush up on your skills and previous experiences while you do it. Next, add your most recent job experiences as well as any courses or volunteer work you may have taken up during the break.
Shave down your CV by removing any irrelevant information. This will leave space for you to explain the reasons for the gap in your employment. Here is our guide on how to master this.
First Impressions
Like any job interview, first impressions are very important. While it can be hard to come back into the working world, it’s essential to be confident. Preparing for any interview is important, but especially if you have been on a career break. Brush up on potential questions, but also the basics.
Be sure of where the interview will be held, how long it will take to get there and what you need to bring. Some things to consider bringing are a copy of your CV, a pen and notepad and examples of work if possible.
If you are running late due to traffic etc, let the employer know. Contact them directly if you can, but phone the company reception if not.
What you want to know about them
The main idea of an interview is for the employer to find out if you’re the right fit for their company. However, you will also have the opportunity to find out more about them. Remember, an interview is a two-way conversation.
Feel free to ask them questions about company culture, working environment, team dynamics and beyond. Career prospects, the position itself and the responsibilities you will be required to undertake are also potential questions.
Prepare at least three questions for the employers in advance. This will show that you are interested in and committed to the role, as well as demonstrating that you are a great thinker. Just be sure to keep it relevant.
After you’ve created the perfect CV and sent it off, the next step is to wait for a call for an interview. When this happens, you need to be prepared to sell yourself just the right amount to your potential employer. Of course, focusing on your strengths should be the main focus of the interview. However, it's important to be sure to not make an interview mistake. Here are the most common mistakes to avoid.
The first interview mistake is implying you’ve reached the peak of your knowledge. Employers won’t want to take on someone who feels like they don’t allow room for improvement. Someone who is willing to adapt and grow in line with the company will be favoured over someone who can’t move on from their current or past achievements.
You can absolutely be proud of your career and mention how past experiences have helped you grow, but you need to be clear of where you want to go with it. Use your expertise to explain how you will help their business to thrive.
The second interview mistake is to seem overly willing to do everything that is thrown at you. People often think that by saying yes to everything, they’ll seem more hireable. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It’s unlikely that you will impress anyone by saying that you will do anything to get the job.
It could potentially demonstrate that you haven’t read the job description properly. It could even make you seem uninterested in the employer or job. Some scenarios may even make you look desperate.
Be honest about your skill set and where they apply to the role. Show a genuine interest in learning the skills you don’t know. That being said, if you are taking up an internship or an entry-level job, this enthusiasm could be required. Otherwise, stay away.
The third interview mistake is over-preparing. It’s necessary to be ready for the interview, but you don’t want to forget to be a human when you get in there. Have your answers prepped, but do not memorise them word-for-word and rattle them off.
The interviewer will want to see your personality shine through to determine who you are as a person as well as your ability as an employee. The interview should feel like a conversation that flows between you both. At the end of the day, you are both only humans!
The fourth interview mistake is to share the wrong information. As we said, you are both only humans. However, make sure to keep it professional. Use anecdotes to reiterate your skills and experiences, but keep them relevant. Do not tell the story about an argument you had with your partner about not washing the dishes.
Personal topics will, unfortunately, narrow your chances of landing the job. If you give the interviewer the impression that personal life and work-life won’t be separate, you could be ruling yourself out. Regardless of where the conversation is going, keep it professional.
Finally, the fifth interview mistake is to say that you are a perfectionist. When an interviewer asks what your weakness is, perfectionism is not the answer. Instead, make sure to list an actual weakness you have, and how you’re working to improve on it.
Mention how it’s a weakness, but how you are working on it to make it a strength. This will show that you are proactive and will focus the interview on positives rather than negatives.
Transact Campus, the Fintech firm has announced they will be creating 110 jobs at its new Limerick international headquarters. The US company that develops payment and credential software for campus environments has said it will be creating these 110 jobs to develop its portfolio of its services and products.
The roles will include scrum masters, architects, front-end developers, product managers, UX designers, Android and iOS developers, software engineers, back-end developers, data scientists, software engineers and DevOps engineers.
Staff will be working in areas such as de-coupled micro-service architectures, asynchronous event-based integration models, cloud-based data analytics, de-coupled micro-service architectures, CQRS patterns, data streaming, data lakes and AI-linked analysis.
The company is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Their software is used by over 1,300 educational institutions representing in excess of 12m students, and facilitates over $46bn in annual education-related payments.
Its services include fee bill presentment and tuition and payment, student payment plans, and allowing for authorised access to campus events and facilities.
David Marr, CEO of Transact Campus says, “It is with great excitement and appreciation that Transact announces our establishment of a new technology innovation centre in Limerick, representing the final and critical component of our global vision and strategy,”
“We are humbled to be so warmly welcomed into the Limerick community and we thank the IDA for their meaningful partnership – without them, none of this would be possible.”
CEO of IDA Ireland, Martin Shanahan, said the investment shows that the mid-west region is an “attractive location for financial services”.
Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, TD, added: “This is really welcome news for the mid-west region where a strong financial services cluster has developed in recent years.
“Today’s announcement is further evidence of Ireland’s ability to attract investments like this, thanks to the availability of a highly skilled and talented workforce.”
More information about jobs at Transact Campus can be found on LinkedIn.
When creating a CV, how you present it is just as important as the content. You can have all the necessary experience and skills, but if it’s presented sloppily, recruiters will not focus on it too much. Having a neat and clean layout will help them to find information easily and determine what kind of candidate you are. Here are six top tips on how to present your CV.
A common mistake is adding a title to your CV other than your name. There is no need to add “Curriculum Vitae” or “Resume” to the top of your page. The document is somewhat self-explanatory and anyone reading it will be able to establish what it is in a matter of seconds.
Adding a title like this can take up valuable space on your page which could otherwise be used to sell yourself further as a candidate. Use this space for your name in a relatively large typeface. Allow the recruiter to find out about you, rather than find out what the sheet is.
2. Consistency
Like anything, consistency is key. Be sure to use the same style for each of your section headings, such as Experience, Education and Skills.
Keep your type and font size the same and use bold for these headings. You can vary the appearance of headings and subheadings, but ensure that they are consistent regardless.
3. White Space
White spaces are essential when it comes to marketing. Your CV is a way of marketing yourself which means that white spaces are needed. Adequate white spaces around your text will allow important information to be grouped together.
Using margins of 2.5cm is ideal for keeping your CV neat. However, two pages is the length you want for your CV. This means that if your margins are making it become three pages, reduce them. Only do this once you have shaved down the CV content and if you still need space, cut the margins down slightly.
4. Font
Do not change the font in the middle of your CV. Stick to the same type and try to choose one that is familiar to most people. For example, Times New Roman or Arial are common and neat fonts.
There are certainly other options apart from these two, but remember to keep it formal. Don’t forget that Comic Sans is not your friend when it comes to CVs. Not only is it informal, but you may also give off the impression that you are not taking the job seriously.
5. Imagery
It’s important to remember that you do not need images on your CV. Photos of yourself or indeed clip art can distract the recruiters from your ability and relevant content. It could also leave your CV looking rather unprofessional.
Instead, focus on your experience, skills and education. Use this to set you aside from others rather than your looks.
6. Present
After you’ve laid your CV out in a neat and clean way, it’s time to print it out. Where possible, use high-quality paper. If you are photocopying it, make sure that it’s high quality to ensure that all the text is clear.
When posting it out or even handing it into places, use A4 envelopes. Do not fold it up into a smaller one as this can make it look messy and can take away from some of the text. You want your CV to land on someone’s desk in a professional manner. It’s possible that it could end up in the bin if it’s not presented well.
Have you any tips on how to present a CV? Let us know down in the comments. Here's a list of more Dos and Don'ts when creating a CV!
