Career Search Blog

By Lucy Evans

 Give an example of working with a team member who did not do their fair share of the work load, and explain how you addressed the situation?

This question has many potential pitfalls that need to be considered. Remember that the question is about a co-worker, and not a member of your staff, so factors you are unaware of may apply. Even if you give an answer that worked in a particular scenario, a clever interviewer can manipulate the situation to really test you. A common approach candidates take is to try to appear to be tough and dynamic giving answers like “I approached my colleague and told them that I was unwilling to do most of their work on top of mine, and their efforts improved”. A clever interviewer would counter this buy telling you how badly this approach could have gone. Your colleague could have health problems known to management but not you, and require help and support and not an aggressive approach. In answering this question, first show that you have tactfully tried to find out what the issue is. Next show an outcome where you provided support to your colleague and found a suitable resolution. It is important to show that you are proactive and diplomatic and that you did not need to involve management at any point in time.

How have you coped with working with people you didnt like?

It is possible to doge this question completely by claiming you cant remember working with anyone you had a particular dislike for. Most interviewers will not push you too hard on this point if you claim you have always got on well with colleagues, but it is unlikely that they will reward your cowardly evasion. The important thing with this question is to demonstrate how you saw through your dislike, and were able to operate in a professional manner. Try an example including someone that had a personality trait that is both positive and negative, such as a colleague that is annoyingly over critical. You could take the approach that after working with someone who is overly critical you began to realize that they did not intend to offend people by their criticisms, and that you found that their personality could be usefully used for checking important documents where everything had to be just right etc. Demonstrate how you earned respect for the person and came to accept them.

Why do you think you are suitable for this job?

This question is a golden opportunity to show you have taken the time to do research and that you have clarity of thought. Do not make assumptions about the job role and company, relate everything back to evidence. Firstly cross reference your experience with the job advert and job specifications and show how your experience fits what they have told you they want. Also try to mention as much relevant information you can about the company to show you have been interested enough to do some research.

Lucy is a freelance journalist writing for the Graduates Career graduate scheme.

Bloggers Sharing Their Thoughts On Career Opportunities

Looking for Employment in Europe?
By Ed Murray

 Whether you are a seasoned professional who specializes in business networking, a new college graduate looking for that killer “first real job,” a technological extrovert who wants to get in on the whole social media craze, or whatever, now finding IT or Telecom employment in Europe is faster and easier than ever. Thank those trailblazers from years passed who had the vision to create huge computers, then PCs, then laptops, and of course the global marketplace we have come to refer to as the Internet.

It only makes sense that if you are employed in the technology industry, you should be using technology to land that perfect career opportunity. What person in his or her right mind wants to hire an IT person who uses the postal service to mail in a resume? That is almost akin to writing your resume with a pen. Sounds ridiculous, right? Of course, so if you are searching for IT or Telecom employment in Europe, visit an online job board to get yourself started on those interviews.

The advantages to online job boards are numerous. They are easy to use; they do not require a business suit just to get the resume in the employer’s hands; they are convenient; they allow you to save and post a resume. Probably what is best of all the features, however, is the ability to complete a specialized search. If you are interested in employment only in Ireland, for example, you can choose to search that way. But let’s say you live in Toscana, Italy and have family in Sicily. Since you are on a quest for the perfect career move, you are open to either location. Well, all it takes is a click of the reset button and you can complete your second search in no time. Not only can you categorize your search according to location, though. You can also narrow down your field of expertise. If you are only interested in the Bluetooth industry, for example, or if you are excited about both software and systems engineering, you can so specify. There are no surprises when you are in control of your search criteria. If you have only a specific amount of time you can dedicate to your job search let’s say in the car, with your personal laptop, during the hour your current employer designates as lunchtime then that is no problem, either. Just create and save an account with the specs and information you want, and go back to it later.

Playing online games, buying cool stuff at online auction sites, and paying bills are all really cool, but probably the best use of your technology background is utilizing the online job boards for IT or Telecom employment in Europe.

Telecoms Employment Europe
For more info on job search visit this site.

career search

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.