Career Coach
Issue 6
Dear Juliet,
Welcome to this weeks edition of Career Coach,
your fortnightly burst of tips and advice putting you
in control of your career.
In this weeks issue:
- Interview Skills Preparation - Research The Venue
- Review Your Development - Part 1
- Feedback
Juliet Sidney
Changing Your Career
Interview Skills Preparation - Research The Venue
So you have received confirmation that you have
been invited for the interview. You do all the
preparation thinking about the types of questions
you will be asked, what questions you will ask and
even run through a mock interview.
The big day arrives and you get lost on the way to
the venue and arrive late, you don't get the job
It may seem obvious but many people do not check
out the venue of where the interview will be held.
You might think you know where it is but wouldn't
you rather be certain?
By making a dry run to the venue you can gain
valuable information on how long it is likely to take
dependant on the time of day and traffic etc. If
possible try to use the same mode of transport that
you will use on the day as this will give you a better
indication for the day. Always give yourself a little
extra time to allow for unforeseen circumstances and
take the time of day into account. If your interview
is at peak time you will need to allow extra time for
possible traffic congestion etc.
You will be able to check out the availability of
parking if taking the car and even which entrance to
use.
If you have a particularly long way to travel, perhaps
from one side of the country to another and a dry
run is not feasible make sure you check out the route
beforehand. Contact the organisation and ask them
for some directions.
By making the extra effort you will put yourself in a
positive frame of mind for the interview and not be
worrying about whether you will get there or not.
Try to aim to be at the interview approximately 15
minutes before your start time.
Next time we will look at your appearance and what
you should wear to the interview.
If you you want to be successful at your next
interview - click here
Career Habits
Review Your Development - Part 1
By now you will have a series of agreed SMART
goals. This will normally be written into your
development plan.
This is a document and that lists the smart goals,
deadlines for achievement and the tasks that need
to be completed to achieve your career goals.
Another important inclusion will be the owner. This is
who will be responsible for ensuring a certain task will
happen.
By having an agreed owner/s it is clear who is
responsible.
E.g. you may require training in
customer service skills. In this instance it is likely
that your manager would be responsible hence
he/she would be the owner.
Equally you may need to do an online computer
training course. If you have free access to
such a system the owner would be you.
So now you have your own copy of your
development plan all agreed and set out, so what
happens next?
Well most people just put it into their drawers and
file it just brining it out when they are asked to by
their manager. Depending how much time and career
support your company provides this might not be
until your end of year review!
What I suggest is that you need to make sure you
are familiar with the finally agreed content of your
development plan. Next develop a strategy to
review frequently and in line with your goals.
So if your goal is to coach a team member over the
next 3 months in certain tasks since the activity is
regular you would review perhaps weekly. If
however your goals are more long term then you may
review monthly etc.
In the next issue we will look more at reviewing your
development.
If you want to make the most out of your career -
click here
Your Say
Feedback
Let me know what you think of this issue and
previous issues of Career Coach. Without your
valuable feedback I am not able to discuss the
career issues that matter to you.
Thanks to all those that have contributed so far.
Email me your suggestions here
